Fourth Chapter: Educational Institutions in
Angola
Educational
systems, in each country, are a reflection of the society in which they exist.
When you move around a country like Angola in Africa, you find that the
reflection reflected in the local education system raises many questions about
how the country's resources are distributed to the various population levels.
It seems
to me that a story about visiting three educational institutions would better
reflect my words than theoretical talk about it.
On the
third day of our course, the trainees worked in groups and prepared observation
pages for use when visiting the elementary school near the university.
Apparently, the school principal, she is a graduate of the university and
gladly accepted our request to visit her school.
The subjects selected by the observation groups were:
1. The school's learning environment - appearance,
location, etc.
2. Observation of the teachers teaching
3. Student activity in classrooms - learning itself
4. The functioning of the school administration
Government
Elementary School
We
arrived at school during the break. Beautiful little boys and girls are running
around the yard. The hairs of the girls are braided in different colors and
everyone is happy to be photographed.
The
school principal welcomes us in the yard and tells us that the school runs in
two cycles, morning and afternoon. There are 30 teachers teaching in 15
classrooms.
At the
end of the break, our course participants disperse to workplaces, each
according to their observation group. Felisa and I move between the classrooms
and school facilities whose main building is housed in a Portuguese-style
building. A house apparently used (during colonial rule), a wealthy Portuguese
family. There are quite large rooms with children sitting at small tables. In
all grades teachers wearing white robes and all of them teach, how to make a
paper boat ....
We go
down to the backyard of the school, where we find classrooms open to wind and
heat, as the classrooms have no doors and sunlight is used for lighting. In two
classes, children sit and there is no teacher. We ask the children where the
teacher is and they say she is sick ... Felisa starts to play with the children
stretching their hands while singing and the little ones cooperate in admirably
way.
In the
principal's room, another observation group sits and examines each paper and
document they find.
At the
end of an hour and a half everyone is gathering again in the yard, thank the
principal for the wonderful and courteous welcome and we return to the
university to conclude the observation. The interesting question is which of
the things we prepared before the visit were relevant when observing the field?
Another
topic that is of interest to us is the reference to each viewer's personal
attitude, about what he /she has gone through as a result of the teamwork,
preparation, and school watching.
Felisa
and I learn that such an experience of visiting a school is something new for
the students and we think it is a learning that they will embrace to continue
with the groups of teachers studying at the university.
What we learned from the observation
The participants report that they enjoyed working in a team, which was
conducted in an open atmosphere. Everyone had something to say and they came to
a consensus. There is a sense that it is instructive learning that brings
together various vantage points that reflect what is happening between the
school walls we visited.
As we work to draw conclusions from the observation, we receive a
message that another private school invites us to visit it. This time it will
be a visit to a private high school.
The next
morning, we conduct some simulations following the observations drawn from the
previous one.
There is
no doubt that one of the difficult problems of Angola is that the teachers who
teach in the elementary schools are of no qualifications whatsoever. Most of
them teach what they just know, or don't know.
In the
Mathematics Lesson, the teacher exercises a simple account exercise throughout
the lesson. When she found out she was wrong, 10 minutes took her to fix the
mistake.
The
simulation in which the role of teacher and supervisor took over has enabled a
fascinating discussion that discusses the "actors" feelings in the
various roles.
Bucosa,
who played the role of the teacher was most embarrassed, defensive, did not
look directly at Dinis, in the role of superintendent, as he was extremely
tough, critical and unhelpful.
Here we
found an opportunity to address a topic that is not at all simple: how do you
give feedback in order to develop the teacher and not to silent him/her.
Felisa
activates the people at work in groups through the "corking game."
Participants could choose from a variety of items (corks, cubes, cardboard
boxes, toilet paper, cotton wool and more). Each group should prepare, using
the objects of their choice, a lesson that will be interesting.
At the
end of the activity, there were groups who reported that the people were in no
small embarrassment, what to do, how to do, and in contrast, other groups
showed wonderful creativity.
From
here, the transition later this week to a conversation about responsibility
and competence in education was very natural. Emphasizing that
responsibility in education does not mean to blame, but to "do my
best." The issue of responsibility and conversation followed was one of
the focus areas and in the feedback this was repeatedly mentioned.
On our
door are three more people who want to participate in the course, saying they
heard that it was an excellent course. I tend to accept them and after a brief
discussion with Anna we decide that, although we have hardened a position on
the attendance of the students in the course (there is no unwarranted absence),
if there is anyone who really wants to learn, how can we close the door?
