Friday will be my last day at the school, I will be flying to the Upper East of Ghana on Friday. I will be with the Nichols family, who are missionaries in Ghana. We will be digging a well for an entire village that does not have any water. This will be an amazing experience for me. The Upper East is the poorest part of Ghana, and there, "water is life" literally. I am not sure if I will be able to update my blog between now and when I go home on June 12, but when I get home I will be posting at least one more time, and I will include pictures (if I can figure out how).
The last little while at the school has been pretty regular, the cane is still gone, and I hope it will stay that way after I leave. Pius (the autistic boy) has been making some progress, but it has been very slow. I am sad to be leaving him. I know that after I am gone, he will get no more individual attention, and he needs it so badly. I have done as much as I can for the school and the children during the short amount of time I was there. It is bittersweet to be leaving, because I will miss the school, but I am also really excited about coming home.
Once again thank you for all of your support and prayers. Please continue praying for my safety as I am traveling in the Upper East, as well as a safe trip home. I will be putting a lot of photos on Facebook for everyone that would like to see them.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
NO MORE CANE!!!!
That's right, the cane is gone!!! I was finally able to present the management plan to the staff on Monday. The staff was very open to trying the plan. The following school day, I walked around the school and noticed that most of the staff were following through with doing the new plan. I have seen a few canes in the classrooms, but they are not being used as a form of punishment. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers in this!
I noticed when I was in the 1st grade class that there was a boy who appears to be autistic. He was in the normal classroom (of 39) and does not get any special help with anything. I decided that on my free times at school that I would work with him. I received his teacher's permission, and work with him one on one for an hour every day. He is making great improvements everyday!
I am sorry that I have not been able to post updates lately, we have been having electricity problems almost everyday. I feel much better now, so thank you for your concerns. I can't believe I only have one week left of teaching, and only 2 weeks left in Ghana.
I noticed when I was in the 1st grade class that there was a boy who appears to be autistic. He was in the normal classroom (of 39) and does not get any special help with anything. I decided that on my free times at school that I would work with him. I received his teacher's permission, and work with him one on one for an hour every day. He is making great improvements everyday!
I am sorry that I have not been able to post updates lately, we have been having electricity problems almost everyday. I feel much better now, so thank you for your concerns. I can't believe I only have one week left of teaching, and only 2 weeks left in Ghana.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
My day at the hospital
So I spent all day today at the hospital...
I woke up this morning and felt extremely dizzy, nauseous, and had a bad headache. So I slept for a few more hours and still felt the same. We went to the hospital and I found out that I have a bacterial infection, so I am on antibiotics now.
It was a frustrating day at the hospital, they are not used to telling the patients what is wrong with them, so every time they checked my blood pressure, I had to ask what is was...it was 80/50 when I first got to the hospital. So they admitted me for low blood pressure, they gave me many fluids and my blood pressure went back up to normal (thank the lord). It was definitely a different experience being in a hospital in Africa.
As for the school, they were not able to have the meeting again, because my host mother (the superintendent of the school) was not able to attend, so it was rescheduled again for Monday. I have told some of the teachers about it, and they seem to be very interested in what I have to say. As soon as we have the meeting I will update the blog again and tell you how it went. The most important part is that pretty soon the canes will be gone, and the teachers will have a new way to give consequences to the students.
Thank you all for your interest and prayers.
I woke up this morning and felt extremely dizzy, nauseous, and had a bad headache. So I slept for a few more hours and still felt the same. We went to the hospital and I found out that I have a bacterial infection, so I am on antibiotics now.
It was a frustrating day at the hospital, they are not used to telling the patients what is wrong with them, so every time they checked my blood pressure, I had to ask what is was...it was 80/50 when I first got to the hospital. So they admitted me for low blood pressure, they gave me many fluids and my blood pressure went back up to normal (thank the lord). It was definitely a different experience being in a hospital in Africa.
As for the school, they were not able to have the meeting again, because my host mother (the superintendent of the school) was not able to attend, so it was rescheduled again for Monday. I have told some of the teachers about it, and they seem to be very interested in what I have to say. As soon as we have the meeting I will update the blog again and tell you how it went. The most important part is that pretty soon the canes will be gone, and the teachers will have a new way to give consequences to the students.
Thank you all for your interest and prayers.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I had an AMAZING day!!!!
First of all I want to thank you, because the food has been much better. Today I did have an upset stomach, but the food's taste has been much better, so thank you for the prayers!
Yesterday was by far the worst day that I have had here, I was ready to go home. I was still in a 1st grade class with 37 students and absolutely no classroom procedures or a classroom management plan set up. I also had no curriculum. It was a frustrated day to say the least.
Today was much better. My day started off with a hug from a 3 year old girl who hugged me like she had never been hugged before. I could feel that that hug meant the world to her and she did not want to let go. I sat there for probably 5 minutes hugging this little girl and rubbing her back. When I had to go, she cried, and it broke my heart. But knowing that I was able to show that girl some love made the day start off great.
