Today I had my first "full day" at the middle school-I have no class on Thursdays, so it looks like I'll be working from about 9am to 3pm there. It's still exam week for the students, and so since there was not too much for me to do (other than administer an English exam, which included reading all of the prompts and passages out loud for comprehension, followed by answering any of the students' questions regarding the exam), one of the professors I have been working with, M. Aidara, decided to take me out exploring. During the lunch-hour equivalent, we drove to his son's private preschool, to show me the contrast between public and private education in Senegal. Whereas in the public school, there is inadequate space and seating for students, overcrowding, and a major lack of materials, this preschool looked like an upscale Montessori school in the US. It was wonderful, the director gave us a tour, which included the general education room, where students help each other learn numbers and letters, the kitchen, where students learn nutrition and some basic "cooking," the nursery, which includes a vegetable garden, as well as a chicken and pigeon roost, a rabbit hutch, and a goat pen, so that the students learn, in the words of the director, to be cultivators, not hunters, and develop an appreciation for nature and their environment (which Senegalese children REALLY need, based on the obscene amounts of littering and general pollution found throughout Dakar), and more. They even have a computer for the students to use, so that they can develop basic technological skills. The most shocking part of this school (called Case des tout petit enfants de HLM, by the way), however, is not the quality, but the cost. M. Aidara told me that each month, one only pays 5,000 CFA, or about 10 USD to send one's child there. Which absolutely blows my mind because in the US, that could barely cover an hour of babysitting, let alone a month of childcare and top notch education, for your kid.
Anyways, it was a really interesting experience...and afterwards, we dropped his son off at his mother-in-law's house (because that's normal of him to take me there, apparently), and now she has been added to the army of middle-aged Senegalese women intent on finding me a Senegalese husband (her first question upon meeting me being, "Tu es 'Madame' ou 'mademoiselle?'"). And then she gave me a coconut to take home to my host family! All in all, not a bad day.
Now I'm just sitting at Caesar's (a faux-American restaurant with free wifi!) and looking forward to some relaxation tomorrow at Ile N'Gor...I'll let you know how that goes! Ba ci kanam
Kids in sierra leone cried when they saw us too. Weird experience. Any idea why it's so cheap and still able to be high quality? Private schools other places in africa that i've seen are either really expensive or else as shitty as you'd expect from the low fees they charge
ReplyDeleteHey Jes,
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying your blog and traveling along with you on all your adventures. Glad you are having a wonderful experience, always loved your sense of humor!! Take care of you.
We all miss you and love you very much!
xo Maria
I think it's just cheap because EVERYTHING here is so cheap...it's 5,000 CFA per month,; which is the equivalent of 10 USD, but to Senegalese families, that's still not dirt cheap. Although I have come to realize that in a ghousehold with 2 decent salaries, you can live incredibly well here; it's just that unemployment is incredibly high.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, yay! Miss you guys