11/21/2002:

some notes here. it's late. and my sleep has been off:

had to salvage a sinking lesson, Chemistry of Life, with Year 1 at GTTC. it's tough to teach that class. only 3 students in it! i just said forget it... let me lecture. almost lost my patience. kept cool, though. some parts were tough. i had to answer my own questions. but we moved on... gotta adapt. be flexible.finally got my hands on that book in the Saudi fatwa series. the one with the section on the Tijani tariqa. those Wahhabis are merciless, i tell you! they seldom mention the tariqa by name without calling its people the staunchest of infidels, misguided polytheists (i.e. shirk). they say you cannot pray behind them, cannot marry from them, cannot pray on their departed, etc. while i can't deny that i still have some purist tendencies, leftover from ISA and especially on issues of shirk and the seal of prophecy, these fatwas are just too much. you can't just excommunicate people left and right. it takes much more حِلم [forbearance] than that... والله أعلم [and God knows best]. just back from taraweeh [ramadan evening prayers] at Buba's. they got into another heated conversation after prayer. it was about this same topic / same book above. but to go back to a point from last week. i really enjoy conversing with and hearing these shabab [young men] converse. reminds me of myself and the fellas [shabab] back home. academic debates with influences from Shakespeare to Plato to the Prophet. a foot in the West, and the other in the East. a wide stance, indeed. and, these days, as these worlds seem to drift apart, it feels like we're being forced to choose which side we're on. to lift one foot off one of these worlds or risk being torn in two. but is that right? is that the only way to conceive of this? i had two points to make, based on these conversations with the shabab, in terms of education: come to terms with our ambivalence between "Western secular" education and "Islamic religious" studies. i feel like most educated young mulsim men our age, at one time of their lives or another, feel torn between the two. wanting both, but too often seeing them in conflict, and feeling forced to compromise one for the other. and it makes no sense. i've had friends both here and in the US tell me they want to leave "western/secular" schooling and go off to study religion... be it nigeria or saudi arabia. again, it makes no sense. what is "secular" education, anyway? which brings me to my 2nd point... come to terms with the fact that our faith does not ask us to choose between it and secular education. in fact, it questions the notion of "secular" knowledge and calls upon us to pursue knowledge in all fields. and so – for the sake of this "torn" generation, the generations to follow, and our faith itself – we need to find (or re-establish) a way to do both. to educate ourselves religiously, and for lack of a better word, "secularly." والله أعلم

Note I posted on my door.

11/21/2002:

...long days. kata, cough and fasting are knocking me out in the evenings. haven't been writing much. at GPS [govt. primary school] today. observed some lessons. some students doing better. talked to the VP briefly.

we had a few teacher meetings at GPS. faculty teachers [the teaching staff at GTTC]. cooperating teachers [teaching staff at the practice schools]. student teachers [our GTTC students, the teachers in training]. basically, the VP laid down the law. told us/them how things should run. better late than never, even he admitted. so...

no more marking lesson notes at home. instead, at school on MWF. that should be fun! especially as faculty teachers barely show up. something like 4 out of 9 at the 3 schools today: nursery school, GPS I and II. and we have to mark lesson notes, observe and give feedback! right... we keep begging for more teachers. the admin says even the handful they sent out were like pulling teeth. 2-2000 cfa each.

i walked back towards town with the VP and Mr. Nsuh... talked about Auntie and what she's doing to our school. how it could/should be running. let's just hope that if/when she's replaced, we get a leader. in the true sense of the term. the VP shows occasional hints of it. professionally, at least. but what to say of him personally? really?...

11/20/2002:

i'm at GBSS. 10:15am. moral instruction is on now. now-now.

but i'm just from [teaching practice at] the primary school, where things are not moving well. not enough of us TTC teachers. i spend all my time marking lesson notes and little to no time observing or giving feedback. and that's what our students need most!

they just can't seem to deliver their lessons well. the lesson notes are well written. but poor, stiff, passive, forced, uninteresting, un-interactive lessons. anyway, it's only week 1 of teaching practice. by week 2 and then the 2nd and 3rd terms they'll be better, insha'Allah.

i'll continue after this class. this afternoon. still gotta go up to GTTC. Allah ya'een.

11/18/2002:

Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)

What are the 3 phases (states of matter) of "H20"?Liquid = WaterSolid = IceGas = Vapor

How does H20 changes from one to the other?FreezingEvaporationCondensationMelting"The water cycle involves the alternating of H20 between these 3 states through the processes of evaporation, condensation and melting as H20 passes between oceans, air and land."

Random ordered outline activity! First student do to it right wins a prize!

Group Work (~4 groups)

-each group has H20 cycle diagram

-answer the 3Qs, in their books and present them:

Outline/diagram the H20 cycleIdentify the biotic and abiotic factors involvedHow do humans impact this cycle? At which steps? In which ways?

H.W. How might a molecule of H20 that was once in the ocean be part of the meat you eat?

***

this lesson above was OK. but most students are still confused about #3, human impact on the water cycle. specifically, why/how things like deforestation and pollution affect the cycle. we'll go over that by next week, insha'Allah.

just came back from a moonlight stroll with Maggie. moon almost full. 14th of Ramadan. eve of the 15th. first "dry" [non-rainy] moon in months. since Mali even. speaking of since Mali... PCMO [PC medical officer] called earlier. i tested schisto positive. looks like that trip to Yaounde will be a must. treatment should be simple, insha'Allah.

in other news... teaching practice is on. full days. especially with Ramadan. GPS Group II. GTTC. back and forth. watching students struggle. lesson upon lesson. over-talking. they're not listening. they're not getting it. our teachers not showing up. am i the only one marking lesson notes? 4-6pm daily. little time to rest. no time to cook.

why don't we have more teachers assigned to the school? they're idle. why can't things be more organized? why can't teachers be responsible and professional... let alone organized, effective, productive leaders. is there never a plan of action? a pre-meeting. are we all on the same page? never.

am i going to tell Auntie what her problem is? what our administration's problems are? and the school's? is that my problem? will they listen? do they care? let me stop.

i need to write about some conversations i've had with the shabab [guys; i'm referring to my young muslim male friends in wum]. Bubas and Yusufu. on topics like...

ideas of Islamic vs. "secular" educationours being a tradition of knowledgethat's it really.

