A staffroom that looks like a staffroom

Day 24 – May 29

Today, on the last official day of the internship, there is very little to report. I supervised the writing of two exams: the Form IB Civics exam in the first session and the Form IIB Biology exam in the second session. Both went off without incident.

The best part came at the end of the day, around 3pm, when the carpenter’s truck pulled up. He was delivering the office tables and chairs for the staffroom. Most of the staff had already gone home, so they will have a nice surprise when they arrive at work tomorrow morning. The staffroom is now looking a lot more just that: a staffroom. All the teachers now have a proper table and proper chair to sit at, plan their lessons and mark work. Hopefully it will help the teachers feel more comfortable and thus more inclined to do their jobs professionally.

After arranging the tables, I told the headmaster that I would like to try and take a school picture. With more than 200 students, it was no easy feat, but we got them lined up pretty well and I think the result is quite nice. Hard to see all the faces in a small shot, though; might have to get an enlargement.

On the route home, the headmaster and I stopped for a quick bite and a drink. In our conversation, I tried to press the error of corporal punishment at school and the poor lessons it teaches the children. Yesterday when I was talking with Mr. Nazari about this, I think it finally struck home and he realized the wrong in it. Unfortunately, however, today’s conversation seemed to do nothing to convince the headmaster to cease beating the children. He is convinced (and sadly, he’s not the only one) that with “these African children”, as he put it, sometimes it’s the only way they’ll learn. There was a time that Canadian educators believed it as well, though that practice has now been abolished. Let’s hope Tanzania is just a few steps behind in the same process and that they’ll see the light sooner rather than later.

While the internship is officially over today, I will be going in for one more day tomorrow to supervise an exam in the morning session and to receive the delivery of the last of the furniture (large shelf and lockable cupboard) that the carpenter is bringing.