Like this:

It has been two weeks since I have written a blog post, and I apologize for that. The school year has set in and I have a fairly busy schedule. I am teaching four sets of students (40 per set) mathematics, and integrated science. I am also teaching an IT class after school two days a week, as well as giving free tutoring lessons two days a week after school.

I already slightly touched on how school is conducted differently here but I forgot to mention one thing. Instead of students switching classrooms every period, teachers do. As a result, I can’t do things like put up science posters such as the quintessential picture of Albert Einstein. Any demonstration that I plan on doing must be portable enough to carry by myself. The inability to hang posters or have elaborate science demos doesn’t bother me. It is the fact that instead of these kids getting a 5-10 minute break in between each period walking in between classes, they are required to sit all day except during lunch. I can’t help but imagine myself in their shoes; constantly fighting off the desire to sleep or becoming really antsy with the desire to move. Having the teachers, as opposed to the students, move between classes does solve one major problem. I remember while going to public schools a lot of misbehavior occurred during this 5-10 minutes while students were transferring between classes. I still would prefer to have my own classroom though.

I am bringing this point up because I believe this is a direct cause of why my students are pissing me off so much. I have never yelled much in my life, but I find myself yelling at least twice a day. When I am presenting my lesson they continue to talk, they never raise their hand (instead they just continually yell out sir until I respond to them), and in general they’re detrimental to the learning environment. I am not a classroom Nazi, and I say this based on how other teachers conduct their classrooms. These teachers are like men/women leading soldiers in to war. They show no mercy while they strike fear into the children’s hearts.

Another big reason my students are getting me so riled up is because they refuse to study. I have been giving them homework every week and at least one quiz in each subject. I tell them to study, I constantly remind them to do their homework and study for quizzes. I even give them time during class periods so they can ask me questions. They still refuse to put any effort into their homework, and most of the ones that do turn something in have just copied off someone else. It has even got to the point where I do the heart-to-heart talk where I ask my students what they want to do with their lives and explain to them why math and science are good things to learn.

I have had some parents come up to me and ask “Do you give out after school lessons?” I mentioned to them my after school tutoring sessions and then they immediate ask me “How much do you charge?” This movement towards teachers supplementing their income with private lessons was addressed during our orientation here. Naturally, one might conclude that teachers give much more effort during their private lessons. In my case, it would be counter-intuitive if I started charging money for lessons. So I have been telling parents, their kids are welcome to come to my after school program (which is only an hour long) and if the kids need more help, I can spend more time with them as long as they pay me in snacks and drinks.

So are my students learning anything? This is something I have been mulling over fairly frequently. I think these kids are very intelligent for many reasons. For example, I just got done with the unit that covers the SI unit system. When I give them a problem at the beginning of class, no one can get it. However once I show them one example, for the rest of the class they do fairly well. So maybe these kids are just really forgetful This is why I have been laboring the point of homework and studying. If these kids just spend some extra time after dinner reviewing, or doing some homework, I am hoping they might retain some of the knowledge.

There are a host of issues I am having in respect to teaching (like how ridiculously little these kids cover in one term), but I will save those for another blog post. I wanted to write about how I am adapting to my new life.

Things I like about Guyana:

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Everything is made with real cane sugar here (it is Guyana’s main export). Yes, Angell that includes soda.

Fresh Fruit and Veggies.

How care free people are (this one is a double-edge sword).

How welcoming most of the community around me has been.

The breeze

Things I dislike about Guyana:

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The smells (one minute you are walking it smells like grass and then it smells like cow feces and then horse crap).

Lawless driving

How crowded public places are (95% of the population lives along the coast of Guyana)

The noise level especially with respect to music.

- This also includes how every single man here makes smooching noises whenever a woman walks by, even if the woman is 80 years old.

Stray Dogs and how they like to run after me when I run in the morning.

Lack of public parks.

The humidity

Washing my clothes (still takes me hours).

No sidewalks, and roads are barely big enough for two way traffic.

The garbage everywhere (the contracted disposal company is on strike at the moment and has been for a month.)

However, one shouldn’t conclude that my current environment is the main reason why I am kinda down/depressed. It is the amount of effort I am putting into these kids and the serious lack of progress I am seeing. I am running around from 8-3:30 everyday, constantly talking or yelling. I can’t remember putting so much effort into something that I can’t directly control. My mood is dependent on whether these kids learn, and right now things aren’t looking good. Facing the reality that it takes time to turn around bad habits and develop critical thinking within these young adults is really hard and it doesn’t help that I spend all of my free time reading and not trying to make friends.

Speaking of reading, I got my hands on The West on Trial by Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Dr. Cheddi Jagan was an influential political figure during Guyana’s long road to independence from Britain If you are at all interested in politics, the roles of society in shaping government and the long process of obtaining independence from an imperialist nation, you should read this book. The book is well written and provides a ton of insights into Guyana.

I also wanted to say happy birthday to my nephew. You can’t read yet, but I am sure your dad is reading this.

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