11/15/2002:

kata [mucus; stuffy nose & throat] and cough knocked me out last night. also a lot of food in my belly. i ate hummus and pizza at Maggie's. i'm sure allergies didn't help my kata and cough. that cat disturbs me! could not even breath right when i got home.

the crew came in from their nkambe-nyos-wum trek on wednesday. tired and a little less than positive about their journey/adventure. yet in good spirits. it rained on them the first 2 days/nights. little sleep. lack of food. injuries. gendarmes issues at Lake Nyos. regardless, they're alive to tell about it.

i did Moral Instruction at GBSS on "ramadan and fasting" a couple days ago. went OK, i think. it's too general of a topic. i did "patience" at GHS yesterday. went better. it went well, actually. they're also more used to me.

the Bubas, Yusufu and i are organizing a Qur'an competition, on juzu' 3amma [the last 30th of the Qu'ran]. 4 categories. by the end of Ramadan, insha'Allah. with Qur'ans as prizes. of various sizes. my prediction: that little girl in GHS will win a prize (if not 1st prize) in category 1.

one note... as i was introducing Imam 'Ali's khutba on patience, i asked about the khulafa'/Caliphs. who were they? who led muslims after the Prophet? people were unsure/didn't follow/didn't know... who came after the Prophet in leading the muslims?

finally, one young man raised his hand and said "Shiekh Ahmed Tijani." OH MY LORD! i just moved on with a simple "no, that's not it brother." OH MY LORD! talk about brainwashing–no, wait, that's not fair. just lack of knowledge. unaware. unread. under-educated.

the blame begins with the parents, i think. it's unfortunate. Yusufu was saying the other day after we prayed taraweeh [ramadan evening prayers] at Buba's that he wouldn't know a thing abuot prayer if it hadn't been on his own initiative. that no one at home told him to pray or read.

i asked about muslim girls in school. there are so few of them. 3 in GBSS. 2 in GHS. sad... again, gotta go back to the parents. but can we simply blame them? do they, on their part, know any better? did their parents know any better?

subhan-Allah, how much parents are responsible for... for generations. not just our children, but of entire peoples. alhamdulillah for mine... God bless the. they've done their part. Lord guide and protect us... help us do our part.

11/12/2002:

it's market day. i ran into Adam from Kousséri [northern Cameroonian town bordering Chad] in the market. he's the young man teaching the kids at the Omaru compound Arabic and Qur'an. he's also their imam [prayer leader] for Ramadan. nice guy, nice voice.

i broke fast and prayed taraweeh [evening prayers during Ramadan] with them last night, at the compound. really enjoyed it. a lot of food. good company. Ibrahim, Manjou, Alhadjijo, Usmanu, Haruna, Sani [the older Omaru brothers]...

hold on, there seems to be a mouse stuck somewhere in the kitchen. i'll investigate, then explain...

--OK, strange. no sign of it....i was saying that i enjoyed the company, food and prayers at chez Omaru. we ate in Saleh's place [another Omaru brother]. low, soft couches and carpet. the mold was killing me! comfortable though. pictures all over the wall, of Sheikh Ahmed Tijani and Sheikh Ibrahim [Niasse]. i mean all over. i even got a brief bio on the latter sheikh from a couple of the guys. something about 75 years, 75 children and 75 "hadiths"...

i didn't get that last part, but Adam explained that they were poems or odes in praise of the prophet. Adam also talked about the tariqa [sufi path], somewhat indirectly. he's not a follower, but also not one to take issue with it. he's simply keeping quiet, which is wise. i asked him if he thought some of the local followers were being misguided by itinerant sheikhs. he said they weren't. i didn't ask any more questions.

Adam's problem is the food. it's lack of variety. which came as a surprise to me, coming from a northerner like him. but i suppose rice or fufu with sauce and some bland pap [bouillie de maïs] every day can get tired quick. he's just looking for some flavor, he said. probably also missing his family. aren't we all?

so i was saying that i ran into Adam in the market today, buying fruit. avocados, tomatoes and bananas. for a little salad and something sweet. i told him i'd give him dates if he came over to my place. he said he'd come around on saturday morning.

11/11/2002:

Arthropods and Insects

Applied Science, Year 2

Objectives: After observing, analyzing and discussing, by lesson end students will be able to...

State the general characteristics of arthropodsList all 4 classes of arthropods with examplesState the general characteristics of insects, those they share and differ from other arthropodsDraw and correctly label a grasshopperDiscuss the diversity of insects and identify the characteristics that contribute to insect "success." ...

11/12/2002:

Introducing Environmental Education

Environmental Education, Year 1

Objectives: After discussing and evaluating, by lesson end students will be able to...

Define the term environment in their own wordsIdentify and describe any prior EE exposure they've hadExplain why it is important that they study EE here at the GTTCCompare and contrast a formal definition of the term environment with their ownIdentify and explain the two main strands of EEOutline our Year 1 EE SOW [Scheme of Work]

11/11/2002:

i saw the devil walking down the street today. staggering a bit. visibly drunk.

he saw me, too. and for a brief moment, when our eyes met, i think both of us thought of saying something. but then quickly thought better of it.

there was really nothing to say, both of us knowing ourselves and the other person all too well. but we almost spoke.

in fact, he was so close to speaking that he caught himself only just in time to raise his hand, turn his face and say "oh no, i shouldn't talk to you."

somehow, i wasn't surprised. i suppose i agreed with his conclusion. and so went on my way.

now, i think of the encounter and chuckle. amusing. funny little encounter there in the middle of town, in broad daylight.

i passed the devil on the street today. he was so drunk he thought better of saying anything.

11/11/2002:

we had another boring staff meeting. completely useless. not even humorous this time. our administration, it seems to me, is as much at fault as we teachers are for the deplorable state of the school. and Auntie takes the brunt of that blame. she's got to go! i'm convinced of that. my talk with my APCD reaffirmed it. i don't know what to say about the VP, DS and the Bursar.

we have nothing at that school that indicates it even is one. a functional one, at least. at 3:30pm one could pass through our "campus" (3 or 4 rooms and as many offices) and think the place has been empty for months. it's a shame.

i asked the DS and SG [dean of students and secretary general] for tape this morning. not "can i use your tape?" but "do you have tape?" that being the only way to phrase such inquiries at our school, if they're to be phrased at all.

they both, of course, said no.

i shook my head in affirmation. of course you don't have tape. "how about gum [glue]?"

ummm... "no."

right, of course not.

then we all exchanged glances and chuckled. of course.

we all laughed. them a little embarrassed, i think. me... well, i just laughed. not really at them. but maybe just a little. in pity. but mostly i laughed because... well, what's one to do in that situation? laugh or cry. take your pick.

11/11/2002:

happy birthday maggie!

...she's somewhere between Nkambe and Wum right now. it rained here for the past 3-4 days. ASHIA! i pray all is well with them. it's ajmal, tate, the two shannons and maggie. i expect them to show up by Tuesday or Wednesday??? tired, i'm sure. of trekking. and of each other, perhaps.

11/10/2002:

i haven't been writing well lately... lack of focus???

11/10/2002:

"The young person who has trained to be disciplined will, in the final analysis, survive better than the one who has been instructed to wear a piece of rubber and continue with 'business as usual'... When we fail to tell our children that there are limitations to human freedom... When we fail to teach our young that there are some moral absolutes and they must reckon with them or perish, then we do grievous harm to the future of the human race."-Janet Museveni, First Lady of Uganda...and Uganda has made Africa's – if not the world's – most dramatic and positive gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS. from 30% to 6% in the past few years. supposedly with a combination of abstinence and fidelity advocacy, dynamic political leadership, and compassionate social programs for those with HIV/AIDS.

the first lady criticizes the UN policy of promoting condoms, condoms, condoms. the cheap and easy way out? i'm not ready to get into this debate. reference my entries a couple of journals ago about talks with Pa Wango. suffice it to say here that condoms alone cannot stop AIDS in Africa.

i think i said something about a band-aid on a finger that keeps getting cut. what does the hand keep getting itself into? condoms do work. should be used and distributed. i just wonder if we're not selling ourselves short morally if we think this is the most effective means. i think that's what the first lady is saying.

