Learning and teaching
Learning and teaching. In that order! I think it's fair to say I learned a lot more than I taught but both were part of a great visit to DLCA.
If I tried to share everything meaningful that happened during this visit it would be nothing short of an essay. I'll just share a few reflections and highlights.
The purpose of my visit was to learn and observe. At my request I would also teach a few blocks of Bible and English. I was given a schedule of sorts a week before. Upon arrival, I was introduced to the staff. The admin team as well as the teachers appeared nervous and very eager to please. My conclusion is that they felt they were under inspection. I believe I was able to ease their fears somewhat and, after I introduced myself to the student assembly, I stepped into the classroom for my first teaching assignment. Better said, I stepped into a brick wall.
8:10 AM. Monday, January 20, 2024. Form 3 (Grade 11). English. DLCA. Malawi. I stepped through the door of the classroom into another culture of teaching and learning. After the polite automatic reciprocal greeting in response to my own, I was met by blank faces and silence. Back in Canada, one thing I never had trouble with was connecting with students. It was my instinctive first task as a teacher to disarm them and build connection. As I stood here in Malawi, I drew on all 15 years of experience to replicate the same but without any observable success. Zero. At this point I wasn't sure if the sweat running freely down my sides was from the heavy humidity or from the situation. Probably both. It really had seemed like a cool idea back in Canada to jump into the classroom here in Malawi, but...... Alright. On to Plan B then.
I went ahead with my lesson: descriptive writing and presenting. As long as I spoke they were willing and compliant. When I asked a question I received blank stares. There was no interaction. It was all coming from one side. I adjusted my expectations, and threw myself out there. They worked very diligently and seemed to follow my instructions very closely. In the end, I even had them standing in front of the class sharing their writing, albeit hesitatingly. We ended with a game of hangman (which probably wasn't a culturally sensitive idea but it was done in innocence). I survived the 80 minutes and so did they!
Note: on Day Two I taught more or less the same lesson to Form 4 (Grade 12) and it went much better. Maybe they had heard from their peers that I wasn't so bad after all? Maybe they were a different bunch with different personalities? Maybe I was different? More confident? In any event the dynamic was great and we clicked a lot better. There was some limited interaction. No brick wall. More like a fence.
Some general observations of the learning environment here:
-students are polite and respectful. A request to leave the classroom is often preceded by a slight bow.
-the facilities are great by Malawian standards but quite primitive by Western standards.
-the quality of education is high. That is not an overall assessment of the education program at DLCA but my observation from the back of the classroom.
-written English is great. Spoken English less so. Not only is there a strong accent but also limited vocabulary.
-technology is limited. I saw no computer except in the office (although I did catch one kid on a cell phone -some problems are universal).
-learning resources are extremely limited. The teacher has a textbook but all almost all teaching takes place on the chalkboard.
-a number of teachers did break students out into groups for learning activities.
-there are some very talented, educated, and dedicated staff at DLCA.
Ron Neels
