Midterms

BOY do I get a lot of grief when I don’t post weekly!

Before I go into the description of midterm tests at Temasco, I’d like to mention the ‘Bug of the Week’ winner for this week-or, if you scroll down and look to your right, it’s actually the “BUGS of the Week’. Let me explain what you’re looking at. One evening last week I went into the kitchen and switched on the light and was pouring a Coke-something caught my eye from above. There was not a line of ants but a 4 inch wide phalanx of ants that went from a top corner of my kitchen wall to a midpoint near the window-let’s say 2-3 feet. I didn’t know whether to throw up or grab my camera. I compromised. I sprayed them with RAID and then I got my camera! So what you’re really seeing is more disgusting than you think it is-dead ants! The interesting thing is…. I don’t know where they were going. There wasn’t any food lying around (I’m religious about that)…were they just all going for a stroll and took a short cut through my house???

Last week a teacher mentioned to me off handedly, that we were supposed to give midterm exams this week (remember we’re on Trimesters). OK fine, I have 2 classes I know how to write exams. Ahhh but wait-the way tests/quizzes/assignments are given here is that the teacher writes the questions on the board and the students copy and answer them in their thin little ‘exercise books’ and then turn them in to me (no loose leaf paper). Here are 140 of those exercise books I have to grade from the two classes which contain a homework assignment.
OK how to test?…Remember, in my small class of 47, each kid has his own desk but there are about 2 inches between desks. In the 96 student class they sit 3 to a desk. Neither of these classrooms would be a good testing environment. Do you think any CHEATING would go on? And what about the time wasted copying the problems….And my white board isn’t even that big….

So, do I do it like they do it or do I model another way of doing it that might be more appropriate? First, I decided to give them the test on PAPER-2 versions. Well you see there are a few problems with that. Paper is relatively expensive and the school doesn’t give any to teachers. You can’t use the school’s copiers either, although there are plenty of places around town to get copying done. So those of you who know me well know what I did-I paid for it myself:- 2 3-page tests for a class of 96 and a class of 47. (8 cents a pg-you do the math) My rationale was that this will only happen 3 times a year and MAYBE someone will see what I’m doing and think it’s a good idea.

The next thing that I did was to ask permission to use the Assembly Hall to test the class of 96. In a classroom the same size as the one I teach in at home and sitting 3 to a desk, it wouldn’t matter how many versions I made! So, it all happened today and the testing went off well. I was actually proud of myself testing 96 wiggly teenagers in dead silence. And ,yes, teachers observed and several commented on how they were going to approach the Headmistress and ask for paper and testing space for midterms next time. Here they are working their little hearts out :)
Now because it is midterms we,of course, have a midterm break-no school Thursday and Friday-kids go home. For those of you who are counting,that means 4 Fridays in a row that I haven’t taught. So I’m outta here again, this time with a couple of Fulbright teachers and my exchange teacher Samuel’s 23 year old daughter. I’ll be dancing, drumming and listening to Reggae at ‘Big Milly’s’ on Kokrobite beach (45 mins west of Accra)for Halloween (Ghanaians, of course, don’t do Halloween but it will be a nice way for us to celebrate). Then on Monday, November 3rd (!) the first year students (who’ve been here for two weeks) finally begin classes and I’ll pick up my third class. More to come on that!

Oh yeah..Go Phillies! Go Skins! Go Obama!