What and how…..?

After 3 months I'm getting to know my way around in the ministry of education. Nice because now I can get my hands on stuff that shouldn't be necessarily in my hands. But sometimes it's just nice to get stuff, like now…….

I got my hands on the curriculum of English language for senior secondary school (SSS) 1 till 3. As you may think that the curriculum in The Netherlands was directive, you'll be lost in this one. Everything that has to be learned is written down. Every word that a child needs to learn during the first year of secondary school or the other years is written down. Even the way how a teacher should teach and evaluate! It's 129 pages of tight formulated objectives and summarize of teaching and learning materials that are needed to teach. The best thing though is that the schools I work in don't have the facilities to get the needed materials or the money to do the things that are mentioned.

Example: SSS1 vocabulary development. SSS 1 is a school year in which most pupils are about 14 or 15 years of age. They all went to Junior secondary school and primary school before this first year of senior secondary. One of the pages in the curriculum looks like this.

Topic	Objectives	Content	activities		Teaching and learning materials	evaluation
			Teacher	Pupil
fishing	Students should be able to: 1. Explain the word fishing 2. list words related to fishing 3. tell the meaning of the listed words 4. Make sentences with the words	Meaning of fishing   Words associated with fishing: Hook, fishtape, line, fish pond, fish season, fish dam, fishing equipment	1 teacher leads students to explain the meaning of fishing using diagrams, charts and stories 2 leads them to identify words associated with fishing 3 explains meanings of selected words 4 makes sentences with some of the words and examples for the students to emulate	1 listen to the teacher and explain the meaning of fishing 2 mention words associated with fishing that they know 3 tell the meaning of some of the words listed on the charts, pictures and diagrams 4 make sentences with selected words following the teachers examples	1 real objects 2 charts 3 diagrams 4 Pictures 5 a visit to a fish farm where available 6 a reading selection from text book	1 explain the meaning of the word fishing 2 list 4 words related to fishing 3 tell meaning of selected words related to fishing 4 make sentences with the following words: Fishing net Hook, line and sinker fishpond

 

I have never seen a curriculum so detailed as this. Most untrained teachers see no room for creativity. Maybe that's the effect of not having a teacher trainer college anymore in Nigeria. A few years ago, 1990, the government decided that it's not necessary to teach students about psychology and sociology, teaching methodologies and other important skills before you put them in front of a classroom. Maybe it's good for international volunteers because otherwise we didn't have work here in Nigeria. The elder teachers do have a lot of knowledge though. I don't understand why principals don't use them to teach their colleges.

Yesterday we were out for drinks, Mr Peter, a friend of him, Mike, Richard and I, Mr peters friend asked me my opinion about the Nigerian school system. This is a question I don't like to answer because it's double; there are a lot of possibilities in the Nigerian system. The only problem they face is a lack of good teachers; this is because they need so many teachers they cannot keep up. Teachers only earn 15000 Niara (75 euro) a month. Teachers who can get another job after a few years will leave, most of the time these are the good teachers with good skills. The newest gossip is that the minister of education is thinking about scraping the present qualifications you need to be a teacher, diploma of college of education. The new rule will be that a teacher has to proof he or she graduated from University. Proofing something like that is quite easy to falsify.

So maybe a business proposition: Starting a teacher trainer college in Nigeria!

Celebrations

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to me……. Happy birthday dear Richard and Ingrid ….. happy birthday to you.

The past two weeks were party weeks in our place. As I celebrated my birthday last January 6^th, Richard celebrated it on Friday January 14^th. Richard had a 3-day celebration starting on Thursday. I missed Richard celebration because I went to Obudu Plateau this weekend, celebrating my birthday for the second time.

On Thursday we invited all VSO-volunteers in Lafia to have a drink on Richards New Year’s Eve. Or as Richard did he invited all the VSO-volunteers in Lafia to ‘Ingrid’s’ place. I got home from work a little bit early so I could decorate the house al little and get some cake at Romantic Bakery. I already bought a present for Richard so that was something less to think about. After cleaning the house a little and putting up the balloons, I was ready to roll. Teddy, Sreela, Samuel, Mike, Viola and Edet came after 18.00 or so. Mike took care of dinner after Sreela, Edet and Viola finish the cutting of the veggies. It turned out to be a nice evening with Indo Mie as birthday dinner and some beers and other drinks. 