11/9/2002:

"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope." -Reinhold Niebuhr...a quote from CD Strauss' swearing-in speech in Dschang, 2002. that is what this - us being here, the peace corps - is about, isn't it? hope. for the future. what we ought to be working for.

he said he was asked why peace corps cameroon is still here after 40 years. the quote answers that. 40 years is short. not in our lifetime is anything worth doing achieved.

11/8/2002:

good day today. feels like a pleasant summer afternoon back home. the last few days have felt like this, as we move into the dry season. these transitions between seasons here are great. such pleasant weather.

my APCD paid me a visit. a "how are you?" visit, as he put it. but we talked about quite a few things. in fact, i'm really very happy with the entire thing. go figure! between this visit today and my talk with the CD, our administration is actually being receptive/responsive.

i was pleasantly surprised by my APCD today. the things he said about the teacher training program i would've never expected from him. same man i had that conversation with in Yaounde a few weeks ago? it's like night and day.

i guess he'd heard it from enough people (and seen it himself in Nkambe, at least) that our teacher training program... well, sucks. to put it a little less than technically. i vented about students, teachers and school admin. he listened. talked, too, of course. and i even asked and got answers to long-time questions:

Q: why not primary school PCV teachers? A: because we're over-qualified, capacity building is low, and their needs too great or numbers too big. Q: why not educational consulting PCVs working in an entire town at various schools? A: because we'd have to work with a local delegation office (Lord no!) and need PCVs with skills which aren't easy to find.these aren't absolute/final answers... but they were good to hear, regardless. i still think we could diversify our approach, and take PCV placement case-by-case. placing some here, some there. according to their skills. that's probably tough to manage, though. they are thinking about placement in technical schools. SARs [i've forgotten what this acronym stands for?], too. but who'll have those skills coming in? anyway. at least i got decent answers. acceptable. and no doors shut.

i'm telling you! this was a different man. i wonder if the CD spoke with him? he even copied down the numbers i showed him on NW/SW TTC [teacher training college] admissions. he said he'd take them to MINEDUC [education ministry] in Yaounde and speak to the man in charge of TTCs/ENIEGs. ask him why they're so low and what they're going to do, if anything, to change that.

so he'll get it from the horse's mouth, instead of all this local speculation about whether the government will or will not do anything about our situation. no assimilation. low attendance. low motivation. if not apathy. too many teachers. i'd love to hear what this man in charge has to say about all that. i'll have to follow-up with my APCD.

hmmm... we also spoke about extension. transferring to Morocco, 1st. extending up North, 2nd. he'd hoped i'd entertain staying on as PCVL [peace corps volunteer leader] in Bamenda. ummm... no. i don't know??? all that - transferring, extending, etc. - seems distant now. a remote possibility. what changed? me, family, grad school? God knows.

get this. my APCD even told Auntie that if she didn't get more students next year, no PCV. i think she just won't get a PCV, regardless. we went out to visit GBSS [govt bilingual secondary school]. my APCD knows the principal there well. seems they were classmates. seems he had a PCV in Bafmen before. even asked my APCD to send another his way. good for him. i'm going to strongly recommend one. will fill out the site prospective form in december, insha'Allah. after i do some more research on the school.

i hope to be as blunt with Auntie as my APCD was today. should've seen how deferential she was to him! really, though... why do we humor her? protocol, yes. but i should just tell it like it is. i ain't gonna lose a job. she needs to hear why she (not she, our school) isn't getting a PCV. it's complicated. a shame, also. i don't want to see us pull out of training teachers completely. to lost that capacity building. maybe things will change? in other schools, if not ours.

so my APCD is leaving that option open. and the option for PCVs to teach at a TTC if they wish. he'll make a teacher training component available in PST [pre-service training]. albeit limited. i doubt secondary school teachers will look for more teaching hours at their local TTC, though. and vice-versa.

so... some questions answered. some questions remain. all in all, i'm quite satisfied.

11/6/2002:

SIV/Bushmeat Article and Questions

[Newsweek, July 8, 2002 – "Breeding Grounds"]

How could SIV have led to HIV? Give 2 current examples. How can the risk of exposure to and/or infection with SIV be minimized? Identify 3 practices.Do you think it is more important to identify the origin of HIV/AIDS and prevent new diseases or to concentrate on controlling the current HIV/AIDS crisis? Explain.

11/6/2002:

saw the hilal today. just before sunset. clear sky. i smiled and was happy to see it. Daouda and Mommy Petel, too. we agreed that it must be a couple days old. الله أعلم. no matter. still beautiful.

11/5/2002:

i was reading about water in The Healing Wisdom of Africa yesterday. about tears, sadness, grief, anger, rage and frustration. about keeping things inside. not properly grieving over lost loved ones. or about failure and loss.

Malidoma Somé calls for water rituals to address this pent up grief. water brings balance and realignment. it counteracts the fire that can rise and rage within us if we don't grieve. if we only move on/away from loss and keep busy.

i don't know about his rituals. not for me. but there's wisdom in his insight. and his comments on grief hit home. he wrote something i recall telling Rama once myself. reflecting my refusal to express or deal with emotion because of the fear of losing control.

according to Somé, this is symptomatic of our denial of grief's social component. we deal with loss and failure alone. but in doing so, we don't really deal with it. it's kept inside. it's pent up. it grows and swells. one day it will burst.

the flood gates will open, and Somé says that's not so bad. i'll quote him on this, then quote Emily Dickinson. her poem speaks for itself.

"I have heard many times people express their fear of grief because they feel that if they even begin to release it, they will be overcome, eventually drowning in their own tears. Indeed, this is how it feels, but this is not what actually happens" (p. 220)

"You cannot truly grieve within and remain composed without. Emotion is an extroverted phenomenon, and it cannot find its much-need release if expressed only internally" (p. 220)

"The end of the domination of one's life by such emotions requires an outpouring of liquid" (p. 220)

The Bustle in a House

The Morning after Death

Is solemnest of industries

Enacted opon Earth –

The Sweeping up the Heart

And putting Love away

We shall not want to use again

Until Eternity –

11/5/2002:

day 1, fasting. insha'Allah the rest of the family is, too. they didn't call. we, on our part, did not sight the moon. but Cameroon and Nigeria say the did. so we fast... i wonder. we always argue about seeing the hilal [crescent moon, in Arabic]. i have faith that our people saw it not too far from us. but we, here [in Wum], did not.

the thought occurred to me this morning as i looked up and saw an overcast sky. Ramadan is here and the rain is still falling. but i'm no longer carrying the raincoat or the nalgene. and i like this journal.

i gave 3A [3rd year students] Paul's test today. then used his second period with them to read the bushmeat/SIV article. they listened but also talked, whined, groaned, and slept. i just about lost my temper. then i asked the question, "why are you here?"

they answered. and laughed. and squirmed. my people have a saying, شر البلية ما يضحك = at the worst of times, we laugh. we laugh to keep from crying. we laugh when we should be crying.

my students' answers to the question:

for a jobto be a teachera last resortrunning away from responsibilityfor moneyetc. etc. etc.i asked the question again. "why are you here?" then asked them to think about and answer it themselves. i think the school needs to reassess its commitment to being here. everyone... students, teachers and administration.

