Sunday, March 16, 2008
In my last entry I wrote about building a school in the bush. Things aren’t looking good. The PCPP doesn’t sponsor such large projects or projects that are the responsibility of the government. We received reply from only one of the several Namibian companies we solicited. They turned us down because they said if other schools found out about it, then they would be solicited by more and more schools. And they argued that it was the responsibility of the government. Can’t say I disagree. So it doesn’t look like that project is going anywhere.
After developing a relationship with the bank manger on this issue, I asked him if he would be able to give a loan to a worker at my school. You remember the woman who benefited from the donation of a sewing machine? She has formed a small group that makes and sells some things. A few weeks ago she was asking some teachers at my school for a small loan (N$500) to purchase materials. The teachers all refused so I told her I might be able to help her out with my contact at the bank. I asked the bank manager after one of our meetings if he knew about micro-financing. His eyes lit up like he did in fact know what I was talking about, but it turned out he thought it was the same as a small business loan. He started talking about loans of several thousand dollars. I chuckled and re-explained the situation. A small, personal loan seemed more suitable, if she qualified. But I am perplexed how a bank manager in rural Africa doesn’t know about micro financing. I am wondering if anyone reading this knows a little more? Possibly a worldwide database or a country by country guide?
During the loan negotiations I became irritated with the ridiculous banking fees and it slowly became apparent the meme was not going to get approved simply because she did not make enough money. The fee that really set me off was a $500 administration fee on a $5000 loan. That’s 10%!!! The interest rate was only 3%. My immediate repulsion got him to show me the document explaining the fees. There was no explanation, just a paper showing the minimum and maximum amounts for administration fees based on the principle. All the maximums were highlighted! When I asked why, he said that the information came from a circular (meaning it was declared by the corporate office in a memo). Ridiculous, but not unexpected. Whenever I take money out of the BOB (ATM) there are monthly fees, transaction fee, transaction duty, S/fee, admin fees, and a laughably miniscule interest payment. I no longer will laugh when I see commercials offering free banking and checking.
So it seems the meme is up a creek, for now. I am hoping to be able to find a micro-lending source.
Also since my last entry I have had my hours reduced from 37 to 30. It’s been less than a week, but it has made all the difference. I can now finish some of my lesson planning and school work during my off periods – not to mention having less lesson planning and grading to do. I’m really thankful that I’ll have fewer exams to grade in a month when the first term ends. I was hoping to be relieved of one of my grade 8 classes, but it was one of my two grade 9 classes. It’s ok, though. My remaining grade 9 class is my favorite class and they are much brighter. I’ll be able to work at a slightly faster and more challenging pace with them now that I don’t have the others holding them/me back.
This upcoming week is only 3 days. The Independence Day holiday is coming up, and with Easter Monday, that gives us a 5 day weekend and then another short week. Namibia will be now be legal – 18 years. We are traveling to Ruacana Falls, a waterfall in the northwest part of the country. I am excited for several reasons. First, the five day weekend. Second, we’re going to meet up with several volunteers we haven’t seen in several months, in particular our co-Missourian, Adam. Third, camping at a waterfall. Fourth, we are going to attempt to travel THE impossible road. That is, going west from our village. The road is “impossible” simply because it’s infrequently traveled and desolate. Most people to Ovamboland travel through Tsumeb on the paved road from Rundu. However, going directly west, will save us many hours and give us quite the sense of accomplishment. Adam and another friend, Paul, tried making the journey about a year ago and were left stranded at about the half way point. Suckers. It will really be great to rub our success in their faces.
Our next vacation, which will be to Tanzania, is approaching fast. We are going to spend a week at the village of one of my favorite colleagues, Mr. Urassa. The village is on the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the midst of lush jungle vegetation of bananas and coffee. Then we are going to the beach. We will stay for a few days in the costal city of Dar es Salaam and also the island of Zanzibar. To break up some of the traveling, we are also going to stop at Vic Falls (again) on our way back through Zambia.
I had been looking forward to March 4 (Ohio and Texas) as the day the election gut wrenching would be over. I was predicting more Obama victories and Hillary’s surrender. Sadly, it drags on. It’s amusing and confusing trying to explain state primaries and delegates to the people here. Superdelegates, endorsements, and re-votes are head spinning. The electoral college is foolishly antiquated.