The first grade teacher is back!!!! She had be start in her class for the first hour, which I didn't mind because they had just practiced the classroom management procedures enough that they started to get it. We played "Brother Marc Says" (Simon Says) and then I taught them 2 songs. "I'm Taking Home a Baby Bumble Bee" and "A Tutti Ta, A Tutti Ta, A Tutti Ta Ta". They loved it. I wrote down the words to the song for their teacher to use a different time if she wanted.
Then I started thinking. How can I make a difference in this school? How can I help these teachers? It occured to me that their classroom management is the biggest thing they have a problem with, which is why they use the stick. I have talked to the Head Master, and my host Mom (who is very high up in the school) about an idea, a new classroom management technique where the stick would no longer be needed. THEY ARE ON BOARD!!!!! I am in the process of writting a new classroom management plan that would help the teachers use different discipline techniques. This is a big change for Africa, and it will take a lot of people to go along with this change. If there is one thing that needs prayer right now, it is this. Please pray that everyone will agree to fully cooperate with the plan and impliment it in their classrooms. I am working hard to make the plan as complete as I can. I am taking many ideas that are in place right now in Rockford and changing them slightly for the circumstances here. Please pray!!!!
Thank you. I will update more soon! I get excited when my phone vibrates with a text, so please keep them coming. I need a support system and encouragement, because I don't have that here, and every text I get is a piece of encouragement for me. Thank you!
Yesterday was by far the worst day that I have had here, I was ready to go home. I was still in a 1st grade class with 37 students and absolutely no classroom procedures or a classroom management plan set up. I also had no curriculum. It was a frustrated day to say the least.
Today was much better. My day started off with a hug from a 3 year old girl who hugged me like she had never been hugged before. I could feel that that hug meant the world to her and she did not want to let go. I sat there for probably 5 minutes hugging this little girl and rubbing her back. When I had to go, she cried, and it broke my heart. But knowing that I was able to show that girl some love made the day start off great.
The first grade teacher is back!!!! She had be start in her class for the first hour, which I didn't mind because they had just practiced the classroom management procedures enough that they started to get it. We played "Brother Marc Says" (Simon Says) and then I taught them 2 songs. "I'm Taking Home a Baby Bumble Bee" and "A Tutti Ta, A Tutti Ta, A Tutti Ta Ta". They loved it. I wrote down the words to the song for their teacher to use a different time if she wanted.
Then I started thinking. How can I make a difference in this school? How can I help these teachers? It occured to me that their classroom management is the biggest thing they have a problem with, which is why they use the stick. I have talked to the Head Master, and my host Mom (who is very high up in the school) about an idea, a new classroom management technique where the stick would no longer be needed. THEY ARE ON BOARD!!!!! I am in the process of writting a new classroom management plan that would help the teachers use different discipline techniques. This is a big change for Africa, and it will take a lot of people to go along with this change. If there is one thing that needs prayer right now, it is this. Please pray that everyone will agree to fully cooperate with the plan and impliment it in their classrooms. I am working hard to make the plan as complete as I can. I am taking many ideas that are in place right now in Rockford and changing them slightly for the circumstances here. Please pray!!!!
Thank you. I will update more soon! I get excited when my phone vibrates with a text, so please keep them coming. I need a support system and encouragement, because I don't have that here, and every text I get is a piece of encouragement for me. Thank you!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Hey
hello,
So in my last post, I was not able to be completely honest about everything because I had people watching over my back. The food here is not very good. I tell my host family that I enjoy the food, but in all honesty, I dread going to dinner, because I am not sure what exactly I will be eating. I have a system for eating my food which helps me eat. First, I will eat the main dish, then I immediately drink water to wash it down, after the water I eat a little bit of fruit to get the taste out of my mouth. It isn't the best system, but it is all I have to work with. I think I would prefer a Peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of some of this food, and if you know me, that says a lot about dinner time here.
Today I was teaching in a few different classes, and going back in forth between them. The reason is the teachers here in Africa will just leave their class if they have to go out and run and errand, or if they can't make it at all the class will just sit in their room and do nothing. I felt obligated to go back and forth between two different classes because the teacher was gone. After one teacher came back I spent the rest of the day in a grade 1 class with absolutely no curriculum. It is sad that these children fear their teachers because their teachers use a cane in order to punish them. They hit them on the fore arms with the cane as a form of punishment. I have been using classroom management techniques that we use in America, and they work just fine here. Some teachers have asked me why we don't use the stick in America and I explain to them how we handle classes, and they still think that the stick would be better for them. They do see that my classes are still just as behaved as theirs are, so hopefully some of my techniques will rub off on them.
Everywhere I go, I am the center of attention. I have not seen another white person since I left the airport, and it shows when I walk down the street. I constantly hear "Oh Brunni, Oh Brunni" which means white man, I just smile and wave and the children giggle. In school everyone calls me "brada Mock" (Brother Marc). Every time I take out my camera I am swarmed with school children wanting to get into the picture.