Good word
for ending, as a way of feedback, people say words like: without words,
charming, teaches, love, friendship, impressive, "friends" (because
we taught them the song "hello friends, hello" in Hebrew).
And how
can I do without some literature? So I'm giving them a weekend "gift"
story to José Saramago's. The wonderful story "The Tale of the unknown
Island" (O Conto da Ilha Desconhecida), and asking them to read it and
think about how it relates to what we've learned throughout the week.
And what we
did this weekend
The first
week is over and here comes the long weekend. On Friday afternoon, Anna and a
few friends from the university arrive to take us to the Artisan market
(African artifacts). The road is extremely crowded, but other sites are revealed
to us. Angola's two faces: on the right, straw houses tend to fall, real
refugee camps, on the left of the road a new neighborhood, villas reminiscent
of Israeli settlements, red-tiled houses, but a wall surrounds the living area
and guards sit in guard towers, just like those found In prisons to protect, in
this case, the wealthy residents from the poor, hungry for bread. Near the
market, we get out of the car, each equipped with $ 100 in a pocket, with no
bags and no cameras. The sellers pen us; try to sell us the goods, ready to
lower prices. Felisa knows the bargain and I occasionally call her: Felisa, $
10 for this sculpture, is that a reasonable price? And she signals me from a
distance, busy with her shopping. When we have plastic bags full of artifacts
we return to the car. Now it turns out we can't get the stuff out without going
to customs and for a few Kwanzas (local money) we each figurine will be stamped
... (Later this week we reached this customs warehouse and the way we stamped
each stamp on each figurine is a story in itself. On the way back home, the
airport did check every item we got out of the country, the suitcases were
opened and near our underwear were the legal statuettes ... lucky!)
Nora, the
Ambassador's wife calls and invites us to lunch on Saturday and we are happy
about the invitation. Sabalo the driver comes to pick us to the Ambassador's
residence in the apartment overlooking the promenade off the Atlantic Ocean. It
is a pretty nice area of Luanda. Along the way we collect Anna who is also
invited to the meal. Anna goes outside and invites us inside to her house,
which is under construction. I ask her: How long do you appreciate until the
construction is completed? And she answers me - 10 years ... I think I didn't
understand and I ask her: 10 years? And she answers naturally: yes, every time
we raise a little money, build another corner ... now I understand...
The food
that Nora prepared was delicious and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Sabalo,
who arrives to pick us up in the afternoon, took with us and Anna for a visit
in the "beautiful" area, called ILHA - the island, the beaches of
Luanda. Many people walk on the beach, a lot of dirt; there is not one neat
beach here suitable for bathing.
On Sunday
morning the lovely shot was shot again and we came to take a short trip to get
to know the city. At the viewpoint of the entire city lies a fortress which
became a museum (CASTELO), from the time when the Portuguese ruled. (By 1974,
after the blood-drenched voice of war, many Portuguese had left Angola, left
much property behind, and allowed the English to become self-sufficient). Most
of the museum rooms are undergoing renovations. In the museum courtyard stand
side by side statues of the great Portuguese and Angolan nation: the world
revelator, Vasco de Gama, the poet Camuansh, Enrique the Spaniard and the first
Angolan president, Agostino Neto. The sun is blowing on our heads and I feel
like I'm about to pass out. Just getting into the air-conditioned car and
sipping the water bottle makes me happy and we are happy to be back at the
hotel.
Tomorrow
will begin the second week of the course during which Angola celebrates
International Women's Day and this is a declared holiday. Before embarking on
this trip, we glanced at the calendar and made sure to prepare a special
activity to honor this day. To our surprise, several members of the group
organized a day trip to where the Cuanza River met with the Atlantic Ocean; a
place considered the most beautiful near the capital. Finally we met a little
from the African green. In an improvised cafe we sit down to eat the
delicacies brought by Anna and hear fascinating stories from the people.
Louisa, one of the trainees, tells us that her mother-in-law's father was an
Israeli who came to Angola, who knows how and why. He married a black-skinned
Angolan woman and had children with her.
On the
way back we stop at a building that looks like a small police station on the
beach. "From here the slave ships were sailing towards the continent of
Europe and America" the people tell us. Every Angolan family has slave
descendants and when I think about it, my skin shivers. The thousands of slaves
who have come to the White Goods District and the ongoing exploitation create a
clear sense for me that the peoples of Africa have experienced and continue to
experience a true 'Holocaust'.
אין תגובות:
הוסף רשומת תגובה