As Viola and Edet left around 23.00, Richard and I decided to stay up and wait for the real birthday. Hot chocolate with Baileys kept us awake. Nice!!!

Next day I left for work without the intension to do anything but arranging a car to go to Obudu. We would be traveling with the 6 of us so that’s 1 car full. It would be nice to go without the hassle of public transport. Luckily Jibrin, colleague, knew somebody how would drive us and would stay with us this weekend. It turned out to be a big Peugeot station wagon. Really good for just for the 6 of us (normally they put in 9 passengers is a car like this).

Around 13.00 we left for Obudu Plateau  in Cross River State. Getting at Abebe’s Lodge, after 5 ours in a car, there was a little bit of a disappointment. We came into our room and saw: A small double bed, a shower and toilet in one (you could sit on the toilet while showering), a ceiling that was not finished and a dirty carpet. On the bed we found a blanket but no sheet to sleep under. Little bit unhygienic. Kim and I laughed our buds off. It was only 5000 Naira a night ;-).

After installing ourselves in our rooms we wanted something to eat. I thought I had arranged food for that evening but the guy there said that I didn’t. He could arrange something, rice and stew, for 350 Naira! 350 Naira!!! Normally I pay 100 or 150 for rice, beans and stew!! It should be a good stew then……. Disappointment was big, nothing special about the rice and stew. We also ordered breakfast for the next morning, bread and a fried egg, for 300 Naira. It turned out to be 2 slices of bread and a creasy egg; we had to pay extra for extra bread. Pffffff. You really could know that we were in a highly touristic place.

During breakfast I asked what everybody wanted to do that day; hiking, Afi Drill ranch or something else. Teddy and Sreela, (Indian couple) wanted to go to Afi Drill ranch, the rest hiking. After arranging everything for Teddy and Sreela we had to negotiate about the prices of a guide to bring us to the waterfalls. First offer; 3000 Naira, second offer; 2000 Naira a person, third decision was just to go and walk. After three steps a guy came after us that he wanted to bring us to the waterfalls. We were a little bit suspicious and asked: ’how much will you charge?’ ‘Nothing’: he said: ‘why should I, my parents have to support me, I don’t have to pay my own expenses.’ Surprised as we were we agreed that he could bring us. It turned out to be a nice guy that could tell a lot about his village and the area.

The walk was steep and only downhill!!! I don’t like going downhill at all!!!!! I think it took us 45 min to get down at the waterfall; my knees were trembling like a snake’s tail. But our reward was great!

We spent about an hour just sitting with our feet in the ice cold water and the boy’s (including Mike) were swimming. Just cooling down, like they do every day; as they told us.

The way up was much better than the way down. I like going up. Only for Samuel it was a less pleasant walk. His fitness wasn’t to good so he had to stop quite often. Kim and I decided to go on and Mike offered to stay with Samuel. It took Kim and me just one hour to get back as it took Samuel and Mike about 4 hours.

In that time Kim and I had a drink, bought some fruit and walked the canopy trail. Another nice relaxing place. Superb!!!

That evening we didn’t want to spend 350 naira on rice and beans so we went to the restaurant to ask about a buffet. Viola told us about it; real cheese, fresh fruit, good bread, nice soup and western meat dishes. But no…………….. No buffet out of tourist season, only a la carte. Thought, we decided just to eat there, I spend 2000 naira on chicken soup and a real Greek salad with real feta!! Expensive but real nice!

Next morning we went to the cable cars. A long ride, about 9 km, down to the waterpark at the entrance of the cattle ranch. Magnificent, the views and the slides at the waterpark!