11/3/2002:

it's Sunday evening. haven't gotten much school work done. but i did read through that yale bulletin. their school of forestry and environmental studies. has some attractive programs. MS in Env Management, Science or Forestry... opportunities for dual degrees in management or int'l relations. the school sounds good. really good. but living in connecticut? i don't know. we go see... insha'Allah.

i need to write rama a letter. and to email OMZ. i'm trying to get through a little-big writer's block. right... what to say? i'm also procrastinating. got a couple exams to write. tests, actually.

we're in week 2 of GLOBE, and people are still interested. but we need to keep it growing/going. more stuff to do and stuff to do it with.

i made a comment about this journal getting beat up in my lumbar-pack... between my raincoat and my nalgene [bottle]. something about the dry season or Ramadan coming soon. so i'll stop carrying either or... or both. Ramadan is in a few days, insha'Allah. and, until today the rain had ceased. but it's been raining all afternoon. i'm sure my notebook can survive a few more days of bends and bruises.

"Place where pussy di chop Chrismas, rat no fit pass for dat side." ...this is Ibrahim's pidgin translation of a proverb from the BBC's Network Africa. it was aired in English, but i like the pidgin version much better.

10/31/2002:

na me dis o! Happy Halloween. maggie, manjou and me ate candy. gave some to the kids.

another long thursday. GHS EE Club and Moral Instruction went well. then i listened to Off the Shelf [?] up at school. on my shortwave. it's a BBC [radio] program. kinda like a book on tape. the last one was The Count of Monte Cristo. this one was The Devil that Danced on the Water, by Aminatta Forna. daughter of onetime Sierra Leonean dissident Mohamed Forna.

good book. the setting, i like. the story, i like. characters, i like. how she speaks/describes her father, i like. her voice – that it's her book and her voice on the radio – i like. makes me want to write a book. i will, insha'Allah.

i read more White Man of God up at school. leaving it there and reading bit-by-bit. also read about ecology. in a big red biology textbook from our school library. made me want to study science again. i find it fascinating.

also read about HIV. Bridget just asked a question about that in class today. about perinatal HIV transmission. what, if any, is the rate of transmission through the placenta? the big red bio book said 25-50%. i think it's much less. we'll see...

Buba asked a question in Moral Instruction about sneezing, and the etiquette around the blessing of a sneeze. what is the significance behind a sneeze? interesting. gotta look that up, too!

i love teaching. i'm good at it. hamdillah.

so... i finalized the EE SOW with my 3rd year students today. 8 weeks into the term! i may see them again for 2 or 3 more weeks/times. we laughed. at the futility of it all. we should've been crying. but i pray the exercise was/will be helpful. that exposure to developing topics and sequencing them [i.e. curriculum development] will benefit the students in the future.

we'll try to cover a couple of the important ones. Biodiversity and Conservation. Desertification? Urban Migration and Population. Lake Nyos? i made a plug for the EE Charts we have up at school. not just as teaching-learning aids, but as textbooks of a sort. and good references.

GLOBE is going well. i want to get 2nd year involved. this saturday, insha'Allah. gotta get school library keys.

i also want to have another general topic for the students to write about. like "why are you here?" justify the time, money and effort of this your education. in light of many things. like apathy, lack of motivation, assimilation [into civil service teaching posts] and opportunity. why are you here? why am i here?

"Honour and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honour lies."

...what M.S. Forna wrote in his daughter Aminatta's autograph book when she was young. it made sense to her only later.

10/29/2002:

2 positive notes:

i'm in the kitchen again. mama came just in time b/c i was sick of the place. barely stepped foot in it while she was here. God bless her! now it's taken me a week to really step back in there. Ibrahim actually made the observation to me earlier today. he dropped in for zuhur [midday prayer] as the rain started to fall. yes, the rain fell. anyway, i'm not trying to spend all that much time in the kitchen. Ramadan is coming, insha'Allah. that'll help!

i'm also getting out and doing things again. out of bed. out of the house. go see that man. talk to that women. get that. buy that. don't just sit there. get up, get out and get things done. discipline. insha'Allah it'll continue. no excuses. get out there.

10/28/2002:

Proposed 3rd Year EE SOW [Env. Educ. Scheme of Work]

Intro to Ecosystems (review Biotic, Abiotic and Edaphic factors)Energy Flow and Pyramid of #sBiodiversity and ConservationDeforestation and Bush-fires (Carbon Cycle)Global Warming and Greenhouse EffectDesertification and Drought (Food Crises)Urban Migration and PopulationAgroforestry (Nitrogen Cycle)Alternative Energy SourcesAir/Water Pollution and Waste ManagementLake Nyos Disaster Case Study

10/28/2002:

Mu'aathu came over this evening for his 1st Arabic lesson. went well. very well, actually. i was worried. b/c his level is higher than Sufyan's [another friend i was teaching Arabic]... not sure i could "keep up," if you will. on the contrary. it seems that Mu'aathu's lessons may go smoother/better than Sufyan's. he knows enough that i don't struggle... i can speak Arabic more easily and freely. he understands some. even reads well. let's hope both lessons keep going well. all is going well.

10/26/2002:

Ali came over yesterday. brought me names of the girls in school for the EDDI scholarships, insha'Allah. he stayed a while. there was a brief – very brief – moment when i was unsure what to talk about. i brought up the topic of the dead/dying chickens... that's all it took. 1 hour and 45 minutes later, with Ali talking and my occasional "na true - for sure - na so it be - that is it," we prayed dhuhur [midday prayer] and he left.

what did we discuss? everything! Ali was dropping knowledge. imparting wisdom. seriously. he get sense ya! and a way with words. can turn a phrase like nobody's business. pragmatic. unbiased. witty. honest/forthright. progressive. we/he talked about farmer-grazier conflicts, court-case corruption, endless/useless bribing, fulani-native relations, the Ardu [local Fulani chief] and his people, Ukpwa land issues...

Ali is open and honest. tells it like it is. he'll break down the issues but not leave it at that... he gives his opinion on solutions. what he would've done. simple but direct solutions. and i think that makes all the difference... someone who has the insight into problems but proposed solutions, as well. practical solutions. with compromise and understanding. gotta respect someone like that.

two things he said that i'm not trying to forget and thus practice, insha'Allah:

power is with the majority, not the leader. it is with the people. (this was in reference to going to leaders to work out farmer-grazier conflicts instead of working them out as neighbors... with the people... i think???) a wise leader follows his people as much as they follow him.

and strength is in family/community. nowhere else. a man with no family is without true allies. and often without strength.

let me end with a memorable quote, on the amicable solution to farmer-grazier issues based on working them out as neighbors – without involving the higher-ups. "you know, sometime he go broke corn, give you." [i.e. the farmer will share his corn with the grazier]. and that classic Ali laugh and wink.

