End of the School Week

Students start the school day by standing to attention in lines outside on the dusty field. They sing the Nepalese national anthem, then the little ones practice standing 'at ease' and 'at attention'. By Friday, Raven and I thought we had in the swing of things- then found Friday to be a short day. With school six days a week, it adds up to a 40 hour volunteer work week. (Am I a sucker or what?!) The principal came in today. I was wondering why there were no bandages on his face- then he let us know his tumor was removed from his chest, not his face. Another moment of Nepalese-English mix up.

Each day I am given a slip of paper and directed to different classes each block, to teach English. Sometimes I have a 'leisure block'. My favourite class is grade 9. They are talkative, intelligent and knowledgeable about their world. Most classes are quiet following any question. The students are too shy to speak up, and it appears that independent thought is not promoted. Military obedience is promoted within the school, and, I believe, in all schools in Nepal. Upon arriving in each class, the students rise to attention and greet Raven and I with a chorus of “Good Morning Miss”. This still takes me by surprise! I need a few moments for my brain to register that the students haven't sat down because they are waiting for my permission to! They also stand when it is their turn to read aloud or answer a question.

Jiwan, the senior teacher that assisted us in the first few days, stated that he thought his school was about 100 years behind North America. These photos are of the inside of the grade 7 class room. `

This classroom has a chalk board, but many of the others have a white board of the same size. There is no electricity, a tin roof, slatted wood walls and the rooms are empty of everything except benches and bench desks on an uneven dirt floor. The teacher has a bench desk with a chair. There are no supplies in the room, I have to carry my own white board pen from class to class, but I haven't been allotted any chalk yet. I am quite o.k. with that, because I hate the dry feel of chalk on my hands. I am not sure why the walls are half covered with newspaper, but we see this in peoples homes, as well. 

The staff toilet is pretty self explanatory....