Afi Drill ranch in X-mas break

As sudden as I could ask my friends to go out dancing, as sudden Mike asked me to come to Obudu. It was probably the strangest situation I was in this month. Before X-mas break somebody, Paulinos from scholarship board, told me that the ministry of education was open during the week between X-mas and New Year. So Monday I showed up at the office. All alone and lonesome except for the caretaker nobody was there.

On my way home I dropped by a cyber café to do a little work but after that I decided I hadn’t to do any work anymore that day. ICame home disappointed about me going home from Kagoro for nothing and sitting in my house all by myself. Them mike texted me that I should come to Obudu if work was slow. Obudu? That’s far too expensive! I took my Bradt guide and started to read. The Afi Drill Ranch was financially more in our range. So the texting began; Mike convincing me just to come for 2 days, me telling him about my promises to Kim in Kagoro. That night I didn’t sleep very well. Making a list of pro’s and con’s in my head.

Next day I went to the office again to see if something was going on. Nothing! That was the moment I decided to go to Afi. Texted Mike I would leave Lafia around 11 am. Took some clothes (warm clothes) and bought some food (Indo mie and water). At the car park was a car to Markurdi almost filled up so I didn’t have to wait too long. Nice! In the back of the bus, packed with 18 people, squished between two men; one of them annoying sitting with his arms over the back leaning. Later, that annoying man seemed to go the same direction as I did, which came in handy in the end. His name is Austin, he was on his way to visit family in a village nearby Afi. His nephew took us on his okada to that village, and after that me from to the drill ranch. Three people on a okada. Interesting to be the 1 at the back. I can still feel my tailbone!

I was the first to arrive at Afi drill ranch, Mike had had a lot of car trouble. His introduced me as his wife to the people at the ranch, weird when people say ms Micheal. It was especially weird when Mike arrived and we didn’t act like man and wife. First evening in cold Afi was nice. We played ‘regenwormen’ (a Dutch game), with other guests and Majeed, the veterinarian (also known as doc). Lot of laughs!

Next day was our day of really visiting the park. We started with a guided tour, saw drill and chimps. Never seen drills before! Strange animals with weird faces and colorful bottoms. One of them tried to escape when we were visiting the first group. Just climbed over the fence, after checking if there was electricity on it. Doc chased him back into the fenced area. Doc told us that these animals were about to be put back in to the wild. It’s part of a breeding program. There are still some drills in the forest around Calabar and Obudu, but not as much as they would like to see. It’s not the same story for the chimps. They should be living in this area but their natural environment is reduced to almost nothing so they cannot be put out in to the wild again. The chimps in Afi are there to stay and to remember people what effect foresting has on their living space.

The chimps were a treat to watch. One of them was trying real hard to stand out of the crowd, throwing sticks and stuff. Grandma chimp was also something special. She was really aware of her presence, almost like an over aged photo model.  I could have spent louds of time watching the chimps.

In the afternoon we made time to walk the canopy path. A nice walking path through the tree tops of the middle high trees, the canopy. Two guys were waiting to walk us and guide us through the path. They knew quite a lot about the path, trees and animals. I was surprised because often Nigerians don’t know anything about wildlife. They were very proud of the whole project and especially when Mike told them that he was from Canada, the builders of the canopy path came from Canada to.

On our way back to the camp we stopped at a small waterfall. Mike had to show his childhood interests and started to walk op the stream. I stayed at the little pool, relaxing, taking photos of a playing Mike and eating Pringles. How good was that!!! It was so nice to be out and about for a few days!!!! This is just what I needed, doing not much, don’t worry about anything, although it was only for 1 day.

That evening we went to the village where Afi buys food for the animals. We wanted to come and see how the people in the reservation were living, to get some food and to arrange transport for the next day. Okada’s enough so transport was no problem. Food was a different story, the only thing I could find were tomato paste, onions and eggs. So we had to look at our best when we came back to camp and ask the others for ingredients to spice up our Indo mie. Luckily we could use carrots and potatoes and our own onion of course. I had brought an Indian sauce so it would be a normal Indo mie dinner as usual. After dinner, Mike went to bed early; little bit sick, headache. Rest of us started an camp fire and eat popcorn. Mmmmm, so nice!