I walk into a muggy room. The air smelled musty, even though the windows are open. Kids in beige uniforms run to their desks like mice looking for their hole when the lights turn on. Others stand up at their desks. They say, Boa tarde, professora. Good morning, teacher.
After being in Mozambique for nearly four months, I finally started school yesterday. I had about 30 students on average in each class. This is a very small class size for Mozambique. My school director said that teachers at our school usually have no more than 50 students. Unfortunately, many secondary school teachers have 100+ students in each class. How can teachers teach? How can students learn with so many pupils in one room. Anyway, my first couple of days teaching 8th and 9th grade English have been great, so far. I didn't have to send a student outside for writing on a desk or for hitting another student. They quietly copied the material on the board and introduced themselves in English. At the same time, I realize that this is our first week. I know there will be some disciplinary issues. I'm just crossing my fingers that there won't be too many.
Some of you may recall that I was supposed to be a teacher trainer (TT). I was assigned to work at a teaching institute where high school graduates attend to become a teacher. Out of seven TT candidates in my cohort, only three got placed at a TT Institute. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to work with adults instead of adolescents. I've taught adolescents before and I wanted a different experience. Further, the classroom sizes would be smaller than at a secondary school. However, if I would have been placed at an institute, the downfall would have been that I would only be working about four hours a week instead of 24, due to a change in the national curriculum. In other words, I would barely be teaching at all. Besides, I really like where I am now. I live in a nice area and the school is new and has a lot of resources. We have a computer lab, basketball court, a soccer field, and a science lab. Many classes in Mozambique are conducted under a tree and the students sit on the grass. Basically, I'm at an exceptional school. As I recline on my couch in my chic apartment with running water and electricity, I sometimes how poor this country really is...
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