Today we were honored to visit 3 schools here in Ghana. Our day was a long one but well worth every minute. We have successfully set up connections with 2 private schools and 1 parochial school. This connection began with our meeting the staff at the various schools. Teachers took time out of their busy days to sit and talk with us, sharing their practices and methodology. We in turn told a bit about the United States educational system, our experiences teaching at the Springfield Renaissance School, and expeditionary learning. Ghanaian teachers were warm, friendly, and full of sharply intelligent observations and questions. One of the most heated questions was about corporal punishment-- teachers had heard that students are never beaten in America and could not imagine how order could be maintained without this discipline method. One teacher mentioned that the few American students who had transferred to the school were very stubborn and asked why this was.
The Gilead Academy was the first school we visited. A relatively new school, in its eighth year, students at the Gilead Academy were dressed in pristine uniforms and were the picture of polite, focused scholars. The classes we visited ( a level six class which is equivalent to our sixth grade and a level 2 class which is the same as our second grade class) both had an average of 15 students. We told students all about snow and asked questions about President Obama and natural disasters in North America.
Vicande Primary School was a much larger school (1,200 students total ranging from 1st through 8th grade) and the thing that struck us first was the average of 45 students per class.
At each school students stand when an adult enters the room and the person is greeted with a "Good Morning (Sir or Madam)!" There is an overwhelming sense of respect and interest in Ghanaian schools only outmatched by the overwhelming lack of facilities and materials. The computer lab at this school had ten computers total for its student population. Upon being asked what advice we would leave these students with, Ms. Adel told them to "always ask questions and think for yourselves". This garnered quite a few student smiles.
The third school we visited was a Presbyterian government (public) school where Headmistress Amelia Ajuiyeiwaa was a charismatic and generous hostess. We were taken to see three different (8th grade) classes full of bright and charming Ghanaian students. These students asked what was fast becoming the most popular question, "In the United States do you beat students when they do something wrong in school?" When we responded that teachers would be fired for such behavior there was a cheer. The United States has quite a few fans here in Ghana now.
At each school, we asked the students to write a letter about themselves that we could bring back to our students in the fall and create personal relationships. The students worked diligently at this task in each classroom. It seemed to resonate with the students that we wanted to teach our students more about Africa-- the students seemed very aware that stereotypes abound about Africa. One student asked, "why do Americans think we live like monkeys in trees?" At least one student in each classroom asked about American racism in one way or another-- asking why black people are treated badly or if the black students are schooled separately. We responded to all that it was our goal to educate our students as much as possible about the realities of modern day Ghana- the beautiful trees, the wonderful people, and the delicious food. We explained how important it is to disspell stereotypes and spread goodwill between our countries. We are truly hopeful that our work here will be richly rewarded.