So it has been over a week now since the last post. The past week has been very interesting… But it was also a great week and I learned a lot and have been having a great time. In my last post I explained what I’ll be doing here, which is helping out the elementary school art teacher. We have finished one full week and I have to say it was a bit more difficult than I had expected. The art teacher here, Mrs. Nnurom, has a 3 month old at home and so she has been going home early everyday to be with the kid. This means that I have had to teach a few classes on my own. It has been very interesting, as I said, but I’m also learning that teaching can sometimes be very stressful and difficult. So last week I had to teach a class of kindergarteners on my own, and it was nearly impossible to get any of them to listen. The kids were going crazy the whole time and they didn’t really pay attention to anything I would say. Then Thursday I had a class of 1st graders who were just as bad. All the kids were out of their seats and talking the whole class period. If only beating children wasn’t so frowned upon… Although here in Ghana caning kids (or wacking them with a stick) actually isn’t socially unacceptable… But don’t worry! I won’t be beating my students anytime soon! Today I had the same class of kindergarteners and I just tried taking a more strict approach. The kids still were very difficult to control but I was much sterner today, and sent at least a dozen kids out of the classroom for talking and running around in the classroom. I think I just need a few class periods to show the kids that they can’t come to my class and do whatever they want. I also taught a 4th grade class today and those kids were much better listeners, actually getting their work done without me having to yell at them!


It has been very interesting, teaching on my own, and I have certainly learned a lot in the past week. Luckily, the lady I’m working with is really fun to work with and she has been helping me a lot, while also treating me like a fellow teacher. She decided to teach one class of each grade, so I can see how she does it, and then I teach the same grade later in the week. It has been working out well so far and I am really enjoying it. This past weekend we went to church at Bomso Church of Christ, where a lot of our friends here go. It was great to see everyone again, and it was also nice to spend some time away from the school. Living here on campus has also been a very interesting experience. My little roommate Gandhi has settle down some and doesn’t come running into my room 10 times a day anymore. But it can be quite noisy, especially early in the morning when all the kids wake up and get ready for school. At 5:30 a.m.! But I have actually been getting plenty of sleep each night, which is great. Last Friday, I played tennis for awhile with my apartment-mate, Mr. Appiah. It had been quite a long time since I’d played and so I was pretty bad. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun, and it was nice to get some exercise. After I played tennis I played basketball with a couple kids for a little while. Then again on Sunday afternoon I played basketball with another kid who lives at the boarding house. It was nice to meet some kids who are closer to my age, because I’ve mostly been hanging out with a bunch of 7 and 9 year-olds. If your 7 or 9, no offense! There’s nothing wrong with young kids, but it can be hard to be with all younger kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ..

I feel like I’m probably forgetting a lot, but I’m just not feeling the blogging thing too much at the moment. If I think of anything interesting to add, seeing as most of this post isn’t all that exciting, I will be sure to update it.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for you prayers!  I hope all is well back in the U.S.
 
Love,
Jordan