Thank you for all of your continued prayers while I am here, I can actually feel that God is taking care of me and watching over my back.
Thank you and God Bless,
Marc
So in my last post, I was not able to be completely honest about everything because I had people watching over my back. The food here is not very good. I tell my host family that I enjoy the food, but in all honesty, I dread going to dinner, because I am not sure what exactly I will be eating. I have a system for eating my food which helps me eat. First, I will eat the main dish, then I immediately drink water to wash it down, after the water I eat a little bit of fruit to get the taste out of my mouth. It isn't the best system, but it is all I have to work with. I think I would prefer a Peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of some of this food, and if you know me, that says a lot about dinner time here.
Today I was teaching in a few different classes, and going back in forth between them. The reason is the teachers here in Africa will just leave their class if they have to go out and run and errand, or if they can't make it at all the class will just sit in their room and do nothing. I felt obligated to go back and forth between two different classes because the teacher was gone. After one teacher came back I spent the rest of the day in a grade 1 class with absolutely no curriculum. It is sad that these children fear their teachers because their teachers use a cane in order to punish them. They hit them on the fore arms with the cane as a form of punishment. I have been using classroom management techniques that we use in America, and they work just fine here. Some teachers have asked me why we don't use the stick in America and I explain to them how we handle classes, and they still think that the stick would be better for them. They do see that my classes are still just as behaved as theirs are, so hopefully some of my techniques will rub off on them.
Everywhere I go, I am the center of attention. I have not seen another white person since I left the airport, and it shows when I walk down the street. I constantly hear "Oh Brunni, Oh Brunni" which means white man, I just smile and wave and the children giggle. In school everyone calls me "brada Mock" (Brother Marc). Every time I take out my camera I am swarmed with school children wanting to get into the picture.
Thank you for all of your continued prayers while I am here, I can actually feel that God is taking care of me and watching over my back.
Thank you and God Bless,
Marc
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
I made it!!!
Hello!
I made it to Africa safely. Today was my first day teaching, and it was fun. The school system is much different than in America. I have 2 classes that I am teaching the science to. Today, was an interesting day. I showed up and didn't know exactly what I was going to be teaching until I got into the classroom. Because I was not able to be totally prepared the lessons were not as good as I think they could have been. Tomorrow will be much better because I have had plenty of time to prepare for the lessons. I will be teaching about the Periodic Table of Elements to one class and Simple Circuits to the other.
The family that I have been placed with are very nice. They cook me good food every day. I am eating traditional African meals, it is much different than in America. I will update more another day when I have more time. Feel free to text to me and let me know you are thinking about me, I would appreciate hearing from home!
Marc
I made it to Africa safely. Today was my first day teaching, and it was fun. The school system is much different than in America. I have 2 classes that I am teaching the science to. Today, was an interesting day. I showed up and didn't know exactly what I was going to be teaching until I got into the classroom. Because I was not able to be totally prepared the lessons were not as good as I think they could have been. Tomorrow will be much better because I have had plenty of time to prepare for the lessons. I will be teaching about the Periodic Table of Elements to one class and Simple Circuits to the other.
The family that I have been placed with are very nice. They cook me good food every day. I am eating traditional African meals, it is much different than in America. I will update more another day when I have more time. Feel free to text to me and let me know you are thinking about me, I would appreciate hearing from home!
Marc
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Flight information
Here is the flight information for me on my way to Africa.
May 8
Detroit to Amsterdam
KLM flight 6048
Departs at 9:50pm
Arrives at 11:45am on May 9 (5:45am EST)
Amsterdam to Accra, Ghana
KLM flight 589
Departs at 2:05pm (8:05am EST)
Arrives at 6:45pm (2:45pm EST)
Here is the flight information for on my way home
June 11
Accra, Ghana to Amsterdam
KLM 590
Departs at 9:10pm (5:10pm EST)
Arrives at 5:45am, June 12 (11:45pm, June 11 EST)
Amsterdam to Detroit
KLM 6072
Departs at 8:05am (2:05am EST)
Arrives at 10:40am June 12.
Ghana's time zone is GMT 4 hours ahead of EST
May 8
Detroit to Amsterdam
KLM flight 6048
Departs at 9:50pm
Arrives at 11:45am on May 9 (5:45am EST)
Amsterdam to Accra, Ghana
KLM flight 589
Departs at 2:05pm (8:05am EST)
Arrives at 6:45pm (2:45pm EST)
Here is the flight information for on my way home
June 11
Accra, Ghana to Amsterdam
KLM 590
Departs at 9:10pm (5:10pm EST)
Arrives at 5:45am, June 12 (11:45pm, June 11 EST)
Amsterdam to Detroit
KLM 6072
Departs at 8:05am (2:05am EST)
Arrives at 10:40am June 12.
Ghana's time zone is GMT 4 hours ahead of EST
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