Week 5 in Namibia-start SBT

This past week included the first of three weeks of observing classes and co-teaching at a local school. Each of our language groups have been assigned to different schools for School Based Training (SBT). The first week included guided tour of the school, attending the morning staff meetings, observing as many classes as we could, and 2 hours of language training while at the school. Our language trainer came to the school with us and we were provided space for our lessons. I observed 7 math and science classes for grades 4-6, an 8^th grade Afrikaans class, and two 9^th grade math classes.

The next two weeks I will create lesson plans and co-teach two 5^th grade math classes per day. I will assist the regular teacher this week and next week I will be the lead teacher with the regular teacher assisting me. We will also continue a minimum of 2 hours language training during the school hours.

These are not like your typical American classrooms. The norm at this school (not all schools) is about 40 learners/class with one teacher. The learners usually share a textbook and the textbooks are not taken home. Some learners share a chair, but they don’t seem to mind.

Corporal punishment is illegal in Namibia schools, but it is a cultural norm that is slow to change. I did not witness it this week although several teachers carried 2ft lengths of garden hose or plastic pipe and would slap it on a desk or into their hand while walking around the class. Pretty intimidating to me!

The school day is 7:15am-1:05pm with a half hour break at 10. The learners do not eat lunch at school but have a snack during the break. There are vendors selling fat cakes, fruit, meat, and sweets or they bring something from home.

After our school day, we are taken to the PC Training Center for more training. We’ve had sessions on “Feedback and Error Correction”, “Teaching in Large Classrooms”, “Teaching with Minimal Resources”, and other useful teaching techniques. We also had sessions on “Domestic/Partner Violence”, “How to Deal with Unwanted Attention”, and other safety/security topics. Whew, my brain is on overload.

All for now, with all my love