Private School Tuition in Dakar

            Due to the current state of the public education system in Senegal, many parents have chosen to send their children to private school. Attending a private school ensures parents that their children are receiving the best education they can. However, this also means that the students and their families are required to pay tuition. At École Sainte Bernadette, students in all grades pay a minimum of 17,000 CFA (approx. 34$) a month to cover their general education. This money helps employ the teachers, cooks, custodians, and bus drivers at the school. However, students who wish to take extra classes, participate in extra curricular activities, ride the bus to school, and eat lunch at the canteen may pay up to 40, 000 CFA (approx. 80$) a month. Within the school, there are students with families that are able to pay that amount, and there are students with families that cannot. Sainte Bernadette understands that many families may struggle to make enough money to keep their children in school, however there is not much the school can do to help because of their low budget. Many scholarships are given to orphans who may not be able to generate that amount of money on their own, but that seems to be the only exception.

The third Monday of the month was one of the more difficult days at École Sainte Bernadette for me. Class was interrupted by the school secretary, who came in with printed receipts for all the students who had not paid their tuition this month. The students’ names were read alphabetically and the students were directed to collect their belongings and follow the secretary out of the class. When I asked my CT what was going on, she explained that the students who had outstanding balances were taken to a separate room and not allowed to return to class until it had been paid. For some children this means they won’t be able to return to school for months. For others, they quit school al together and start working with their parents to raise money for their siblings receive an education. At first, this seemed almost cruel, but after reflecting back on the experience I realized that there are many families that struggle to make enough money to keep their children in school in Senegal. The school does not have the resources to allow certain families not to pay. While it is not ideal, it is a reality for children and their families in Dakar. 

I am very grateful for the time I have spent at École Sainte Bernadette. It was challenging at times, but through those challenges I have come to appreciate the education I received growing up and the opportunities I was given. I have been exposed to the hardships of teaching and living in a third world country, and I hope that the new perspective I have gained will transfer into my teaching career in the future.

Final Reflection of Irish Primary School

      Yesterday was my last day at Scoil Bhride in Galway, Ireland. As it was also my last day in Ireland before returning home to the US, I was very sad to say goodbye. I always feel like right as I am really starting to get to know the students and master the classroom routine the semester comes to an end. One thing I regret was not teaching more lessons during my time at Scoil Bhride. My CT was incredibly accommodating and told me I could let him know whenever there was something I wanted to teach. However, this was challenging because there was a lack of direction and incentive. With endless options, I found it difficult to plan lessons. However, I really did enjoy all the responsibilities my CT continuously assigned me throughout my time in his class. Every week I led a small reading group. I incorporated many techniques I had previously used during Read Alouds and adapted them to a group setting. I also got to try out popcorn reading, which is a technique I always learned about but had never got the chance to tryout before. The students really enjoyed it and it was a great way to keep them focused on the reading because they never knew when it was going to be their turn. I also go to work one-on-one with several students. One student that had transfered into the class mid-year was behind in his reading capabilities. My CT asked me to go over a list of high-frequency words with him to determine which ones he did and did not know. This was extremely beneficial for me because I was able to identify where he was struggling. The following week I got the chance to continue working with this student. We worked on rhyming sounds, using an interactive online computer game. It was helpful because I could point out to him the combinations of letters that make the same sounds through the use of rhymes. I was also given the task of checking students mental math worksheets that they complete every morning when they come into school. I enjoyed this because I was able to help struggling students or correct students' mistakes. More often than not, with a little bit of scaffolding the students were able to come up with the correct answers.
     In addition to the tasks I was able to complete I learned a significant amount about the differences between the American and Irish school systems. The rigid nature of the curriculum and state standards and testing is reflected in the teaching methods and overall classroom atmosphere. My CTs in Boston both had a strict schedule that they followed and it was made very clear to the students which subject was coming next, typically by being posted in the wall of the classroom. In Ireland they hop around from subject to subject and the students are told when they are switching as opposed to referring to a schedule posted on the wall. While I can understand the benefit to making the schedule apparent to the students, the lack of awareness does not seem to bother the Irish students. They can easily transition from one subject to the next by simply being told to put away one assignment and get ready for the next.
   The Irish classroom did not do half as much group work as I have observed in American classrooms. The only time I saw group work being done was during reading groups. However, the reading groups were a combination of both 2nd grade classes, making the average size about eight. This limits the individualized attention many students require to succeed. The lack of group work may be due to the lack of support my CT receives in the classroom. Throughout my ten visits there was only one occasion when another teacher came in to do math with the students.
     Finally, the biggest difference between the school systems was the disciplinary philosophies. The most problematic students in the class in Ireland were yelled at in front of the entire class. At first I thought I was opposed to this treatment, however, I realized that it got all the other students to be conscience of their own behavior. Also the students in Ireland seem to be held to higher standards of responsibility than I have observed in American classrooms. The most displeased I witnessed my CT was when a student reported not completing her homework for the third time that week. He told the student that she had no one to blame but herself because it is her homework and she is the only person responsible for making sure it is completed. He also handled some playground mishaps in front of the entire class. From what I have observed in American classrooms, these issues are often dealt with by pulling a student out of the class to be scolded for misbehavior.
   Overall, I truly learned a lot and I am certainly pleased with my decision to complete an international pre-prac.
 

