This afternoon we visited a local teacher training college. We drove about thirty minutes into the mountains, and when we arrived the students at the college were just being released to pick up some laptops that were donated by the Ghanaian government. They were very excited, but they also took the time to gather around us and listen to us for a few minutes. We gave a brief impromptu speech about Global Education and explained what it is and how it is implemented in the classroom. I don't know if they understood every word but they nodded and smiled a lot, so hopefully they did. It seems our accents make it difficult for the local people to understand us easily. All graduates of this training school will have a job, unlike in the U.S. But we think it is because of socialism, or perhaps the low pay also helps. All teachers in Ghana are paid on the same scale which comes out of the central government's education ministry. We have spent a lot of time explaining how decentralized the U.S. system is and how teacher pay and conditions vary from place to place. They are also amazed that all teachers in the U.S. would never be on strike at the same time.
On a different subject, the women here are dressed beautifully all the time. This is a nation of beautifully-dressed women. Actually all the people are well-dressed. They iron their clothes every day and wear such spectacular colors and patterns. All the dresses that women wear have been custom made for them and they just look stunning. I admired the beautiful purple color of the dresses the students at the teacher training college were wearing (picture #1 below) and I left there with a bag of the fabric in my hand that they would not let me pay for. When we got back to Sefwi Bekwai we pulled over to the dress maker's shop and she has promised to have my new dress ready by 8:00 tonight. All this for only $10 (and I think I am paying her a bit more than the going rate, but I am fine with that).
The students at the teacher training college. They just squeezed in between the park cars to listen to us.
Roadside stand (above) the avocados and the clothing are both stunning.
The girls outside their hostel. They were getting a treat (a Coke) from the school for serving as ushers at the anniversary on Saturday. They all want to talk to the "Obronee" or white person -- me!
The ladies who have made my dresses. Their shop is in town.
Your dress and his shirt are so nice and professional! Love the pics of the students, school and life in Ghana!
ReplyDeleteTheir socialist approach is interesting. In Metro-Atlanta we have approximately 15 different school districts. The pay scale varies to the tune of a $10,000 range. I wonder how much more unified we would be if we were all paid on the lowest scale?
ReplyDelete