10/26/2002:

string for magnetice-waterpH timer (20 secs)

beakersignificant digits: 0.0 or 0.00?...this is the list of items for some GLOBE protocols. i met with a handful of students yesterday up at school. we installed the thermometer, rain gauge and took some cloud measurements. small is beautiful. students were saying that most of the m weren't around, and that we should postpone the meeting. i denied. 1st next week, then next month, then... you know how it is. just do it.

yeah... on that front. Maggie and i were contemplating the trek (Nkambe-Wum) as early as next week. before Ramadan. but i check say i no go walka [pidgin: i think i'm not going]. i'm afraid (and i know she's disappointed... a little) that i'm backing out. school commitments. i go shiddown fine for dis side [pidgin: i'm going to settle down here].

i've got books to mark before i go out to GHS [Govt High School] again to do GLOBE measurements. BTW, it stopped raining yesterday. well, at least it didn't rain for a day. the irony... we just put the rain gauge up.

10/25/2002:

hmmm... thought that i'd not written in here for a while. not so. yesterday and today were long days. both good. the lecture [a pedagogic seminar that i helped organize and present on learning/teaching styles] went well yesterday. have not talked to Peter and Paul about it, but i imagine they also feel the same. the VP had nothing but praise for the effort.

in fact, he really surprised me yesterday. several of his comments were right on the mark, timely and helpful. explaining, emphasizing and even making missed points. he really did show a glimpse of what we need in our administration. insight. leadership. motivation. knowledge.

he said something to me about the fact that most teachers conveniently left before 1pm. he said that people who don't produce have a certain view on people who do. 'nough said. the VP... a man of 2 faces. if he just had some scruples. c'est dommage.

another dommage is "my" chicken. the one "Iron Lady" brought mama the night before she left. i gave it to Ibrahim to keep until... and the though crossed my mind that "what if it dies?" BAD LUCK! it did. got sick and died. but it doesn't end there. 7 other chickens, all Abdou's [Ibrahim's brother], got sick. had to be slaughtered. and there are still 3 more sick chickens. subhan Allah!

10/24/2002:

GTTC 2002 Admissions #s:

NWP [Northwest Province]

Bamenda = 46Fundong = 23Mbengwi* = 23Nkambe* = 6Wum* = 15Ndop... new!

SWP [Southwest Province]

Buea = 76Bangem = 24Fontem* = 13Kumba* = 56Mamfe* = 14Mundemba* = 14Limbe... new![*GTTC's with PCVs holding teaching posts]

10/22-23/2002:

at one point in our brunch convo last Sunday Robert asked me how school was going. right. good question. i gave him my honest, biased, unabashed and scathing opinion. good answer. we discussed the issue. he asked some questions. i answered. we spoke about our program [PCVs at teacher training colleges] briefly. said i'd speak to my APCD about the situation again. this time with the most recent issue of meager student succession at the GTTC. Robert asked for feedback on the meeting.

i told my APCD that students are disenchanted and no longer interested in TTCs, b/c they're not being hired when they graduate. he, as an APCD of Education (a senior staff member of an int'l development org) says, "sure they're hiring teachers. just look at all the ones here in Yaounde..." no need to even finish the sentence. in fact, i was caught so off guard by the comment that i couldn't react. he didn't even realize what he said/was saying.

are we here to encourage teachers to move to Yaounde to find jobs? are government trained teachers to rely on only private schools for employment? how do any of these alleviate the development issues we face? rural, uneducated, unemployed masses migrating to already overcrowded urban areas. my APCD doesn't even have the #s from this years GTTC entrance. he was quoting COSed volunteers' quarterly reports. file those! they're out-dated. so are you. out dated and out of touch. c'est dommage.

my problem is feedback to Robert. can i be honest, biased, unabashed and scathing?...

10/22/2002:

it's still raining in Wum. steadily. road still bad in 2 or 3 spots. not passable sans 4x4. overnight from Yaounde was short and semi-sweet.

got to the parc [bus station] in Obili right after seeing moms off. she called, by the way... shopping in Paris! God bless her.

i made it to Bamenda by 5am. got in the same Land Rover we took to Bamenda on Saturday (again, with Mr. Nshu) and left by 7:30am. 3 hour journey.

i was spent by the time we reached Wum. still... it was the most direct route, ~12 hours between Yaounde and Wum. not bad. achy bones. sleepy head. patience wasn't tried. so all is well.

it cannot get any greener along that [Bamenda-Wum] road. beautiful scenery. Maggie and i are talking about that trek from Nkambe. in 2 weeks? 13 days until Ramadan. subhan Allah.

10/20/2002:

just before 10pm here at the Hilton in Yaounde. mama will be gone in less than 24 hours. that still hasn't really sunk in. probably not until i get home. we had a pleasant lunch with Robert Strauss and his mother-in-law. a Lebanese-American woman of Syrian origin. she and moms got along well. she hasn't been back since the war. smart, well-spoken older lady. i liked her.

Robert and i spoke a lot at lunch (had the buffet here at the hotel). about peace corps, of course. but i felt good about all we talked about. ETs [early terminations], extending, PCVLs [peace corps volunteer leaders], GTTCs [govt teacher training colleges], APCDs [assoc peace corps directors], etc. etc. etc. he can talk! moms can talk! both told stories... it was a long lunch, 12:30-3:30pm. but, again, a very pleasant one.

i especially liked that Robert's mother-in-law was there. such a nice woman. she said that moms' ya3nees and yallas warmed her heart. that's funny, because Ibrahim asked about the former. Patrick actually made a song about the latter! Robert thought one was my nickname. mama. God bless her!

we ended the day at the mosquée in Tchinga. for isha' [evening prayers]. moms, too. then we sat down in the lounge and talked. a lot. about a lot. mama listened patiently. God bless her.

i plan to fast tomorrow, insha'Allah. 15 شعبان

10/19/2002:

"Psychological hunger is when your house has a view of an oil rig and you still struggle to feed your family everyday."from a BBC report on a northern Angolan oil-rich / people-poor territory, where there's an annual oil revenue of $100,000 per head... but how much do the people get?

...speaking of 100,000, moms and i are in Yaounde now. at the Hilton. long trip down from Wum. 40,000 cfa and 3 hours to Bamenda. 60,000 cfa and 6 hours from Bamenda. left Wum late. it's now mid-night. i wonder about that 100,000 cfa. it bothers me, for a few reasons:

what could've been down with that money. how easy it would've been to spend less. what it meant (to the Cameroonians around us) to spend that much. more specifically, what it shouldn't have meant but did/does. i dislike being called patron. i can't say how moms feels about that. but if i could, i still wouldn't. God bless her.

