Over the hump

It's official--we're more than halfway done with our internship!

Not much to report from this morning. This afternoon we had class, with our new two-group-twice-a-week scheme. We worked on nouns, with a small participatory lesson followed by a team competition. It went well. The biggest challenge, actually, is the staff! It's hard to create a feeling of vision and ownership, and they have a very different teaching style/experience from the one Mazunga, Ashley, and I want to use.

After class, we sat down with Max to discuss that for a bit. Staff ownership of programming is absolutely essential if anything will continue after Ashley and I leave. He definitely knows that, but there are so many cultural, bureaucratic, and practical roadblocks. For instance, Thabo had a great idea today, which she told to me. I asked her to tell the whole class, but she refused to do so in English. If a teacher won't take the risk to speak English, how can we expect the kids to? And how much is my presence as a native English speaker a factor in her refusal? We really need the staff's help, too, because we speak English very differently from the Batswana--a different accent, style, etc. The staff can communicate more easily in a lot of ways.

In a few weeks, when Ethelene visits, the staff will plan and run the club. I'll be eager to see how it goes.