The Nitty Gritty

Our sincere apologies for the gap between posts-- the past week has been incredibly busy for both of us! Since we arrived here we have been working non-stop on different projects that The Olive Branch is involved in. They have a ton going on here and there is never a dull moment, or a lack of work to be done!

Upon arrival, I was assigned the task of planning and administering a Montessori training course to six new teachers. Most haven't even completed the equivalent of 3^rd grade themselves and have never taught in a classroom. Almost all will be in charge of their own school when the training is over. It's really bizarre to be entirely in charge of other people's training being that I only completed my own Montessori training a few years ago and have yet to lead a classroom myself. The other staff here regularly refer to me as a “Montessori expert,” in response to which I usually have a good chuckle. Relative to most people here though-- and certainly as compared to the villagers I'm training-- my knowledge of the subject does seem immense. Yet as large as the amount of information I would like to share with them is, we have only three weeks in which to complete the training.

The classroom where we are doing the training...

Yes, that's ALL the materials they have. Yes, that's a giant puddle of water on the floor. And yes, this is one if the nicer classrooms...

The new teachers are eager; eager to work with The Olive Branch, eager to start a new career, eager to help their communities. Their capacities are somewhat limited by their lack of previous schooling and experience, but they are making a sincere effort to stay with me through the incredibly fast and abbreviated training.

I have run into my fair share of challenges already in the first week. When I arrived at the classroom on Saturday to check out the materials and prepare for the training, I found all of the materials mixed together and piled against one wall. They hadn't been touched since the previous teacher quit in November, and were covered with a thick layer of dust and grime that floated in through the broken windows. I spent hours that first day dusting things off and creating the "shelves" you see below.

The rather sparse Practical Life "shelf"

Sensorial (there are also Sound Cylinders, Touch Tablets, Constructive Triangles, and a few Geometry Cabinet shapes)

The Math "shelf"

Home-made Teen's and Ten's Boards

Language (Sound Game objects, home-made Sandpaper Letters, Picture Cards, and a Moveable Alphabet)

There are practical issues as well. My commute to and from the training location alone is quite difficult. It involves walking to town, catching an overcrowded dala-dala (minibus) to a village called Mswiswi, walking some more, and then either riding a bike, or paying extra for a piki-piki (motorcycle) ride from there to Azimio-Mapula, the village where the training takes place. The dirt “roads” are washed out and muddy, and often look more like drainage ditches than anything navigable by vehicle. It takes my translator and I anywhere from an hour and a half to two and half hours to get there, depending. Then we do it all again in the afternoon to get home. Some of the teachers come from even further away.

Then there's the issue of translation. As if our time isn't short enough already, everything I say must be translated into Swahili. You might think this would make it take twice as long, but you'd be wrong: it takes longer. I have a great translator, and he does a wonderful job of not only translating what I say, but also explaining to the teachers what he feels needs explaining due to the massive gaps between our two cultures and educational levels. Unfortunately, this means I have no choice but to move slowly through the material. It also means I have to cut out ALL of the “non-essentials” (and even many of the “essentials”). This leaves the new teachers with only the bare foundations of Montessori, which The Olive Branch will continue building on over the next 10 years. That's the trajectory. Ten years before a teacher will have received all (or most) of the information and developed a solid understanding. Ten years before the classrooms will look even remotely like Montessori classrooms are supposed to. Better be a hell of a foundation...

Sean, on the other hand, has been spending most of his time here at The Zion Home. He's been working one-on-one with the children and coming up with a comprehensive evaluation of each child and his or her skill levels, strengths, and difficulties. He has also been helping to get the kids involved in organizing and fixing up their classroom. They tackled the mess of papers and books on the shelves, and made lists of the kinds of books they have (not many), and the kinds they still need (lots!). As a group they chose some great new paint colors (bright orange and even brighter yellow!) and washed the walls. Sean has spent every spare moment he has priming and painting and helping to make the classroom a place the children can look forward to spending time.

In between painting sessions, he's been teaching lessons to the elementary-aged kids. He gets them involved at every possible opportunity and does lots of games and puzzles. They seem to love his approach, and also the change of pace from their normal lecture-based lessons. Sean, too, seems to really enjoy these lessons and working with the kids.

Though we haven't gotten to spend much time together over the past week, we are both enjoying the experiences we're having here and have been having fun swapping stories in the evenings. Our time, as usual, is going fast, but I truly think we'll leave feeling as though we've been a part of something worthwhile and accomplished something of value to The Olive Branch and to the people it serves. If you have any interest in learning more about TOBFC, you can visit their website at http://www.theolivebranchforchildren.org/

Also, we've observed that the library here is in desperate need of a bit of filling out. Please consider checking out the list of beginner and middle-reader books below and ordering something for the children at Zion Home to read! These are just some examples, so feel free to pick out anything you think the children would enjoy (maybe something you enjoyed as a child!). If you choose to purchase a book, please post the title in the comments below so that others can avoid duplicating your choice. Any contributions are guaranteed to be appreciated greatly, and enjoyed by the children here for many years!

Book Suggestions:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Little Bear's Friend by Else Holmelund Minarik
Anything from the Animorphs Series
Any of the Redwall books
This Crossword book (or something similar!)

Books can be shipped to TOBFC Headquarters in Canada and they will be brought to Tanzania by a volunteer!

The Olive Branch for Children
14-3650
Suite #377
Woodbridge, Ontario
L4L9a8
Canada

Please request a note on the package indicating that the book is "A donation to the children's library at Zion Home" so that it gets to the right place! Thank you!