A Dream Realised By Pauline Price - Part 2 < Part 1 | Part 3 >

Children get to school in a variety of ways, some are brought in on buses, which in this country would have been condemned many years ago, the rest walk or cycle.

Classes range from around 40 up to 74 and the teaching very formal .The children sit, tightly packed, on concrete floors in bare rooms, with their exercise books balanced on their school bags. The only teaching equipment is a blackboard , chalk and if appropriate, a text book.

My first “group,” which I was expecting to be around 14/16 primary age children, was over 70, 15/16 year olds, bit of a communication problem!! Thank goodness as a teacher you have to be able to think on your feet!! Throughout, the children were wonderful to work with, very keen to learn and very responsive, so we were able to have a lot of fun. They love singing and learned words and actions very quickly. On my last day with them they put on a wonderful farewell performance, one which took me completely by surprise and which I will never forget.

The behaviour overall was excellent, even with me, a very different style of teaching .......and no smacking. The teachers stayed in the classes, “listening and learning,” their words not mine. It was evident, that as a result of work in and out of the class room , their pronunciation, confidence and general English speaking improved considerably over the 8 weeks, which is what I was aiming for.

With money donated by 105M Lions responding to my appeal, I was able to buy over £350 worth of teaching equipment, all chosen to be tough, multi purpose and fun. This was bought from suppliers, not available to the general public, so cost considerably less than normal. One supplier also donated around £100 worth, free. This was all left behind, much to their delight and I know it will be well used. A rota was being drawn up as I left!!