Day 4: The Ghanaian Way

Friday fun day! As we were now pro-tro goers as Elisabeth would say, are morning routine went smoothly. As we walked to school I noticed more and more signs for local government and private schools, just as James Tooley (JT) and Pauline Dixon (PDiddy) had mentioned to us in our lectures. It is strange to think of Britain having big signs advertising primary schools, but in Ghana it appears to be the norm.  From the multitude of signs it appears schools are very competitive as there are often many in one small area.

After morning marching and the singing of the school song, I made my way up to the JH2 Class to do some of my student questionnaires. Having Haribo in exchange for answers, the kids seemed happy to participate, and I managed to get around 20 kids worth of data done. While Sophie and Elisabeth had begun testing the KG2B class (the control group.)

Having been at 94 for 3 days, it was clear from Andrew, Ken, Belinda (the school manager) and all the teachers that they are keen to learn and improve so their schools can improve.  The spirit found in the children and the teachers cannot be found amongst British classrooms.  Some teachers being paid less than £30 a month, use the minimal resources they have yet still manage to assist the children’s learning, which is one of the main points of going to school (to learn.)  The children are very different to British children. They are inordinately self-sufficient and respect their elders in a completely different manner to the British.  After watching one small nursery boy face plant the dusty rocky playground floor I thought tears and tantrums were bound to occur, instead I witnessed his friend lift him from the ground and use his own t-shirt to wipe away the dust. This is Africa, and in Africa everyone seems ready to look after each other.  We read about the Ghanaians willingness to help, and so far it has be completely true, Ken and the Omega staff have been wonderfully welcoming and provided us with everything we might need, whether it be simcards, a good hearty lunch time meal or even just the teacher/students time to fill out a questionnaire.  I feel very lucky to be treated so well, and hope that our time spent with Omega schools can be beneficial for them as well as ourselves.