about school and the first day

Thursday was the first day of school for kids in Mali.  The schools (even private schools like ours) all run on the same schedule set by the government, but the government doesn't let anyone know the schedule until the last minute.

I know I could look online and find a schedule for every school I attended in the states for this year, and it would show all of the days off for the year as well as when the last day of school is planned to be (which depends on snow days since I am from MN, but still it would give you a good idea of dates so you could make some plans.)
People here found out on Tuesday that school would begin on Thursday.  We don't know the dates for days off, they'll let us know a day or two in advance.  I am not a fan of this system.

  My first year in Mali I helped in the school's kindergarten which now has its own buildings across the street and is where I teach English to adults in the evening. Now I am teaching 9th grade English.

I get excited and a bit nervous when it is the first day of class for adult English class, but I've done that quite a few times now and I feel like I know what I'm doing there.  This was a different and new situation and I was very nervous but didn't want to let it show.

On the first day of school there was a short ceremony around the flagpole. 

At 8:00 it was time for class to begin.  The 9th grade classroom is on the second floor of this building.  They stay in the same room all day and teachers for different subjects come in for 1 or 2 hours at a time to teach.  I was given a class list... 46 students.  This is WAY too many for 1 class, and especially for trying to learn a foreign language, but 46 students in 1 class is way less that you'd find in any public school here.  On the first day of school there were "only" 26 students in class, and it was the same the second day, on Friday.  I imagine that this is due in great part to the fact that they only announced the date for school to start 2 days before school started!  A lot of kids spend time during their summer break in villages with extended family.  Plus, it was the biggest Muslim holiday of the year last week, so a lot of people travel for that.

So here is a picture in the classroom of the 26 students on the first day.  I tried to be very cheerful and energetic but I felt like I got a lot of blank stares in return.  Education is done a bit (really more than a bit) differently here than what I experienced growing up.  The government has tests that the students must pass at the end of the 6th and 9th grades to be able to continue to the next grade.  Every school uses the same school books, and the tests are based off of what they learn in those books, so I do need to teach in a way that they will be prepared for their big test at the end of the year.  The students could buy books for themselves at local bookshops, but most don't.  In many schools the students don't have books to use at all and the teacher writes from the book on the blackboard and the students spend time copying into their notebooks.  Our school has enough 9th grade English books so that every desk can have a copy, or 1 book for every 2 students to look at.  They are not allowed to take the books home, only to use them during class.

The first day of class was mainly introductions, rules, and a little bit of review of things that they were supposed to have learned last year.  The school principal came in and greeted the class, told them to show their teacher respect, and reminded them that they need to work hard and remember that they will have a very important test at the end of the school year.

I had a dry erase whiteboard made and installed in this classroom before class started.  There is also a huge chalkboard at the front of the class.  I am going to try with the whiteboard a bit more, but I may have to wind up taking it down and putting the 2nd chalkboard back up.  The students, especially those in the back, complained that they can't see well because of light reflecting off the board.  Closing the window shutters isn't an option, so there will always be light hitting the board.  I can use the board in adult English classes, so it isn't a waste, but I am terrible at writing with chalk - it is very different from using a marker on the board.

One more thing for now, I usually am able to learn all of my student's names within a month when it is a class of less than 20 and they are wearing name-tags.  I am hoping to learn these 46 students' names at least by Christmas!  I spent time this weekend making name cards for each student to display on their desks during English class.  I hope that this idea will work.