10/13/2002:

lazy Sunday morning. "fields of gold" playing in the background. just ate فتة حمص [fattet humus] earlier. Paul and Christina passed by to greet on their way back from church. Harvest Thanksgiving. conversation got to weddings. tradition. contemporary customs. our place / your place.

i'm enjoying the amount of cross-culture moms is being exposed to. AND exposing people to, for that matter. and, as always with these cross-cultural conversations, we find that we're just as, if not more, similar as we are different.

i walked Christina home. she mentioned how she liked all the stories and insight moms has. esp. in our cultures' commonalities. i mentioned how moms (in being more traditionally eastern) was closer to their culture than i. Christina said yes, but that moms would make sure i'd not lose that part of my culture.

10/12/2002:

went to ukpwa with mama this morning. sun is definitely getting hotter. the dry season may be on its way after all. but the rainy season is going out with a bang! for sure. roof has even started to leak again. but i digress...

was saying we were out in ukpwa. short visit. small is beautiful. and it was. we saw the mosque. mama liked it. sat down with Alhadji Bira [Ukpwa's elder] and the gang. Ali spoke about how the mosque project went. Mu'aath translated. Alhadji thanked mama. Mu'aath translated.

mama spoke about educating the women in the community, development coming from within in the next generation, and about documenting their people's history - the Fulbe. she'd asked about their origins. that of the people right there in ukpwa or this part of cameroon, at least.

Alhadji said something poignant. that in all the years since the Lake Nyos disaster and with all the people and organizations who've come to help, none of them have ever done anything for their community's faith. until mama. and they won't forget that. or her.

i was touched. as i'm sure she was. mama spoke fine [pidgin's expression for eloquent]. Alhadji spoke fine. Mu'aath translated.

10/10/2002:

Questions on Sustainability Article: Year 3

Newsweek - September 2, 2002, p. 39-41

What is sustainable development?What are the two (2) deadliest environmental problems?According to the article, what is truly needed to solve our environmental problems?

...right. well, I never asked my students the 3 questions above. they were dismissed early. surprise, surprise. we had a staff meeting. and oh what a staff meeting! they keep getting better every time.

we didn't start too late. more-or-less on time, actually. good turn out. the VP stayed in his office and only left 1/2 way through. after the hard rain that kept us from hearing everything clearly subsided. we laughed in the meeting... we laughed to keep from crying.

Menget went off at the DS. who asked a stupid question about why Menget criticized people's presentations at the seminar. he should known better. Menget blew his lid! then cam Kum. who decided he'd comment on the Teacher's Day he didn't even attend.

as soon as Mr. Nshu and i began to object, Kum went off. you know how Kum can be... we (GTTC teachers), principals (including Auntie) and even the DO got "thrashed." we just laughed... at both Menget and Kum, and the DS and Auntie.

funniest thing is that while all of us were either busy laughing or trying to shut them up and sit them down, there was Mr. Muzih writing away – quite seriously – at the minutes! trying hard to keep up with the violent pace of the meeting. can't wait to hear those minutes read next month. i'll be the first to move to accept them. WHAT A RIOT!

anyway... i attempted to say something about the students always leaving before my afternoon classes. how teachers really need to come to class and lean on the students to stay through 3pm. Auntie interpreted that in her own way, of course. she told the SG never to leave before 3:05pm.

as if Mme. Nkwain could/should babysit 3 classes with no other teachers/staff around! just like a people in positions of authority here–cut you short and give an immediate answer, even when your grievance may not have immediate answers. "next!"

so i sat down without even finishing my comment. what's the use?... a year ago, i'm not sure what i would've done. don't think i could've stayed. grinned and bore it. now, i laugh. on vas faire comment? there's just a few months left.

but i'm not that fatalistic or disenchanted. just picking my battles. honestly, i think about what it is i can do. what problem i may be able to address and how i could address it. small and subtle. insha'Allah.

also 10/6/2002:

mama and i have been going for a short walk in the morning. 25-30 mins, instead of my runs. compromise on cardio for a nice walk and talk. both good for the heart.

today we broached the topic of grief. mama asked if i cried. i replied "that's my business." stupid and inconsiderate of me, yes. but the convo went on. mama is bigger than that.

i apologized later in the afternoon, but she wasn't offended. she explained her point, grief needs to be released. crying does that. else it's like sitting on a time-bomb (as Malidoma Somé suggests in The Healing Wisdom of Africa). she also gave some family examples of death and pent-up grief.

then she spoke about men crying over their women, and vice versa. relationships falter and, indeed, crumble. if your partner wants to leave, then check yourself. if it's you and you can/should change, do so. if it's not, then let her or him go. move on. you're better off without them. don't shed any tears.

mama ended all this by saying that it seemed to her that men now aren't like the men she knew. her father and mine. not that they were more manly b/c they didn't cry... but b/c of what they didn't cry over. Allah y'hdeena! [may God guide/grant us].

10/6/2002:

Scientific Method

Year 3 AppSci

Objectives: By lesson end, students will be able to...

State the 5 steps of the scientific methodFormulate an example study that follows the scientific methodEvaluate the importance of the scientific method to scientific authority and our understanding of the world (this is vague?!)------------

Ecosystems

Biotic Interactions and Relationships

Year 2 EE

Objectives: by lesson end, students will be able to...

------------

...right. well, these 2 lessons didn't exactly go well. can't say they flopped, but they were less than stellar. to say the least! esp. the scientific method. need to work on that before 3B [the other half of Year 3] on Wed.

the Year 2 lesson above wasn't too bad. we had a good discussion. increasingly so in that class. could've streamlined the process. blackboard work, in particular. i want to move away from simply writing notes up there, but still... an organized blackboard = organized notebooks. and they need help on that, esp. with less dictation.

on my part, i need help on time management. entered both classes late. left late (no teachers around!). it's probably – no, for certain – a product of poor planning. need to outline the lesson "in advance..."

10/5/2002:

this journal is being bent out of shape. carrying it in my lumbar-pack between the nalgene bottle and my [rolled-up] raincoat is the problem. insha'Allah the rain will cease (or Ramadan will come) before this my journal falls apart.

mama and i made an attempt at participating in Int'l Teacher's Day. sparse march. long wait at the Council Hall. too long. Mayor no dey [pidgin, for not there/present]. DO no dey. SDO no dey. "God dey" ...as one alhadji put it when thanking mama for her support of the upkwa masjid.

back to the Council Hall. only our students and primary school staff were there. as an aside, i spoke with Hamza's teacher. we're on the same page. Mr. Nshu was there. he and i spoke about lack of student motivation. no priority on education. needing someone to talk to them.

we even developed a debate topic around the idea. so as we'd address such issues in an informed manner, la prochaine fois [next time]. unfortunately, i did not stay. mama lost patience. rain was coming. hunger, too. but when you wait that long and leave, is it worth it?

part of me just wants to sit tight. leaving makes the wait you waited a wait in vain, doesn't it? staying, no matter how long (hmmm???), and seeing what you came/waited for somehow justifies the wait. or have i just been here for too long?

la ya3dam as-sabour al-dhafar – wa-in taala bihee az-zamaan

[success will not elude the patient – even if it takes its time] -Imam Ali

10/4/2002:

