We haven’t had internet for the past week and a bit. I don’t know how long it’ll be down, but I know it’ll be a while, so I decided to just write down thoughts I have during this time so that I don’t overwhelm you with a million entries once I can get on. So here they are = )
- “Aunty Jackie. My teacha told me to go see Aunty Daclyn. Whea is she?” This cracked me up! = )
- Natasha has given me some fantastic readings on how to improve my teaching practice (she’s been doing tons of research so that she can help train the teachers here). One article that she gave me had a part in it that I loved!…and that I think would be useful to any parent, teacher, future parent out there.
The work of a child is to play - not “play” in the frivolous sense - but to collect, manipulate, practice, and experiment with the stuff of life. Most often, their play is based on imitation. The Montessori approach capitalizes on this innate need magnificently. First, the lesson is modeled, usually silently and very precisely, for the child, who is then invited to try it - as often as they wish. If the lesson is not understood, the teacher simply presents it again, usually silently, as often as needed. Direct correction is minimal or non-existent. The child “plays” (experiments, practices) with the lesson until mastered. Pay is the natural inclination of a healthy child and a highly effective learning and teaching tool.
Our job is not to chisel too early, but to feed, nurture, encourage, and build up the child. If he tries to stretch himself, but is then made to feel that his experiments have failed to produce a good product, future attempts at anything “risky” at all will not be much less likely to occur. He will “play it safe” in order to avoid being “wrong.” Aptitude will shrivel.
- “Aunty Jackie, we want wotah.”
“Okay, so go get water.”
“But we don’t have any money to buy.”
Boy, did I feel guilty running those girls so hard when they weren’t gonna be able to get water until I don’t know when. The things we take for granted! Another reason why exercise isn’t as common here, I bet = (
- The subjects they study in school are so interesting! Every school and every child takes the same classes (no electives = /) because they take country-wide exams at the end of Junior & Senior High School. The subjects they’re tested on are English Language, Social Studies, Integrated Science, Mathematics, Basic Design and Technology (includes pre-technical skills/building skills, sewing, catering/cooking, and visual arts), Religious and Moral Education, Ghanaian Language and Culture, French, and Information and Communication Technology.
- Amanda likes me! = ) I’ve been walking 3 girls to school everyday…Grace (Aunty Belinda‘s daughter - one of the ladies who lives downstairs and cooks the school’s food), Naa Adoley, and Amanda (Aunty Vero’s daughters - another one of the women who lives downstairs and cooks for the school). Everyday I try to hold 3-year-old Amanda’s hand, and some days she’ll let me at the beginning, but about a minute into our walk she’ll shake her hand free and grab her sister’s hand. And if I try to talk to her, she just stares at me. Today…I don’t know what came over her!…but she talked to me = ) I didn’t even realize she was talking to me at first, since it’s never happened before…haha…but when I leaned in close, I realized she was asking me my name. Then, SHE GRABBED MY HAND!…of her own free will!…and let me hold her hand ALL the way to school! = ) That was a triumphant moment for me = )
- We haven’t been able to play volleyball this week because it’s the week of exams. Well, first I have to say, the girls actually came to and said that we’d better not practice because they would need the time to study - really?! Talk about self-discipline (and they really wanted to!)! But yeah…exam week is so intense here! Each student is tested on every subject, beginning in nursery! Exams last for five full days, and then the teachers mark for three days (and the kids just do….I don’t know what…because they’re still in school those days). The last day of school, results are announced. And by results, I mean that each child is ranked based on how they did on the exams, and those rankings are shared publicly. They’re even posted out front of the office for the oldest children.
- Natasha and I were talking, yesterday, about how neat it is that people here dress so modestly. It seems like a lot of the values that used to be normal in America 50 years ago are still the norm here. I wasn’t in school 50 years ago, but it sounds like education is also still very much like it used to be in America.
