Back to School!

Sep 22, 2024

5 min read

I have been bestowed with incredible knowledge. I googled how to make tomato paste not taste like crap and have discovered that if I mix in oregano and basil it actually tastes good! Who’d have guessed?! Please share any recipes you know with tomatoes, onions, pasta, and rice. My limited roster of dishes is growing stale. (Will be doing this spaghetti thing again, though, especially after I discovered that adding spices actually makes it edible. Again, who’d have guessed?) (Don’t come after me I spent all of college eating microwave meals) (I’m changing my ways starting tonight).

Very busy week. My first week EVER as a teacher! My first back to school! It was a week full of endless greetings and syllabi and students dressed in khaki uniforms. I love going to school on my bike (neatly avoiding the dreaded pothole) and greeting students as I pass (rather slowly considering I’m going uphill). I feel much more connected with the community. Before class starts, I make a point to socialize with other teachers for a few moments. I do this because it’s good form when greetings are so important in Beninese culture, but also because my host father (who is a science teacher at the same school as me) told me that if I didn’t make a point to chat with my colleagues, I would end up alone. Needless to say, I wish to avoid that fate, so my socializing has become very intentional.

It’s very easy to talk to my colleagues, though. Everyone is interested in where I come from and what my mother language is. I get offered a European charcuterie of French, Spanish, English before they realize I’m an American (and before I speak much French, because anyone who hears me speak French knows I’m not a native speaker). Since I’m a language teacher, my colleagues ask me what languages Americans learn. I tell them the truth: most Americans are monolingual, but I also disclose that when Americans learn to speak a second language, it’s usually Spanish, as it is the most useful considering the rising Hispanic population in the US.

I will teach five courses this semester. This week, I taught seven different blocks on trial with my counterpart. She will keep all seven classes. I need to drop two classes to follow Peace Corps rules. I am so incredibly impressed with my counterpart. She is a very hard worker and loves teaching a lot. She can’t stand doing the same thing every day, to the extent that she has a class in every grade 6-12.

Despite my expectations, 6e (6th grade) is the best behaved class that I have. This will certainly fade a bit as the years go on, but students zealously regulate each other, eager to learn their first words of English. Terminale (12th grade) is by far my favorite class. The first unit of study is entitled “The World’s a Family.” These students are in their final year of school and are highly motivated to learn and succeed, pressure building as they approach the summative exam of every part of their formal secondary education: the baccalaureate. I feel the pressure too to prepare them well. As soon as I get my feet under me, I’m going to research what sorts of exercises will best prepare them.

During the first meeting of Terminale, we established classroom norms (class rules generated and agreed upon by students), and then we pondered some lead-in discussion questions about cultural differences, prejudice, cooperation, international friendship, and more. It was truly special to get to exchange ideas with this group in my mother language. Helping students to form their thoughts was a labor of love. I got to share my experiences as a foreigner in Benin with them. It was powerful to stand as a witness of the great things that kindness can do to bridge cultural differences (I speak not of anything I’ve done, but of the incredible people I’ve met and kindnesses I’ve received). The director who flew to my side when I fell, helping me every step of the way. My Lokossa host family for helping me with my French and truly making me feel at home. My counterpart for her adaptability, tenacity, and generosity, always willing to lend a helping hand.

Let’s talk class sizes. I have one class of eleven students and on the other side of the scale, a class with 68 students. My remaining classes span the scale between the two extremes. I have not learned any names. I ask every class to make name tags and put them out on their desks, and hopefully with time I will learn more. It’s tough to not have a roster. I wish we had InfiniteCampus or PowerSchool or just anything that had photos of the students so I could study at home. It is what it is, and I’ll do my best. Naming is beyond important, so I’ll make it happen. It just may take longer than I would like.

3e (9th grade) is my large class of 68. I have no handle on them whatsoever. In any sense. I’m at a loss with that group. They never stop chatting. I’ve tried being louder, I’ve tried being quieter, and maybe students will taper for a few seconds, but the consistent volume level is dull roar. The curriculum isn’t my favorite. Unit 1? STDs. I appreciate the transparency of the curriculum, but I find it difficult to navigate what is appropriate or how to make the conversation relevant and engaging for students. The curriculum is heavily prohibitive and negative, placing full emphasis on the consequences of youthful larks. In addition, I don’t know the French words for any sexual diseases or medical terms whatsoever. It makes explaining vocabulary rather difficult. I guess it’s immediate motivation to keep studying French. Full disclosure: I’m thinking of dropping this class. If I drop 3e and one of the blocks of Premiere (10th grade), I will have no afternoon classes. I don’t feel bad for doing this, because there’s a high likelihood that the class is about to be split in two. It’s approaching the legal class size limit, and there will be more students next week as more realize that school has started.

I had my first formal Fon lesson, the local language I’m learning. We reviewed greetings and practiced some basic market phrases and vocabulary. My teacher took me to dinner to celebrate the week, but I discovered it was actually a ruse to get me to practice ordering food in Fon. I did alright, but the waiter did veer from my predetermined script, so I got lost and had to ask for help. I ultimately got the food I wanted! Monlikin (rice) and wagasi (cheese).

I’m doing my best to greet my colleagues and neighbors in Fon in order to show that I’m trying my best.

I’m reminding myself that settling in is a marathon, not a sprint. I’m taking frequent breaks, and I intentionally give myself grace. There’s already been a lot of success! Things will continue exponentially, so long as I stay social and determined.