Teacher Discussions & Classes

This series of pictures show our teacher class room in action. The setting is the laundry room which is a covered shed in the middle of our compound. The group ranges from a dozen to 15 people. Watching the expression on people's faces says a lot. In the upper right you can see two people talking intensely at once. Talking over another person is not considered rude in this culture.

The picture in the upper left shows Debra, MJ's co-teacher and our chief translator at these meetings.

I spend a lot of time just waiting for the discussion to go on and finally questions in English emerge. I have tried very hard to stick with process type questions and give advice on process. The content of the discussions must belong to the group membership. I do bring a written outline to the meetings to direct discussions. My co-teacher translates for me. Without the written discussion guides, chaos has a better chance of surviving.

The picture to the lower right features the director of the school. Lidia takes a leadership role in directing discussions and responding to individual questions.