A day in Mahapusu, the Juvenile jail

My working place was closed and will be closed until next Monday so I went to the Mahapusu which is a juvenile jail for the young people who have committed some crimes. Their ages vary between 11 and 17 and there mostly boys there but also some girls. The boys have one bedroom which they share and the girls share the other bedroom. Then there is one classroom and a playground. There are usually many volunteers there; right now three in the morning and two in the afternoon.

The reasons why the kids are there are many: robbery, burglary or even murder (that's not common). Sometimes the reason is the family with so many problems it's better for the kid to stay some where else. Some of the kids have been in school but some haven't so when trying to teach them it's not easy. The staff there don't tell you much about the backgrounds of the kids so you have to find out by yourself, can the kid read or write in Swahili and/or in English at all. Every kid here needs English because in the secondary school they have all the teaching only in English.

I talked with the "boss" there over an our and tried to understand the system they have here. We have for some reason difficulties to understand each others but finally we got the understanding. I suggested that we schould make some kind of a plan how we schould teach the kids. I told it's vast of time if we do not do the teaching in a systematic way. So now the plan is that we devide the kids in three levels in every subject - at least in English and Swahili. We also want to have more lessons, right now there is only one lesson in the morning and one in the afternoon. I went to center today to in order to buy some kind of a book for reporting but I didn't remember it...(in spite of that I went to a western store and bought cheese - that's something I haven't eaten here at all. And it was so good!)

Life after safari

There were five of us going to a safari last weekend and I'll tell you more later when I get pictures from other participants. But I tell you it was just amazing, something I'm not able to tell you. It was so beautiful there! We went to Ngorongoro and to Tarangire and saw lions, elephants, giraffes and many many other animals.

This week my school is closed, it's Easter holiday. First they told me it was going to be five days but then last week they decided it will be a longer holiday and the school will begin 24th this month. So I decided to go and visit the Rau Day Care Center for one day and this week I'll go and visit the juvenile jail Mahabusu.

I've been thinking how to prepare my next lessons when I'm back in my school. It's not easy because they don't tell me what do they expect from me. So next lesson will be about Children's Rights and the next about The Effects of Childhood Stress. And again I've made mind maps, also some documents which I'm going to copy somewhere; there is no possibility to do that in my school so I'll have to find a place in town.

When thinking about the matters I earlier mentioned, I have to think about the culture differences between Tanzania and Finland. There is no point to teach some matters the students can not "take into their own life",  to digest them. Such matters do not make any sense to them. I'm going to tell the basic matters and then try to make them discuss and go deeper. That's not going to be easy because they are not used to discuss different matters. Usually there is no time for that ;  students are busy writing everything the teacher is writing in to the whiteboard. They have no books, they do not use computers...
 Below are some mind maps, sorry they are not that clear and the other is almost upside down but you get the idea (I put these here because I want to so my tutor Maarit that I'm studying here...)

How to use different methods when teaching...

I can not trust the matter that I'd be able to have the computer and the projector when teaching so I make mind maps of different kinds. This an easy way to show the students the big picture of the matter we are having. It also gives you the opportunity to add more issues while teaching and you are able to go back to some subject easily if for example some one asks questions.

There are always some students coming late to the lesson (because of the rain or something else...) so when using the mind map they can see what's going on and they can catch the teaching.

This is the school where I'm having my internship. It's right in center of Moshi, which is situated in North Tanzania.  The population is about 150 000 and the Kilimanjaro can bee seen from the town and it's huge and beautiful. It's not common for Tanzanians to go and climb to Kilimanjaro: that's something for the tourists. Moshi is said to been the cleanest city in Tanzania and that might be true. People usually burn their trash in their backgrounds or just beside the streets so you can smell the smoke all time. I was surprised to notice that it's not a bad smell.

The education system in Tazania

The school system here n in Tanzania is in some ways the same we have in Finland: preschool, primary school, secondary school, high school and the university. Primary grade is from 1-7, and after that the students have to pass a national test to move to the secondary school. Only 50% of the students pass the test and move to the secondary school. The secondary school is grades 8-13 and the students have a test again. Only 18% of students pass this exam and can participate the higher levels of education.

The problem in Tanzania is that not all of children can reach the education, especially in the rural areas. In recent years the situation has improved but still there are areas where there are no schools so near the villages that the children can attend the school. Another problem is that you have to know English when you move to the secondary school and children don't learn proper English in schools. Even the school is free, there is always the question about money because have to wear the uniform in school and all the families have the money to buy those uniforms

The system puts children from rich families and children from poor families in to a different situation: if you have the money, your children can go to the private school and the poor ones go to the public school. So, you can say that the education is free, but in fact it doesn't give all children the same opportunities.

If you pass the exam good enough the government puts you in a government school which is free and you can continue your education. Otherwise you can move to a private school - if you have the money. If you score highly enough you are taken to a university.
(http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/webbj.pdf )

The school where I'm having my internship is a private school which offers different curses: computer curses, language curses, Early Child Curses, Business curses, Secretarial curses and so on. The students come there with many different backgrounds. Some of them can speak English fluently but not all of them. The main language here is Swahili and people usually understand that but there are also many other languages because of the hundreds of tribes.

I have been teaching English, Early Chidhood Education and then so called Social Program. I'm - of course - using English but all the time I have to nee aware of the truth that all students may not understand my English. Most of the time I have another teacher there to translate my 'presentation" but not all the time. In the beginning I prepared my lessons so that I would need the computer and the projector but after a couple of days I understood that's not going to be the way I schould prepare my lessons. There are some computers in the school but usually they are in use in the computer class. There is two projectors but I cannot rely to them. And sometimes you just run out of the electricity...

