So, Rebecca’s day of reckoning has arrived, with her first lesson observation and solo training session. To make it doubly hard, the day was in Angaza School, the very school she teaches in!
Nevertheless, that didn’t faze Rebecca, who has been growing in confidence week by week. She’s becoming so good at her new role that I am beginning to sit back and twiddle my thumbs! But, you know what, that’s exactly how it should be – the whole point of my time here in Tanzania is to create change that will continue to grow once I’ve come home to the UK.
Rebecca and I in her first observation of an English class
Rebecca shares her top tips
The day began with an English class, where Rebecca and I sat at the back of the classroom and observed the teacher’s lesson.
After the lesson had finished and the children rushed off for their morning break, Rebecca ran through her feedback with her colleague. Although it can be a little daunting to give points of improvement to someone you work with every day, it was brilliant to see how professionally Rebecca supported the teacher.
They then went on to teach the next part of the day together, with Rebecca demonstrating interactive classroom activities to get bums off seats and to make learning fun. With so much of schooling here being done through the ‘chalk and talk’ method, interactive teaching will lead to the children remembering more of the important information from lessons. Ultimately grades will improve, which leads to a better chance of today’s students gaining a job and with it, a better future.
Over to Rebecca herself…
Over the last few weeks of training with Rebecca, I’ve chatted about the fun I have updating you with my news. I’ve also showed her some of the incredibly kind messages you’ve been sending through, and explained that VSO volunteers across the world wouldn’t be improving lives without your incredible support.
She asked me if she could write a bit for you herself, so here she is!
“I love my job. I believe that education is for everyone. My mother was a teacher, and watching her work and spending time with her inspired me to also become a teacher.
I was really happy to step forward and work with Mr Paul. He’s very charming, and always encourages me. I’ve been working with Mr Paul who helps me plan my activities. He’s turned me into a teacher mentor myself, assessing other teachers in the classroom and giving them advice on their activities.
I can see changes in the students from these new methodologies. They respond well in lessons, and they are happy to learn. They start to ask questions, and I’ve learnt that being friendly with the students means you can also help them.”
Watch out for my surprise!
Hands up for who is excited for my video!
Rebecca and the other teacher mentors are the final important step in my VSO placement, as lasting change is now set to stay in Lindi.
To mark the brilliant achievement, my day with Rebecca at Angaza School was videoed which I’m very excited to share with you in my next update. Keep your eyes peeled!
We’ve done this together, and I can’t quite believe how much we’ve achieved. Get your popcorn ready for my video next time!
Paul
All photos: © VSO/Andrew Aitchison