I mentioned in my previous post that we were not able to return from the states with the 300+ books that had been donated to us. Now it looks like we might finally be getting somewhere on the shipping. A group of returned peace corps volunteers (or RPCVs for acronym lovers, or AL) from Columbia (CoMo) look to sponsor small projects from Mid-Mo PCVs, and may donate the part of all of the shipping cost. Also, a friend in Farmington has been collecting some money. Between these two sources we should be able to get it taken care of. We received the dictionaries purchased by the Farmington Lions Club relatively quickly, so we hope we’ll see these books added to our libraries soon, too.
Alas, we have reliable internet now, so I hope these blog posts can be more frequent.
After developing a relationship with the bank manger on this issue, I asked him if he would be able to give a loan to a worker at my school. You remember the woman who benefited from the donation of a sewing machine? She has formed a small group that makes and sells some things. A few weeks ago she was asking some teachers at my school for a small loan (N$500) to purchase materials. The teachers all refused so I told her I might be able to help her out with my contact at the bank. I asked the bank manager after one of our meetings if he knew about micro-financing. His eyes lit up like he did in fact know what I was talking about, but it turned out he thought it was the same as a small business loan. He started talking about loans of several thousand dollars. I chuckled and re-explained the situation. A small, personal loan seemed more suitable, if she qualified. But I am perplexed how a bank manager in rural Africa doesn’t know about micro financing. I am wondering if anyone reading this knows a little more? Possibly a worldwide database or a country by country guide?
During the loan negotiations I became irritated with the ridiculous banking fees and it slowly became apparent the meme was not going to get approved simply because she did not make enough money. The fee that really set me off was a $500 administration fee on a $5000 loan. That’s 10%!!! The interest rate was only 3%. My immediate repulsion got him to show me the document explaining the fees. There was no explanation, just a paper showing the minimum and maximum amounts for administration fees based on the principle. All the maximums were highlighted! When I asked why, he said that the information came from a circular (meaning it was declared by the corporate office in a memo). Ridiculous, but not unexpected. Whenever I take money out of the BOB (ATM) there are monthly fees, transaction fee, transaction duty, S/fee, admin fees, and a laughably miniscule interest payment. I no longer will laugh when I see commercials offering free banking and checking.
So it seems the meme is up a creek, for now. I am hoping to be able to find a micro-lending source.
Also since my last entry I have had my hours reduced from 37 to 30. It’s been less than a week, but it has made all the difference. I can now finish some of my lesson planning and school work during my off periods – not to mention having less lesson planning and grading to do. I’m really thankful that I’ll have fewer exams to grade in a month when the first term ends. I was hoping to be relieved of one of my grade 8 classes, but it was one of my two grade 9 classes. It’s ok, though. My remaining grade 9 class is my favorite class and they are much brighter. I’ll be able to work at a slightly faster and more challenging pace with them now that I don’t have the others holding them/me back.
This upcoming week is only 3 days. The Independence Day holiday is coming up, and with Easter Monday, that gives us a 5 day weekend and then another short week. Namibia will be now be legal – 18 years. We are traveling to Ruacana Falls, a waterfall in the northwest part of the country. I am excited for several reasons. First, the five day weekend. Second, we’re going to meet up with several volunteers we haven’t seen in several months, in particular our co-Missourian, Adam. Third, camping at a waterfall. Fourth, we are going to attempt to travel THE impossible road. That is, going west from our village. The road is “impossible” simply because it’s infrequently traveled and desolate. Most people to Ovamboland travel through Tsumeb on the paved road from Rundu. However, going directly west, will save us many hours and give us quite the sense of accomplishment. Adam and another friend, Paul, tried making the journey about a year ago and were left stranded at about the half way point. Suckers. It will really be great to rub our success in their faces.
Our next vacation, which will be to Tanzania, is approaching fast. We are going to spend a week at the village of one of my favorite colleagues, Mr. Urassa. The village is on the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the midst of lush jungle vegetation of bananas and coffee. Then we are going to the beach. We will stay for a few days in the costal city of Dar es Salaam and also the island of Zanzibar. To break up some of the traveling, we are also going to stop at Vic Falls (again) on our way back through Zambia.
I had been looking forward to March 4 (Ohio and Texas) as the day the election gut wrenching would be over. I was predicting more Obama victories and Hillary’s surrender. Sadly, it drags on. It’s amusing and confusing trying to explain state primaries and delegates to the people here. Superdelegates, endorsements, and re-votes are head spinning. The electoral college is foolishly antiquated.
