This week I am one of two teachers on duty. As a teacher on duty, my responsibilities are broadly to be in charge of discipline in the school for the week. Practically, what it means is that I have to get to school at least two hours earlier than I normally do. So I'm very tired.
The school day begins sometime before 6:30 when the students are supposed to report to clean the school. They sweep the classrooms and the campus and pick up litter. There are certain students, called prefects, who are there to organize and ensure that the work gets done. The masters on duty are there to supervise and enforce discipline, if necessary.
Masters on duty also help with other disciplinary issues. For example, one teacher punished a class for misbehaving. The punishment was that they had to weed the school field, which is standard. So as the higher disciplinary authority in the school for the week, I had to accompany this teacher to the field as he assigned each student a particular plot of land to weed. I also have to walk around the campus after breaks and ensure that students are going back to class.
According to the other master on duty who has also taught at other schools, behavior at this school is poor. The accepted response among faculty is to punish, usually with physical labor (weeding, cutting down a tree) or caning, both often preceded by threats of punishment, as in, "I will punish you!" Because discipline has not improved, I tell the teachers that it's obvious that these physical punishments are not working. But they don't seem to know anything else. Punish. Punish. Punish. The school generally lacks systems. In some ways it's a big free-for-all. Me and my western notions of accountability and order are somewhat foreign here, and have been greeted with comments like, "the African child only responds to the cane."
This is also probably the first week that I'm really fed up with the school. Students are not showing up for class, and I'm starting to crack down. Enforcing discipline is no fun, and I've had too much of it this week. But I'm still thankful for the fact that I'm not sitting in some stuffy high-rise office working for some ineffective, overpaid, self-important boss.
Addendum #1: March Madness! Woooo!!! Go State!
Addendum #2: Somehow, another term is over. Two weeks of exams and then it's official, but because my classes seem to rarely meet, I am only giving one exam for the year at the end of next term.
¶ 3:58 PM 0 comments
I am seeking a donation of at least twenty [used] computers for a secondary school in Ghana, West Africa. These computers will be used provide computer literacy training to students and faculty. The school's current working computers will be donated to either to a nearby school that does not have computers or to a new community center that will be used for students from several schools in the town.
If you are interested, please ask your company/organization/university/etc if it is planning on replacing computers in the near future and what it intends to do with the old machines. Ideally, the school's goal of at least twenty computers can be reached with one or two suppliers, but if you can donate any machines please contact me.
Please also forward this email to anyone you think may be able to help. I would also be happy to appeal directly to someone that You recommend.
BACKGROUND: I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, serving as a computer teacher in Ghana. The school currently owns 18 computers, 80% of which generally work. The computers were either purchased by the PTA or donated. Some are quite old and outdated.
THE OPPORTUNITY: The government of Ghana and the African Development Bank (ADB) are currently funding a significant upgrading of the school campus, including the construction of a new computer center. A donation of upgraded computers would provide the school with a respectable computer lab. The donation will also benefit the community as the school administration has agreed to donate its current computers either to a nearby school that does not have any or to a new community center that will be used by students from several schools in the town. Plans for this new community center are still in the early stages, but a donation of computers will (hopefully) help speed the process.
TAX DEDUCTION: The school can provide a letter confirming the donation. Other arrangements can be made upon request.
CUSTOMS: I will work with Ghana's national education ministry to bypass customs fees.
SHIPPING: Lacking any information on the size of the shipment, I can not get a price quote, but after consulting another volunteer I expect shipping to be between $30 and $40 per computer (assuming the source is the US East Coast, but shipments come to Ghana from all parts of the world). The cost of shipping will either be a separate donation or will be paid for by the school. Shipping is obviously a critical detail. It will be worked out if and when I receive a commitment for a donation.
HELP NEEDED: If your business/organization/etc is able to donate computers, I will need a contact person that would be willing to spend some time on this project, potentially boxing the machines and working with the shippers.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: Donated computers should be Pentium3 or above. Pre-installed software is not required but helpful. Monitors are not necessary, unless they are inexpensive to ship, such as LCD flat panel. Keyboards, mice, and power cables are very helpful. A digital projector would be fantastic.
SUSTAINABILITY/COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: There is a school of thought that says giving handouts to developing countries is the wrong approach. While I believe this thinking has a lot of merit, I also think a donation of expensive equipment to an educational institution can be appropriate regardless of where that institution is located. In addition, the school has agreed to donate its current computers and will likely play some role in shipping. Plus, this donation is designed to take advantage of an investment being made by the national government of Ghana and the ADB. I'd be happy to continue this debate (currently with myself) in separate and private emails.
CORRUPTION: Unfortunately, it exists in Ghana and much of the rest of the world, including (oh my gosh!) the US. I have asked the administration whether computers are included in the budget for the school renovation and have been given a vague answer that a) these budgets are "flexible," meaning money can be moved around for different purposes within the budget, and b) just because the money is "guaranteed" today does not mean it will be there tomorrow. If I get a commitment for a donation, I will have the leverage to get a straight answer from the administration and will work to ensure that if there is money in the budget for computers it is re-purposed for something that Benefits the school and does not line someone's pockets. I'll try.
I ONLY HAVE ONE OR TWO COMPUTERS TO DONATE: Thank you, but at this point I think the logistics will be much simpler if I can get all of the computers from one or two sources.
I ONLY HAVE ONE DIGITAL PROJECTOR TO DONATE: Great! We'll take it!
