Teachers Reports - Ceri
I have been a Primary School Teacher
for eleven years and have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work
in a variety of schools. This has enabled me to develop myself
professionally through a wealth of experiences, both as a teacher in a
classroom and also as a Head of Department, guiding and leading others.
When my close friend, Chloe and I both started planning this trip, I never expected that it would have such an impact on me, as a person as well as a teacher. It was an amazing feeling to go to a country like Zambia and use my career in order to help and support others. I feel very fortunate that I can use my job in such a way and try to make a difference to the lives of others.
We were welcomed wholeheartedly by
the staff at Golgota School, Masala and Nekhairo School, Kabushi and the
children were a delight to teach. I will never forget the first time we
arrived at Golgota School. The children stood together like
a choir and sang and danced to welcome us. It was an unforgettable moment
and was very difficult for me to hide my tears.
Chloe Lorraine and I worked well as a team and thought hard about how to go about planning our teaching at the schools. Our main focus was to give the staff an opportunity to see how to use all the teaching resources that we had brought with us, resources that Chloe and I had fundraised to buy through a variety of events and ideas. It was important to us as a team that the staff was given ideas as to how to use these resources within their classes and activities. This would allow the children to have a deeper understanding of the concepts and ideas introduced to them. At the same time, we wanted to make this a fun way of learning for the children so that coming to school was a positive experience for them.
We set about choosing suitable topics that we could work around. Our main topics were Greetings, Our Bodies, Food and Diet, Colours, Animals, The World and The Weather and the Seasons. We felt these would allow us to show the staff a variety of teaching methods as well as give the children an opportunity to develop a wealth of vocabulary within a familiar context.
The children worked at table tops at the two schools and followed a way of working where dictation was used and copying from the chalkboard. There was not much opportunity at all for the children to converse and discuss their learning. It was inevitable therefore, that the children would bubble over with excitement when they were able to move around, work outside in the outdoors, use paint, colouring pencils, material and needle and thread to make puppets and an educational, colourful parachute as a way of introducing stories, songs and rhymes. They loved all these activities and ways of working and it was even better to see the staff making notes and enjoying participating in this very new way of teaching and learning.
My main area of expertise is Music. It was thrilling, therefore, to see the children enjoying singing and dancing, indeed, it was a natural skill for them. We were able to use this to our advantage and so use every opportunity we had to introduce as many rhymes and songs as we could. This is a very effective tool when teaching English as a second language. This became very apparent to me when I taught in Spain for three years. I love singing and therefore thoroughly enjoyed singing with the children, even when we had to sing at 7:30 in the morning when school began!
One of the challenges we faced as a team was catering for large, mixed-age classes. Mixed age-classes are very common in schools in Wales, where I come from, but it was an experience trying to plan activities for a mixed-age and ability class in the afternoons with over 40 pupils. Nevertheless, the children thoroughly enjoyed the activities we introduced and it was refreshing to see such enthusiasm.
All together, the time we spent at the schools was very fulfilling for me. The children were fantastic and the staff was more than willing to take on board our ideas and suggestions. It was sad to reach the end of our time there but I feel confident that as a team, we did all we could to be helpful, encouraging, practical and inspiring whilst keeping a realistic view when considering that these two community schools are poor, without educational resources, reliant on funding. What they lacked in material however, they made up for in enthusiasm. It really was a special experience.
I would urge any teacher seeking a different teaching experience to go and be part of this project. I can honestly say that I have learned so much from this and sincerely hope it will benefit me in my teaching back in Wales, in fact, I’m sure it will. I only hope that I will be able to return again in the future and re-establish the relationships and special friendships I made on this life-changing trip.
Ceri Wyn Thomas