I mentioned in my previous post that we were not able to return from the states with the 300+ books that had been donated to us. Now it looks like we might finally be getting somewhere on the shipping. A group of returned peace corps volunteers (or RPCVs for acronym lovers, or AL) from Columbia (CoMo) look to sponsor small projects from Mid-Mo PCVs, and may donate the part of all of the shipping cost. Also, a friend in Farmington has been collecting some money. Between these two sources we should be able to get it taken care of. We received the dictionaries purchased by the Farmington Lions Club relatively quickly, so we hope we’ll see these books added to our libraries soon, too.
Alas, we have reliable internet now, so I hope these blog posts can be more frequent.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Since my last entry, my number of periods still hasn't been reduced.
We are supposed to hire a new teacher this weekend, but they will be
given the agriculture and biology classes from the teacher who never
returned to school. I won't be relieved of my hours anytime soon…
This week I was supervising silent study in the afternoons and
evenings and made the mistake of testing in all of my classes as well.
So I was incredibly busy marking, supervising, planning and teaching.
Friday never felt so good.
A few weeks ago I got a call from the manager of the bank in town.
He had received a letter from the principal of an elementary school in
the bush. The principal was requesting assistance in building a
school building and fence. Currently they are meeting under a tree.
When it rains they go into huts. I helped him edit the letters and
background information that he was planning to send to potential
donors. I also thought that I might be able to use the Peace Corps
Partnership Project (PCPP) to help with funding. However the
anticipated cost of a building a school building (over $US40k) is
much, much larger than the size of projects PCPP typically funds
($3-5k). That was quite a bummer, but we are continuing to work. He
is now in the process of making a detailed budget, and we are hoping
that in the end the costs won't be so high. We are also thinking that
maybe then we could get different groups to contribute different parts
of the construction. However, I don't think the PCPP will fund parts
of projects. The guy at the bank is very motivated, though, so I
don't mind assisting him. And, its refreshing that he sees me as
someone he can get advice from, not dollars.
Not only is he interested in constructing this school, but he also
wants to get a community centre/group together. I introduced him to
the new PC volunteer that just started here in Nkurenkuru, Sarah. She
works at the hospital and is interested in doing some community
activities. She was happy and eager to work with this man, and I was
happy to pass that on. More later on what they come up with…
I'm still struggling with the grade 8s. In math, I was teaching them
the divisibility rules of 2, 3, and 5. First I showed them 2 and 5
(where you can see any number is divisible just by considering the
last digit of the number), they were thrilled with how easy it was. I
then gave them many, many examples both of numbers that were and
numbers that were not divisible by three, hoping that someone would be
able to see the pattern. No one could, not even those repeating grade
8. That wasn't too disappointing, it was kind of difficult. So the
next day I told them the rule: that you add up all the digits of the
number, and if the sum is 3,6, or 9, the number is divisible by 3. We
did several examples and they were able to do it perfectly. The
homework I gave them was to answer yes or no about the divisibility of
2, 3 and 5 for several large numbers. Wouldn't you know that that
once they learned the rule for 3, they were also trying to add the
digits to find the divisibility of 2 and 5. This was infuriating to
me. Now after several days of reviewing them, they can't seem to keep
it straight. It reminds me of last year when the grade 8s couldn't
keep addition and multiplication of fractions straight. Can't wait to
teach that again this year.
I'm also teaching physical science to grade 8. I spent a day on
multiplying and dividing numbers by ten, in anticipation of converting
meters and centimeters. Then I spent a day reviewing subtracting
decimals to prepare for calculating the difference between an
estimation and a measurement. I gave a short quiz that in my mind was
considerably easy. The highest score was 7 out of 20, but most of
them were lucky to get any points. Of course anytime there are no
high scores, the teacher has to take some of that blame, which I did
the next day in class (which I spent entirely on reviewing those
concepts). However, I also made it clear they had a large burden of
blame, too. I told them they need to be asking questions and getting
help when they don't understand. They are just not used to teachers
that insist on them taking an active role in their education. Some of
them took the message well, others looked like they were about to fall
asleep, which made we want to scream at them. So I erased the
chalkboard and gave them a pop quiz (the last question from the quiz
we spent the whole period reviewing). I haven't had the heart to look
at them yet, but I am planning on grading them tomorrow. I know there
will be some who did well and some who didn't, I'm just not sure how
large each group will be. I'm trying to keep in mind Chapter 2 from
Teaching as a Subversive Activity, my new motto as of last year, The
Medium is the Message, that how I teach them is much more important
that what I teach them.
