Through a Glass Darkly: STUDENTS AND SCHOOL: PART 1

Jan. 15th

I want to share a little about the school and my students.

First, the school. The classrooms are made of brick and concrete, with tin roofs. The windows openings have wooden shutters but no glass. Although the classrooms have all the wiring for lights and outlets, the school still does not have electricity to the campus. Mum has been trying for 5 years but progress here is slow. There is one very, very old blackboard per classroom, There are no overhead projectors or screens, no DVD players or TVs; no personal computers or laptops, and no furnished science lab, gymnasium, or p.a. system. There is a computer lab set up in the house's living/dining room, with a dozen or so ancient monitors and towers. The computer teachers and techs in Malawi are ingenious at scavenging broken computers and rebuilding parts to keep the old "beasts" running!

There are no school buses. Students either walk (up to 4 km each way) or catch the public minibuses (13-passenger vans) to get to school. Sometimes the minibus drivers arbitrarily decide to permit only adults on their buses, and just drive right on by the teens.

The school day starts at 7:10 a.m. with chapel. The first class begins at 7:30 a.m.--each class 35 minutes long. Break is from 9:55 to 10:20. By 11:30 a.m. the west-facing classrooms can be heated like a sauna. Lunch break is from 12:05 to 1:35. There are many student clubs that meet during the lunch break. That is also when I offer guitar and singing lessons. Classes resume at 1:35, with dismissal at 3:20 p.m. Fridays are half-days, with dismissal at 12:05.

I have 36 students in my Form 1 (grade 9) English language class. We have 6 textbooks (including the one I use). Yes, 6 books for 36 students. They get into groups to read and to copy exercises. They have 2-person desks, made of wood They are heavy and awkward to move around on the concrete floors, so some students turn around in their seats and try to read upside-down. Others stand for the duration of the exercise.