In a class room you usually have a whiteboard and they gave my own marker which I carry with me so I can draw mind maps. And I use them in every lesson. Sometimes I also draw something else if it's necessary, like this other day I (when I saw that the students did not understand the issue) I draw the brains of a human being and how we process the information we gather around us...I have taken some pictures but haven't yet managed to put those here.

I like the students to bee interactive so ask questions and call for their opinions. Many of them are shy but I try to make them to relax. How does this happen? I try to speak Swahili and they are laughing every time! today, for example, I did not remember how to write one English word so I just said "Hakuna ma tata" which means "It doesn't matter" and they thought that was really funny.

Now I feeling tired and will write some more tomorrow. Tomorrow I wont be going to my school because they have their Easter Break so I'll go to a day care center with some other students.

Ei se oo niin nuukaa - it doesn't really matter

Today I was supposed to have English, Early Child Education and teachingto  a group of students about social skills and communication. I arrived late because the taxi came late...so I just attended the English class for a while. Next two lessons schould have been Early Child Education but there were no students...So I just hanged around, talked to some youngsters and have my cafe break. One lesson lasts two hours and no breaks. I don't know how the staff can manage without breaks; actually, they have breaks when the students don't come to the lessons. Right?

Something weird happened to me today. The first thing is not so weird, more like common event here while being mzungu, a white person. Believe me, you are really noticed as a white person here. So I was sitting in the corridor in the school (there is no "Teacher room") and there were a young man sitting besides me. He spoke good English so we talked for a while. After some time he was asking if I could possible help he. He was educated but had no job (and there is no support from the government to the unemployed). He'd like to work with tourists, for example in safaris. He did not ask for money - as many kids do - but he asked if I had connections. I took his email address but told him I feel sorry but don't think I'd be able to help he. And I really felt sorry.

Another event: I was in the center by my self waiting other Finnish students. I drop a small paper in the ground and then walked forward. Suddenly there were two man besides me telling something in a poor English. I told them I'm not going to buy anything and tried to walk away but they didn't let me. Then they asked me to come with them to a office. I said no, I'm not coming with you but they keep insisting me to come. I told them no and I'm calling my Tanzanian friend. So I called and he told me stay there, do not anything, do not go with those man. So when he came (he's from the house where I live and is really a honest man) he talked to the man, suddenly we went to his car with those man and drove to another place and my friend paid those man and then they left us. My friend told me that if I had gone to the office, they would have charged me a lot of money. It was my mistake, I do not usually drop anything in to the ground. Those man were in that area just for looking if they can catch some one...I was lucky having some one to come and rescue me.

I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this writing me being so tired but who cares? Hakuna matata! (no worries/it doesn't matter).

After one week in Tansania

So one week has already gone, only five left! I have enjoyed everything here: the warmth, the food, people, my working place, the place I live (it's called the TVL-house=Tansania volunteers house). I wake up at six every morning, it's dark until seven a'clock. The dadas (sisters) make the breakfast for us, also the lunch and dinner.

I usually go to my working place around nine, sometimes by the car, sometimes by bike. The traffic is something I do not like but you get used to it - just remember that they are using the wrong side of the road...

The school were I work is called MIT meaning Moshi Institute of Tecnology. It's a private owned school which provides different courses: computer curses (that's what they are called), Early Child Education, English... They speak Swahili and English here but as far as I have noticed, only some people speak English. The teacher told me today to learn Swahili, because my English so good :) Usually there is some one to translate  during the lessons - I have difficulties to understand the English the students speak and they have difficulties to understand me, my pronunciation.

For today's lessons I had prepared some slides, actually quite a many, and they found one computer and the projector for me for one lesson. And then there were no electricity...Fortunately I had my notes with me so there were no panic. I'd like to show you my mind maps I use as notes but I have difficulties to put my pictures here.

I asked my supervisor today to give me some feedback. First he said the lesson was good and nice. I asked for more feedback and then he said I schould slow down a little bit and give the students more time to adopt the given information. He also told me not to suppose the students will discus a lot. It's about the system here; they are not used to tell the teacher what  do they think, how are their feelings and so on.

I was going to ask the students to do some group work but there was no room for that. It's a small room where we usually study, it's so small that when every one is sitting, there is no room to make groups, you couldn't walk in the classroom, it was so packed. The methods I've seen other teachers using are mainly (as we might call them) traditional: speaking and writing things to the board. The students I have met, have no books, they just have paper and a pen and they write down everything the teacher says.

You think, don't you, that you schould know your students, at to certain point at least. There is no way I'll get to know my students: we'll meet only for some days and when I asked them to tell me something about themselves, they were too shy to do that and too aware of their poor English. I tried to make the atmosphere less stressful by saying some words in Swahili and that made them laugh :) I'm trying to learn a new world every day, today it was "kwaheri: which means "see you" .

The groups I teach are Early Childhood Education and the group where there are students from many other groups and they are all having their internship. Today I was talking about the early relationship between mother and child and with the other group my teaching is called " Social program". I' tell you later what does this consist.

Olen Tansaniassa

Opetusharjoitteluni Tansaniassa on alkanut! Tai olen siis perilla mutta harjoittelu ei ole viela alkanut, muutama paiva orientaatiota ensin. Ja tassa koneessa ei ole suomalaisia aakkosia...Ajattelin, etta mikali jaksan, kirjoitan blogiani harjoittelun ajan englanniksi

My intership in Tansania has now begun. Or in fact I haven't been in my working place yet, these first days it's orientation so have nothing to do. It feels kind of weird to have your meals made and your room tidied for you. There are some local people working here doing the meals, cleaning and there is also a driver here.

I'd love to go to my working place by bike but I'm not sure I schould do that: yesterday we were biking and it was scary - the traffic is awful. And it's so hot I don't think I'd be able to walk..but we"ll see.

Next time I'll write after having started my work!