"Breeding Grounds" July 8, 2002 Newsweek ...good article on bushmeat/SIV/HIV.

back in Wum. short journey from Yaoundé to Bamenda yesterday. stopped a bit in Bamenda. safe journey to Wum. bad road. good car. John Fru Ndi's truck, to be exact. well, his wife's. Alhadji in Bamenda hooked that up. it cost a pretty penny, but was worth it.

mama enjoyed the ride up. impressed by how green things are now. i forgot she hadn't seen it like this. the contrast between dry and rainy season. this is probably a good time of year to visit. glad to have her here. still an exercise in patience, understanding and respect. that's good for me. she does so much. God bless her.

just need to carve out my own time for work. i'm sure days will become busy. it's almost 11pm now. didn't accomplish much today. Maggie did eat dinner with us, though. she had a good convo with mama. her and i also talked about family and friends.

tomorrow is Teacher's Day. not much planned. people couldn't meet on account of a ban because of October 1st. which passed without incident. mama and i will buy meat tomorrow. then i'll check out the [teacher's day] program.

here's a thought connected to what i just wrote in my peace & freedom journal... here's to saying all that we know, doing all that we say and, of course, thinking about all of that before we say and do.

also 10/1/2002:

mama said hello to a few people around the office. met the CD. spoke for while. about politics, of course. America. here. Mideast. i think mama pushed the "we don't judge people" and "we treat everyone equally" tip a little much.

two interesting points:

1st... we're back to worrying about volunteers in Muslim areas as attacks on Iraq may be imminent. i don't see that, at least not here. one never knows though. just look at the Ivory Coast. who would've thought?!

2nd... the CD's mother-in-law is coming to visit, and she's of Lebanese-Syrian origin. not been back since the war. he wants her to meet mama. for lunch, in yaounde, on sunday 10/20/2002. small world.

mama and i ate Indian today. at Taj Mahal. all right food. they didn't have but can make sweets, ras malai and gulab jamun. yum!

OK. tired. need sleep. we'll see how tomorrow goes. we leave for Bamenda by car on Thursday. may need to call Paul and Maggie, to assess the Bamenda-Wum road. then call Alhadji to arrange a ride with him.

10/1/2002: EE To Do

Provincial Ecology: by next meeting in Jan/Feb

(NW/W and SW/L Provinces with Eli)

-Ecological zones

-Relief

-Climate/precip.

-Flora & Fauna

-National Parks

-Conservation issues

-NGOs

-Cash Crops

-Map

GLOBE letter: by 10/2/2002

-testimonial to my [educ.] APCD

-ask agro APCD about teacher packets

-BBC Focus on Africa July/Aug/Sept, with Eli

EE Photos: also 10/2/2002

-Christmas Card (Mt. Oku)

-"On the Street" article with Tara

-Koko resources, copy for List and me

-EE mission on CD?

...things moved much smoother/faster today with EE. the notes above have to dos for our next meeting and for tomorrow. gonna get to a few of the items in the office early AM tomorrow, insha'Allah.

9/30/2002: EE Working Group

Newsletter Topics/Features:

-Green skills

-Personal experience

-EE announcements/committee

-EE in the field (or "in action")

-Province ecology

-Trivia/factoids

-PCV interviews

-"In the street"

-In the news

...EE meeting was a little less than organized today. started late. without Wendy, unfortunately. so our agro and educ APCDs took the reins. not much help. on our part, we [PCVs] were just jabbing away. PCV talk. Green PC Cameroon, Green PCVs, etc. the list above is from one of the final topics we discussed, the newsletter. we'll crank it out by Wed, insha'Allah.

Tara and i are doing the "in the street" piece. ask a handful of people about a burning question, like bushmeat. i think we'll do that. our APCD made us laugh/wonder with a comment or two about eating and transporting bushmeat. whether people thought it was legal or not. we'll ask the PC drivers, cameroonian and expat admin staff, etc. should be good.

at the Hilton with mama. picked up right where we left off. like she was here only yesterday. i'll be off to Omnisport [the PC office and volunteer house neighborhood in Yaoundé, named after the nearby stadium] in the AM. mama, too – maybe. she'll meet the CD in the morning or après-midi. depending on what she'll have plans for the rest of the day.

9/29/2002: Things To Do...

APCD [Assoc. PC Director] – World Map projectDavid [Training Director] – Pedagogic materials for proposed workshopMama – SCORE shopping listPCMO [PC Medical Officer] – Schisto?!USA Cultural Center – GRE stuff

9/29/2002:

at the Kaelly Hotel in Yaoundé. mama arrives in another evening. 2 long days tomorrow and the next. EE working group meetings are all day. through 4pm.

Wendy [EE coordinator] has it all set up like a conference/workshop. which is cool... not the same ol' same ol'. but, seems like the same old agenda: PST, IST, Green PC Cameroon, resources, etc. i've got to do something about formal resources. EE resources, that is. in the classroom and with schools i suppose. we'll see what i can come up with.

i'm off to pray and sleep. would like to pray maghrib/'ishaa' at Tchinga, insha'Allah. the trip here was fine. went well. thank God! Wum-Bamenda, 3 hours. no mud, really. B'da-Y'dé, overnight. i slept, on and off. i paid Ibrahim 6000cfa for the ride [Wum-Bamenda trip on a moto]. good guy. good people, his family.

Alhadji [Ibrahim's older brother] might help with getting moms and i back to Wum. God helep! Alhadjijo [Ibrahim's younger brother] had quite a trip to Nigeria. a film, actually. with stolen papers, money, clothes, dead bodies and all! Manjo [Muhammadu Omaru] is back in Wum. haven't seen him yet. all right... the rain is coming.

9/27/2010:

ASSIGNMENTS [while i'm away...]

Year 2

-EE: Biotic Interaction Terms; "Copy the following terms in your assignment books and give an example for each term. Do not use the same example more than once."

-AppSci: HW from 9/24/2002 (2 Qs on plants) and Collect/press 6 leaf specimens

Year 3

-AppSci: Workbook activities #s 1, 2 and 4

-EE: back by Thursday, insha'Allah (GLOBE activities)

-photocopy assignments. label day/time to be completed and give to the class prefect. also inform DS [dean of students] and SG [secretary general?].

also 9/26/2002:

1/3 of infected people in Cameroon are young...