When it doesn't seem like I can make any difference, I try to
remember what a joy it is to teach the grade 9s this year compared to
last year. They all did very well on the math test I gave them this
week. I'll end with a story from my favorite class, 9A. First you
need a little background information on an inside joke. There are 2
musical artists here that are much more popular than any others, and,
naturally, they are bitter rivals: The Dogg (Mshasho Music
Productions) and Gazza (Gazza Music Productions, or simply GMP).
Everyone is divided, a supporter of one or the other, but never both
(I'm GMP). The learners will write "Mshasho – you can't ignore" or
"Gmp til I die" in incorrect grammar and spelling all over their
books, papers, chalkboards, and themselves. "467" is also a code for
GMP, because it's the numbers you enter on a phone key pad. Most of
my 9A are Gazza supporters. Whenever I ask them to generate a number
in class for an example (which I do frequently), 467 or 0.467 or
467000 is usually suggested. One day, I'd had enough and started
mocking them. I started saying and writing 782 a lot (for STC). One
day when I had a few minutes left in class I even drew a picture of
myself on the chalkboard flashing some ridiculous sign with my hands,
wearing bling, and shouting "782 till you die". Now whenever they say
467 I reply with 782. It's been going on for a while and it's kind of
our inside joke now, and I even say it to one girl when we pass
instead of exchanging hellos. You may remember that I give weekly
multiplication tests in all my math classes. I started at 10 minutes
for 50 questions and decreased by one minute every week until reaching
5 minuets. Then this week I posted this notice in each class: 2008
Multiplication Challenge. Correctly answer 50 multiplication
questions in less than one minute. Grade 8, 9 and 10 learners only!
Prize: Mr. Scott will cook a nice meal for you. The fastest of the
fastest can maybe finish in two minutes, so this would be quite an
accomplishment for any of them, and well worth my time. Several of
them have been practicing now. In 9A, I have a homeroom class the
last period on Friday. Many of them wanted to try the challenge. So
they came to the front of the class, and had a minute to show their
stuff. None came close and several "surrendered" within 20 seconds.
Then they begged me to try. I cracked my knuckles and began writing
the products as fast as my hands would allow. They were all awed. On
the last question I paused, acted like I was stuck and slowly wrote
the last digit of 63. Then put my pen down in 45 seconds. They then
started chanting "782."
We are supposed to hire a new teacher this weekend, but they will be
given the agriculture and biology classes from the teacher who never
returned to school. I won't be relieved of my hours anytime soon…
This week I was supervising silent study in the afternoons and
evenings and made the mistake of testing in all of my classes as well.
So I was incredibly busy marking, supervising, planning and teaching.
Friday never felt so good.
A few weeks ago I got a call from the manager of the bank in town.
He had received a letter from the principal of an elementary school in
the bush. The principal was requesting assistance in building a
school building and fence. Currently they are meeting under a tree.
When it rains they go into huts. I helped him edit the letters and
background information that he was planning to send to potential
donors. I also thought that I might be able to use the Peace Corps
Partnership Project (PCPP) to help with funding. However the
anticipated cost of a building a school building (over $US40k) is
much, much larger than the size of projects PCPP typically funds
($3-5k). That was quite a bummer, but we are continuing to work. He
is now in the process of making a detailed budget, and we are hoping
that in the end the costs won't be so high. We are also thinking that
maybe then we could get different groups to contribute different parts
of the construction. However, I don't think the PCPP will fund parts
of projects. The guy at the bank is very motivated, though, so I
don't mind assisting him. And, its refreshing that he sees me as
someone he can get advice from, not dollars.