I HAVE THIRTY COMPUTERS. IS THAT TOO MANY?: Thank you. We will take them and distribute them to other schools and community centers.
I HAVE 25 MACS: Ha. Lucky you. Thank you, but we'll pass…
March 6 was the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence from Britain. To celebrate, Ghana hosted 20 Africa heads of state and spent millions of dollars on celebrations. I was at the beach.
However, I did leave the beach at 6 in the morning to make a short trip to Accra's Independence Square. This is the country's main celebration area, and it is where the heads of state were hanging out. As its name suggests, Independence Square is a large concrete square with bleachers along three sides of the perimeter. One side was reserved for VIPs. The other two were for the public. I arrived at 8 AM and the seats were already packed. This many Ghanaians have never been this early to anything.
There was also limited space to stand in front of the bleachers but the crowd was suffocating. I've never been so sweaty, surrounded by so many horrid bodily odors, and pushed by so many different people. I was pushed into an elderly woman who was trying to maneuver through the crowd with a walker. I don't know what she was thinking. After about 30 or 40 minutes of this, I decided to find a way out. I considered telling security that I was with the US embassy so they would let me into the VIP area. I think it would have worked, but with 20 heads of state around, the repercussions of failure could be dire (Ghanaian prison?). So I retreated back to the beach.
Ghanaians were big on ID6 flair. It seemed that everyone who could afford it was either wearing a Ghana@50 t-shirt, hat, or something. Special hideous fabric was produced, and women had all sorts of clothing made from it. I sported a Ghana@50 t-shirt and was quickly labeled the white guy celebrating Ghana's big day.
Strangely, Ghana's only surviving ex-President did not attend (he's the only one left because he had the others killed, at least that's what I was told). Jerry Rawlings was President for 40% of the country's history but chose to sit this one out because he doesn't like the current President. Ghanaian politics is unfortunate…
Scott Garrett's Resume
Voted for:
a) Constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriages
b) Constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration.
Voted against:
a) The reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act
b) Child safety locks on handguns
Rated:
a) 100% by the National Right to Life Committee (0% by NARAL)
b) 100% by the American Conservative Union
c) 10% by the League of Conservation Voters
Quote: "Evolution is the predominant theory right now, but intelligent design is one that is apparently growing in some scientific communities, in academia. ... It seems that a school board should at least consider being TOLERANT AND OPEN (!!!!) to discussing both theories." [Bergen Record, 9/30/05; caps and !!!! added by me]
What????????
All of this is relevant because I recently received a "Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition" from my Congressman, Scott Garrett. In his letter, NJ Congressman Garrett quoted a recent statement from President Bush about the Peace Corps. Anyone who's quoting that guy is A-OK with me. Thanks Scott! The certificate is just lovely! (you can do a Google search of "Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition" to see others.)
Addendum #1: I went to Megillah reading at the home of an Israeli family in Accra. They said that there are about 100 Israelis living in Accra doing the kinds of things that Jews do (finance, construction, etc). Less than 10 people came to megillah reading, and apparently this is the extent of the "traditional" Jews in Ghana.
¶ 12:31 PM 0 comments
Although rainy season is not supposed to begin until April, the random interactions of air molecules forgot to check the calendar. It has rained almost every day for the past week, and when it rains it pours. I blame global climate change.
I thought the rain would be a good thing because it cools the place down. It had been way too hot and muggy. I'm often drenched in sweat (luckily my own) by the time I walk to school in the morning. So much moisture. Overall the rain is a good thing, but it has a wild and unexpected (at least by me) consequence: flying insects.
There could be several things about my house that are particularly conducive to flying insect breeding, but my own speculations about insect mating habits are unimportant and probably wrong. Here's what I know: the exterior of my house is covered in insects at night.
I don't mean literally covered. I mean that it is impossible to go outside of my house at night without flattening a few bugs with each step. I mean that when I go outside at night I am attacked from all sides and angles. I mean that an hour later I am still finding bugs in my hair.
Tonight I killed about 15 grasshoppers (or are they crickets?) in my house in 2 minutes. Really. At least they're easy to kill and at least only two made it inside my room. It's plague-like. In addition to the mutant grasshopping crickets, I also have flying ants. That's probably not the proper scientific classification, but that's exactly what they look like.
The upside of all this is that Eish is very busy. I don't know if he "likes" chasing bugs (he probably doesn't really like anything), but I enjoy watching him chase stuff. It's only been two nights of this, but if it continues to be this bad, I may have to get the outside of my house sprayed with something horribly poisonous…
Addendum #1: Solar powered Germans are still here. It was a two week conference for teachers who have no ability to purchase any of the solar powered lamps nor do they have any purchasing decision making powers. Brilliant.
Addendum #2: Ghana Central Region Zone II Inter-Senior Secondary School Athletics competitions were held last week. It was a two-day event, so no classes for those days. Eleven schools competed and my school finished seventh overall. There is one school in the zone that actually recruits athletes. They offer scholarships to particularly fast junior secondary students. They dominate this local competition. Winners then go to a regional competition and presumably that leads to some national championship. Other schools in the area are considering recruiting.
Addendum #3: Because of strong wind, a power line going from the grid to my town fell. It took about 2 days to fix. For whatever reason, the power has randomly gone off over the past few days. There are still scheduled 12-hour outages every five days.
Addendum #4: After a month-long absence, running water is finally back in my house.
Addendum #5: Megillah reading on Saturday night at the home of an Israeli couple in Accra. I'm dressing up as a white person.
¶ 3:00 PM 1 comments