Top five reasons school is easier the second time around:
5. Smoother transition. My relationship with my students overall is much, much better. I don't have to spend time learning their names, figuring out who has behavior issues, who I can rely on to be class leaders. Also, they're used to me: my rules, my accent, my zaniness. We're all a lot happier this year!
4. We got teachers! My school's personnel issue has improved vastly. Last year, on a good day we had 4 teachers, including myself and my principal. In reality, it was more like 1 or 2, with my flaky Directeur des Etudes (assistant principal) who hated my principal and pushed the students to wage a war against him, and my principal leading the national legislative elections for my region and therefore traveling at least once a week. That left just me and Monsieur Kamano, the school's chemistry and physics teacher. This year we have been so incredibly lucky. First, the village managed to pool together some resources and to hire two community members, unemployed college grads, to both teach part-time this year (more on that later). Then, the government sent two new teachers: a history/geography teacher, and a French teacher (which we so, so desperately needed). Therefore our numbers have jumped up to 7 teachers including the principal! He is so elated, he doesn't know what to do with himself, having a real faculty. The other day he invited all of the teachers over to his house, where he provided us with a chicken dinner (a huuuuge delicacy in Guinea).
3. ... And those teachers are motivated! Because of this jump in the number of teachers, I've been able to carry out some projects I'd been wanting to do since last year. A few weeks ago, we hosted a Journee de la Sante (Health Day) at my school. There were four themes that we covered: malaria, tobacco and its health risks, hygiene, and sexual health. Two of the other teachers at my school helped out, Tess (the volunteer 12 miles away) came and taught a lesson, and the rest of the faculty assisted in carrying out the day smoothly. Afterwards, they were thrilled with how it went, and suggested every other month we host a conference for the students on different themes. The best part of the day was the evening, when several students came over to my hut (unprompted) to thank me for providing them with the information they'd learned that day.
2. I've been promoted. Since I've been here for a year, I have a lot more pull with what goes on at our school. My principal now looks to me to give punishments to students for misbehavior or tardiness, which is good because I can steer him away from unjust punishments like whipping (yes, that does happen here). Hilariously enough, with the disappearance of my Directeur des Etudes, I have been promoted to Madame la Directrice. Yes, that means I am the assistant principal at my school. Nuts.
1. I have 22 children. In total, I spend 14 hours a week in 10th grade alone. It's the smallest class (22 kids), they are certainly the most motivated (they are facing the high school entrance exam at the end of this year), and if my matronly side has ever come out, it's with these kids. It's definitely tough love...I'm hard on them... but they know I care about them. Also, I've given them all American names that they have fully embraced. Many may or may not be named after some of my friends back at home...
But there are some things that really have been hard this go around:
During vacances not one, not two, but three of my female students (one in 7th grade and two in 8th grade) were married off. These are great girls: some of the more active students in my girls' club, attended school regularly, and actually studied. One story is especially upsetting. An older man from Kankan was promised to marry one of my 10th grade girls. When he came to Cissela to fetch her, she ran away. After expressing his anger and disappointment with the village for promising him a young wife, another man in my village offered up his daughter (Mariame, one of my best 8th graders) to take the place of Tidanke, the girl who fled. With no say in the matter, Mariame was immediately taken away to Kankan. I haven't seen or heard from her since last year. This all happened when I was away for the summer, but when I came back my principal angrily told me the story. Similarly, just this past week my 16-year-old 9th grader, Hawa, was promised to a 60-year-old man. She was horrified and confided in me in tears that she didn't want to marry him. My principal got the local authorities involved and tried to convince Hawa's parents to let her continue with her schooling, but they were enticed by the hefty bride price that was offered. She was essentially forced into marrying a man; she is his 3rd wife and his fourth child is the same age as Hawa. Things like this make me so angry and force me to fight back tears.
Additionally, I'm beginning to question how much the general population of Cissela sees the importance in education. My students' parents are incredibly hands off; they very rarely ask their children for their grades and 90% of them do not attend the award ceremony we hold at the end of each trimester. They also don't seem to care whether or not their children show up to school on time or at all, which makes tardiness and absence a huge issue. One of my 10th graders literally comes to school twice a week. However, when it comes to complaining about the functioning of our school, parents suddenly care a whole lot. Many complain incessantly about how our school lacks teachers and that their kids are not getting all of the subjects they need. I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled we were when we got word that the government was sending 2 new teachers. It's up to the community to provide their housing; my principal informed the village chief a month in advance and he promised that he'd find a hut for each of the new teachers. However, when they arrived a full month later, the chief acted like we'd never asked him to help us out. My principal himself had to pull many strings to find housing for both of them, so fortunately they didn't flee. Similarly, the village signed a contract with the 2 community teachers to pay them each 200,000 Guinean francs/month (about $30), yet at the end of the month they couldn't (or wouldn't) come up with the money. Again, it fell to my principal to call a big meeting with the authorities, teachers, and parents of students (1 of whom showed up), to figure out a payment plan for those teachers. It's lose-lose: either we don't have teachers and everyone complains, or we get teachers but they are unwelcome.
I guess these difficulties are made a whole lot harder by the fact that it's my second year, so I feel really invested in the success of my school and my students. It's particularly frustrating to have so many things completely beyond my control.
Well, ca va. I can currently take a break from constantly obsessing over school, since it is December break! I'm in Conakry, here to pick up.... MOM AND DAD! They are visiting beautiful Guinea for one week. I can't wait to show them around, but it's a little terrifying to consider all of the things that could go wrong! Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'll be picking them up at the airport Christmas night.... talk about a holiday treat. :) Merry Christmas from Guinea!