Not only is he interested in constructing this school, but he also
wants to get a community centre/group together. I introduced him to
the new PC volunteer that just started here in Nkurenkuru, Sarah. She
works at the hospital and is interested in doing some community
activities. She was happy and eager to work with this man, and I was
happy to pass that on. More later on what they come up with…
I'm still struggling with the grade 8s. In math, I was teaching them
the divisibility rules of 2, 3, and 5. First I showed them 2 and 5
(where you can see any number is divisible just by considering the
last digit of the number), they were thrilled with how easy it was. I
then gave them many, many examples both of numbers that were and
numbers that were not divisible by three, hoping that someone would be
able to see the pattern. No one could, not even those repeating grade
8. That wasn't too disappointing, it was kind of difficult. So the
next day I told them the rule: that you add up all the digits of the
number, and if the sum is 3,6, or 9, the number is divisible by 3. We
did several examples and they were able to do it perfectly. The
homework I gave them was to answer yes or no about the divisibility of
2, 3 and 5 for several large numbers. Wouldn't you know that that
once they learned the rule for 3, they were also trying to add the
digits to find the divisibility of 2 and 5. This was infuriating to
me. Now after several days of reviewing them, they can't seem to keep
it straight. It reminds me of last year when the grade 8s couldn't
keep addition and multiplication of fractions straight. Can't wait to
teach that again this year.
I'm also teaching physical science to grade 8. I spent a day on
multiplying and dividing numbers by ten, in anticipation of converting
meters and centimeters. Then I spent a day reviewing subtracting
decimals to prepare for calculating the difference between an
estimation and a measurement. I gave a short quiz that in my mind was
considerably easy. The highest score was 7 out of 20, but most of
them were lucky to get any points. Of course anytime there are no
high scores, the teacher has to take some of that blame, which I did
the next day in class (which I spent entirely on reviewing those
concepts). However, I also made it clear they had a large burden of
blame, too. I told them they need to be asking questions and getting
help when they don't understand. They are just not used to teachers
that insist on them taking an active role in their education. Some of
them took the message well, others looked like they were about to fall
asleep, which made we want to scream at them. So I erased the
chalkboard and gave them a pop quiz (the last question from the quiz
we spent the whole period reviewing). I haven't had the heart to look
at them yet, but I am planning on grading them tomorrow. I know there
will be some who did well and some who didn't, I'm just not sure how
large each group will be. I'm trying to keep in mind Chapter 2 from
Teaching as a Subversive Activity, my new motto as of last year, The
Medium is the Message, that how I teach them is much more important
that what I teach them.
When it doesn't seem like I can make any difference, I try to
remember what a joy it is to teach the grade 9s this year compared to
last year. They all did very well on the math test I gave them this
week. I'll end with a story from my favorite class, 9A. First you
need a little background information on an inside joke. There are 2
musical artists here that are much more popular than any others, and,
naturally, they are bitter rivals: The Dogg (Mshasho Music
Productions) and Gazza (Gazza Music Productions, or simply GMP).
Everyone is divided, a supporter of one or the other, but never both
(I'm GMP). The learners will write "Mshasho – you can't ignore" or
"Gmp til I die" in incorrect grammar and spelling all over their
books, papers, chalkboards, and themselves. "467" is also a code for
GMP, because it's the numbers you enter on a phone key pad. Most of
my 9A are Gazza supporters. Whenever I ask them to generate a number
in class for an example (which I do frequently), 467 or 0.467 or
467000 is usually suggested. One day, I'd had enough and started
mocking them. I started saying and writing 782 a lot (for STC). One
day when I had a few minutes left in class I even drew a picture of
myself on the chalkboard flashing some ridiculous sign with my hands,
wearing bling, and shouting "782 till you die". Now whenever they say
467 I reply with 782. It's been going on for a while and it's kind of
our inside joke now, and I even say it to one girl when we pass
instead of exchanging hellos. You may remember that I give weekly
multiplication tests in all my math classes. I started at 10 minutes
for 50 questions and decreased by one minute every week until reaching
5 minuets. Then this week I posted this notice in each class: 2008
Multiplication Challenge. Correctly answer 50 multiplication
questions in less than one minute. Grade 8, 9 and 10 learners only!
Prize: Mr. Scott will cook a nice meal for you. The fastest of the
fastest can maybe finish in two minutes, so this would be quite an
accomplishment for any of them, and well worth my time. Several of
them have been practicing now. In 9A, I have a homeroom class the
last period on Friday. Many of them wanted to try the challenge. So
they came to the front of the class, and had a minute to show their
stuff. None came close and several "surrendered" within 20 seconds.
Then they begged me to try. I cracked my knuckles and began writing
the products as fast as my hands would allow. They were all awed. On
the last question I paused, acted like I was stuck and slowly wrote
the last digit of 63. Then put my pen down in 45 seconds. They then
started chanting "782."
