Start of my Internship

I started my internship this week, which entails teaching composition (aka writing) in a private school to upper elementary (8-11 year olds). So far, I have just been observing, but starting on Tuesday I will begin teaching.

Needless to say, this school (as are all schools in Ghana) is extremely different than in the States. The most notable difference is the use of caning. The teachers all have sticks that they hit the children with, which is really hard to watch. If a child doesn't listen or disrespects the teacher or any other number of offenses, s/he will most likely be beaten with the cane. On top of that, it is not just one or two smacks; rather the teacher generally beats the child several times. When this happens, I generally look away, literally holding back my tears. I was discussing this with my supervisor upon being asked some of the differences between Ghanaian and American schools, I told him about this difference. He basically just nodded and asked, "Well how you do discipline kids who do not listen?" And I told him that we have other forms of punishment, that does not involve physically hurting someone.

Other than this, there are tons of other differences. Whenever I enter the room, the children all rise and recite in unison, "Hello madame. We welcome you to our class" (or something to that effect that is a little longer). Also, though this is a private school where most of the children come from wealthy homes, the classrooms are pretty basic. They are basically a square room with old wooden desks and a chalkboard. Basically, the room looks like how I would picture a classroom in the early 20th century.

On Tuesday for my first day of teaching, we will focus on informal letter writing. I was basically given a syllabus and told to teach it. There is not much room for my personal creativity, but we'll see what happens.

Despite the differences, I enjoy the school so far. I really like the other staff and feel very comfortable there. I have a lot of leeway in terms of my hours and what subject to teach, which is great.