Learning English at 1 hour a week...

Here in Florence, working with a teacher that floats around to different classes and schools throughout the week, teaching English, I feel I have seen a very different side of teaching. It is a tough position to be in, because my CT cares very much about the children learning and speaking English, yet she only sees the students for a very small time, in the younger classes an hour a week, the upper elementary grades it increases to 2 or 3. 


There are a couple things I have come to notice. At the beginning, I thought that the students were a bit more rowdy because it was as if they had a substitute in the room. There were differences from their established classroom teacher and therefore could "get away with" more. While I still believe this is partly true, I also think there could be some different methods my CT could use to combat this. A large part of this I think is in the structure of the English language course. My teacher and the students follow this English learning workbook from the first graders to the fifth grade. These books are complete with words, songs (on corresponding CD's), activities, etc. I think often in the routine of this book, a lot of children's interest is lost. While I know my CT has very good intentions, I have begun to think maybe she does not know other ways to engage the students than to follow the book...but the book is not a teacher. It also may be a cultural difference that makes it hard for me to understand the teaching style. For instance, in my past pre-pracs and in courses at BC, I feel there is emphasis on using what the curriculum books give you and then supplement/make it your own in order to maximize student's engagement and which hopefully maximizes their learning. Where as here, at least with my CT, there seems to be a lack of that. 


I have been trying to think critically about this and in lessons add in exercises or activities that will capture students' attention and get them all to speak or write in English. I hope I can take what I have been learning about teaching a second language, and learn more for the future as I am realizing what an incredibly difficult task this is! 

Lesson Observation in Ecuador

            My teacher is excellent with her lessons. She really proves that less is more. When working with kindergarten children, long, multi-step lessons can be a bit overwhelming. Because of this, my CT has chosen to use mini-lessons with her students. These lessons last about twenty minutes and often involve a mixture of instruction and a whole group game. Her lessons seem so relaxed and the children all seem so engaged. She has them sit in the circle time area while delivering them. One challenge that she faces is having to teach the English language while teaching academic content simultaneously. She plans carefully to fit in both language and content in a way that seems natural rather than forced upon the students.

            During one of my days in the classroom, I observed two of her lessons. The first lesson was about rhyming words. This is a difficult concept for many English Language Learners because they are still gaining phonemic awareness in their second language. My CT made up a story about a monkey’s birthday party. She made flash cards with pictures on them. The pictures were of food and animals/ insects. First, she went over the vocabulary with the students, card by card. Then she began the story. She would say, “The next person to come to the birthday party was the bee. What did the bee bring?” and the children would have to sort through the food cards until they found a rhyming card, such as “tea”. The kids loved this game and really got practice with rhyming as they would say the animal name and then name other foods to try to find a rhyme. This taught the content of rhyming and the vocabulary of the animals and food simultaneously. Most importantly, the children had fun and were so engaged!

            The next lesson I observed was a math lesson. The class was working on math vocabulary such as more than, less than, equal to, etc. The teacher went over some vocabulary words and then the students played a game. Two at a time, two students would come into the center of the circle. Both were given a straw and with the straw, they needed to suck up as many paper stethoscopes as possible and put them into a box without dropping them. (They used stethoscopes because it is one of their vocabulary words, as they are doing a career unit). They had thirty seconds to complete the task. After the thirty seconds was up, the class counted the stethoscopes in each box together, practicing the numbers in English. Then they would discuss who had more, who had less, or if the amounts were equal. Once again, the children were so engaged and had so much fun, all while learning important vocabulary and content. I really would like to start using mini-lessons with fun activities incorporated within them in my P3!

Typical School Day in Dakar

The school day begins with all the students lining up in alphabetical order by grade in the courtyard. When the teacher gives the okay, the students file into their perspective classrooms and wait. When the teacher arrives, the entire classroom stands, recites a prayer, and then formally greets both the teacher and I, only sitting down after the teacher has dismissed them. The teacher then begins reviewing the material learned the day before, calling on students who are expected to stand and recite the correct answer. Giving the wrong answer in unacceptable, and a student who answers incorrectly must stand for the rest of the review.

The review is generally followed by French. While most children speak Wolof at home, the official language of Senegal is French. This means that all instruction is delivered in French. Many students can speak French fluently, but most still need to learn grammar and punctuation. Children take turns copying their work up on the board until the teacher decides to move on. This continues throughout most of the subjects during the day. Students are given a half hour recreation period every day to release their energy and run around, and an hour for lunch at 1:00. Most students eat at home (cheaper than buying food at the canteen) so children are given an hour to travel back and forth.

It’s interesting to observe the change in behavior between when the students are in class, and when they are at recreation. In class, under their teacher’s supervision, they sit up straight and raise a hand to answer every question. At recreation, there is no supervision. Teachers stay in their classrooms, correcting papers and planning, and the students are given free range to do whatever they want. Children sprint in every direction, every which way, usually colliding hard every once in a while. Many boys wrestle in the sand, and the girls play a dancing game, which ends with the loser getting smacked in the middle of a circle by all the other players. Students are screaming and yelling, and then the bell rings. The teachers come out of their rooms, the students line up in their lines in alphabetical order, and they all file back into their class. There seems to be no connection between the motivation driving them to behave in class, and the motivation driving them to behave when out of the teacher’s sight.