Messages
from
Niger
Nigerien Log
Tuesday, January 20
We had such a fun day today observing at Tibiri School. There are five classroom teachers in the elementary school covering grades 1-6. They are short a teacher so grades 1 and 2 were combined. The classes are quite large 35-40 in a room. It was delightful to see the kids respond to their teachers, and to watch the teachers present to their students. The students displayed an eagerness to learn, but teaching aids and classroom supplies were meager. The curriculum was difficult and quite advanced for the ages of the kids, staff demanded a lot from the students. This school has a reputation for excellence as a high percentage of the students pass their exams. Apparently much higher than the state run schools. We just loved being in the classroom and wished we spoke Hause or even French! Tom does a great job acting as our guide and interpreter. Visiting Tibri School was a wonderfully positive experience in a harsh environment. Tomorrow we will conduct an inservice training and staff development sessions for those teachers. On Thursday we will continue the inservice sessions and do some lesson models.
This Guest House is a good place to live because there are always interesting people coming and going. Tomorrow we are scheduled to have someone take care of our laundry, and we do have dirty dusty laundry! We have been wearing socks and they really get dusty!!
We trust you are all well. We wished we had brought a satellite radio so that we could listen to BBC. We thought we would be able to keep up on news with the Internet, but one is lucky to get just enough time on phone line to send and collect mail. It is easier for Tom when he is at home in Niamey than it is traveling like this. We are blessed to be here and we feel God's leading and presence in our travel and relationships. Thanks for your interest and prayer support.
The desert bums. T & E