Every week, I do health lessons in
three local elementary schools. Since school is almost out for
summer, let me give you a glimpse of what a Beninese classroom is
really like.
As soon as I enter the classroom, the
50-70 students stand up and greet me in unison, then respond in
unison to my greeting. Next, before we start our actual lesson, the
teacher calls on a student to pick a song, and all the students sing
the song together. Once the lesson begins, we proceed very slowly.
School is conducted in French, but most of the children did not know
any French before starting kindergarten, so it is the Beninese
equivalent of having a room full of ESL students. As a result, we
have to constantly rephrase our questions and check for
comprehension.
To be called on, a student raises a
finger in the air and says, “Here! Here!” When a student gives a
particularly good answer, he is rewarded with rhythmic clapping. That
is, the teacher gives the signal, and the whole class claps a certain
pattern to congratulate the student. When a student gives a wrong
answer, the teacher never says the answer is wrong, but instead asks
the students, “Who can give a better answer?”
All of the students wear uniforms,
which are called “khakis” because they are all made of a khaki-
colored material. Girls are expected to shave their heads for fear
that extravagant hairstyles could be distracting in class. The
uniforms and shaved heads makes it easy to recognize which children
go to school. Ultimately, only a minority of local children are
enrolled, mostly because the other parents do not understand the
importance of school or do not have the means to send their children.
Between tuition (only boys pay), school fees, uniforms, and supplies,
educating a child is expensive.
I always make up a song to teach the
kids in order to help them remember the key message of our lesson.
When the kids learn the song, I know that even if they forget
everything else I taught them (or perhaps they did not truly
understand because of their French level), they will at least retain
the key message. Plus, singing is such a part of Beninese school
culture that my song is a perfect fit. Even if I did not teach them a
song, they would sing one at the end of the lesson before I left.
So to conclude this blog post, let me
share a song with you:
Je bois de l'eau potable
pour la bonne sante.
Et je couvre bien la jarre
pour la proteger.
(“I drink potable water so that I'll
stay healthy. And I make sure to cover the water jug so that the
water stays clean.”)
We sing this song to the tune of “Row,
Row, Row Your Boat”. Now if only I could get them to sing it in a
round!
How do your students/classes in Benin compare to your students/classes in France?
ReplyDeleteIronically, even though the classes are larger, I find classroom management much easier. I team teach here with the classroom teachers or principals, and I am in awe of how they manage to keep the class attentive and behaved.
ReplyDeleteOne day, however, the principal decided that I should teach four classes at once - more than 200 students in all - and then he got called off for a meeting and left me alone with all of those students. Strangely, the group of 200+ was still easier to manage than 30 kids in France.
I would guess many feel that it is a privilege to go to school since not everyone does, but I suspect there are other reasons as well. What would you say?
ReplyDeleteI asked one elementary school teacher if he uses corporal punishment on his students. He said yes, even though a poster in the school says that it is strictly forbidden. However, since school is not mandatory and attending is a choice, he cannot hit the kids very much or else they will simply stop coming to school.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that there is strict discipline at home and perhaps fear of bad behavior reported to parents. Since discipline has changed in this country we have more difficulty with that in school. It hasn't always been that way. It has it's pluses and minuses.
ReplyDeleteJean Ralley
Actually, there is a shocking lack of parental involvement in many areas of a child's life, especially school, so I doubt anything would be reported back to the parents. Kids are surprisingly well-behaved here, especially consider the class size.
ReplyDelete