- It’s so fun being at the place that I am with my relationships here! Yesterday, when I came home, Julius, Amanda, Princess, and Obaya came running at me with hugs = ) This was especially wonderful because I was in a lot of pain, and bummed that we didn’t get to play football…even though volleyball with the teachers was fun, too. I don’t recommend playing volleyball for 2 hours with a football, unless you’re prepared to have bruised & swollen forearms. And today, when I got to the school (I promised the girls I’d come help them practice volleyball…even though I knew I‘d be putting my arms in even worse shape = /), the girls came running out of their dorm rooms cheering and yelling, “Aunty Jackie’s here! We’ve been waiting for you for hours!” It was so unexpected (not only are most of the girls pretty reserved, but I still wasn’t sure, until today, whether they even liked me)!
- At church today, they were announcing that Stake Conference will be held at the Accra Conference Center (it will be 4 stakes meeting together). The last part of the announcement was, “Parents will be expected to provide water for their children.” Isn’t that crazy that that has to be addressed. In a place where there are no water fountains (at church, the Bishop’s office has water sachets for the members), something so seemingly becomes a little more complex. The things we take for granted…
- The people here are BEAUTIFUL!!!! Now…I know from what I’ve written, you already know how beautiful their insides are…but I am repeatedly struck by how gorgeous the people here are! For one thing…their bodies are amazing! The guys don’t have to lift weights or work out, and they have cut arms, six packs, etc. But the girls…it’s amazing! They have these tiny waists and thin legs…and still have huge booties and, uh, aren’t flat-chested. Like seriously, their bodies are just naturally like super-human…what we in America would die for! Even heavier women still have these beautiful shapes. And then there’s their skin. I’ve never seen such flawless skin in real life! It’s as if it’s air-brushed or photo-shopped or something…no pores or wrinkles or anything (granted the OLD people have wrinkles…but everyone looks so young for their age because the aging process doesn’t seem to hit them until way later). Many of the girls, and some of the women, have super short hair, like almost shaved (some schools require that their hair be kept this way), and still they look so feminine and gorgeous. And when the women are wearing their African wear, a lot of times they have their heads wrapped in cloth, so all you see is their face. Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed how much of an effect hair has on making a person “beautiful,” but it takes an extremely beautiful face to be able to look good without hair.
- Anytime you’re driving and have a screaming child in the car, be grateful. During my traveling over Easter Weekend, I was so impressed by the children (and mothers) who were cramped in the trotros (usually the children didn’t even have their own seats) and not complaining. I couldn’t believe how well-behaved the little kids and babies generally were, and I felt so bad for them and their moms on the rare occasion when they were unhappy. One woman was traveling with 2 little kids and a baby, as well as some baskets and such, on a couple hour long ride, and I was just amazed! To think we complain about trying to buckle a child in a car seat.
- My favorite thought from church today came from our Relief Society lesson. We were going over Sister Thompson’s talk from General Conference, titled “Personal Revelation and Testimony.” She tells a story about a German sister, Hedwig Biereichel, who suffered much during World War II. Even with her own great needs, she shared the little food she had with starving prisoners of war. When asked how she was able to “keep a testimony during all [those] trials,” she replied in effect, “I didn’t keep a testimony through those times - the testimony kept me.”
I feel the same way! It has been during my hardest times and my lowest lows that I’ve wondered how anyone survives difficulties without relying on the strength, comfort, and companionship of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The very next sentence in the article, however, reminds us that, “Because we have a strong testimony doesn’t mean it will always remain that way. We must nourish and strengthen it in order that it will have sufficient power to sustain us.” This was such a good reminder to me, as I’ve become kind of spiritually complacent recently.
So how do we strengthen our testimonies? Through personal revelation (thus the title of her talk). And she gives the criteria that we need to follow in order to receive personal revelation.
- Desire to receive it
- Don’t harden you heart
- Ask in faith, truly believing that we will receive an answer
- Diligently keep the commandments
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