Students let's STOP the spread of HIV/AIDS:

ABSTINENCE

FIDELITY

CONDOMS

-individual student presentations

-modes of transmission (Charles and Manka')

-prevention strategies (Loveline and Hyacinth)

-"re-investment" activity (Mohamad)

...so, this HIV/AIDS presentation during our seminar had to be altered again. of course the school's admin, with their myopia and poor planning, neglected to consider giving us a break in the schedule during the seminar. from 8am to 3pm we were at it. just like Monday. just like yesterday. zero planning. zero efficiency. let me stop... again, i'm bitter.

we scrapped 3/4 of the program. just had the students read/present their entries. which went well. the students read well. they were heckled a little. the VP – sleazy bastard – sarcastically asks "you use condoms?" Mr. Kum Abraham then stupidly parrots him and asks "you have gonorrhea?" immature, inconsiderate and unprofessional pricks.

i about called them out individually. just couldn't believe they were doing that to our students! instead, i kindly asked teachers to refrain from commenting and to be serious about the topic. they were like children! the change in behavior from the seminar to our presentation was disgusting. but let me stop.

i shot a glance at Paul as the VP was making a comment. just eye contact. too telling. it just takes one for a support network. so i bit my tongue and sat down. pick your battles, i guess. we met afterward and debriefed with the presenters. i spoke then. asked the teachers (not pointing anyone out, but they knew) to be careful with our students. it's a cheap shot when someone is vulnerable. especially your student. i was indirectly direct. but i said my part. again, let me stop.

a handful of people (even Kum) congratulated me on a job well done. sympathy? sincerity? whatever... Paul bought me a drink. the rain fell. i'm home now. thinking about anger, frustration, release, apathy, loss and loneliness. let me stop.

9/26/2002:

i need to release. tired now. just walked back up from GHS [govt high school] to GPS [govt primary school]. hot sun. need water.

OK. Maggie and i did the EE Club at GHS this morning. i talked and talked and talked. big class. timid students. weren't understand the words coming out of my mouth? and i barely gave Maggie or Chindong a chance to speak. it was terrible.

i was talking about our GLOBAL VIEW of the environment/earth. you know, space picture, astronaut quotes, people you know... trying to get them to think about our global/interdependent environment. passed around photos/globe/map and GLOBE equipment, just to make it less abstract.

did it work? did they understand? i don't know. but i do know that i over-talked... felt bad for Maggie. even apologized. but if anything good came out of this morning, it was that maggie and i agreed that we need to sit down (the two of us with Chindong) and think through / plan out what and how we'll do for this club: topics, activities, schedule, etc.

now... let me put that behind me and "listen attentively" to this NPA seminar i've just arrived at (quite late!).

also 9/24/2002:

so, with all this talk about the critical/inferential thinking and "new" pedagogic approaches now i'm confused. read the lesson above [roots, shoots and leaves]. i did no lecturing–well, little to no lecturing. group work. students knew all the material or could get at it with a little guidance. just ask the right questions. and i've been doing all this since...

sometimes it works. sometimes it doesn't. either you pull it off, or the students are left confused and asking "where are the notes?" at least the rest of the staff is trying now. or trying to try.

the lesson note above [types of soil] is a sample i wrote out during a meeting for our seminar tomorrow. on the NPA, of course. what's difficult is following the structure of the system. technicalities and semantics!

i know how to write a lesson that engages, encourages critical thinking, is interactive and builds upon what students already know (and students know a great deal). i don't know how to pigeon-hole the logically fluidity of that process into these stages they propose. i just do this naturally... i think it's how my mind now works.

i find myself struggling to categorize steps/questions. is this hypothesis or research? research or synthesis? observation or what?... i think the semantics confuse me, that's all. i'll learn and be more familiar with them than i'll ever want to be soon enough, with teaching practice and lesson note marking.

9/24/2002:

Year 2 AppSci

PLANTS: Roots, Stems and Leaves

Objectives: By lesson end, students will be able to...

List the main functions of plant roots, stems and leaves – "What do roots, stems and leaves do?"Draw and correctly label generalized root, stem and leaf diagrams – "Draw a typical root, stem and leaf."Identify the different types of roots, stems and leaves – "Do all roots, stems and leaves look the same?"Correlate the form of root, stems and leaves to their functions – "Why do roots, stems and leaves look like that?"

Materials:

Roots: carrot, maizeStems: herb, bench, ginger, potato, cocoyam, onion and garlic (modified leaves, too)

Leaves: cassava, bean, fern, cassia, simple leaf (netted cocoyam and parallel veined maize or grass)

Roots:

Functions

1. Absorb water and minerals from the soil

2. Fix/support the plant in the ground

3. Act as storage organs in some points

Variety

-Tap root system (e.g. carrot [see image above])

-Adventitious root system (e.g. maize [see image above])

Form

[see image above]

Stems:

Functions

1. Hold the leaves up, exposing them to the sunlight

2. Transport water and minerals through the plant

3. Act as storage organs in some plants

Variety

-Erect stems: herbs and trees

-Climbing stems: vines and some beans

-Creeping stems: sweet potato

-Underground stems: rhizomes (ginger), corms (cocoyam), tubers (potato) and bulbs (onion/garlic)

Form

[see image above]

Leaves:

Functions

1. Make food (photosynthesis)

2. Store food

3. Transport food to stems

4. Gas exchange (transpiration)

Variety

-Simple leaves: parallel (monocot, e.g. maize) amd netted (dicot, eg. cocoyam) venation

-Compound leaves: pinnate (palm frond), bipinnate (fern), trifoliate (bean) and digitate (cassava)

Form

[see image above]

Homework Assignment:

How can you distinguish between a storage root and an underground storage stem?How does the form of a leaf relate to its function? (i.e. "why does a leaf look like that?")

also 9/23/2002:

will students be prepared for exams with NPA [New Pedagogic Approach]?

kids are kids, they'll always cram before the exam"do you remember everything on your A levels?"assessment is a necessary evil of sorts (found in each educational system)preparing students for life as you prepare them for examthough we cannot necessarily assess life skills

...so we're in this meeting about the NPA. just us, GTTC teachers. looking to prepare ourselves for the seminar on thursday. it was entirely too long, inefficient and ineffective. our school really is a mess. and i'm tempted to tell the powers that be just so. but i'm back to biting my tongue. for better or for worse.

thinking about all this, i was caught off guard by the DS asking me about exams/assessment and if this approach (which she understood as being much like ours in the West) compromises student preparation for such exams. i said something to the effect of no. then regrouped myself. reference the notes above.

so i said what i had to say about accepting exams as necessary evils, if you will. working towards them, yes. but not losing sight of the overarching aim of education, imparting life-skills. critical/analytical thinking and good judgment. we can cater to both. basically what i said.

but the VP (who, rightfully or not, always has the last word) said something lofty and idealistic (as usual... the man talks the talk) about why we're forced to have to catch-up classes, use past GCE questions and generally work for exams. of course we work for exams! the system is set up (if not flawed) that way.

we can't expect students, teachers, admin and parents to want anything other than passing tests. "empty papers," as they VP calls our certificates or diplomas. as long as "empty papers" get you empty jobs and empty appointments, then people will do everything it takes to get them.

as long as our exams can be prepared for specifically as exams (i.e. preparing for the test itself without truly comprehending the material), then we will continue to have to cram our students' minds with school stuff night before each big test.

our only prayer is that we impart a little bit of wisdom with all that sterile information.

9/23/2002:

Year 3 Applied Science SOW:

(as worked out with 3A in class)

-Scientific Method

-Cells

-Protista/Monera

-Diseases ?

-Osmosis

-Food Preservation

-Plants (parts, photosynthesis, reproduction)

-Amphibians/Fish

-Reptiles/Birds

-Circulatory/Respiratory System

-Reproductive system and HIV/AIDS