A bucket full of penises.

The last month or so has been super busy, term is coming to a close along with two big projects that I’ve been working on.  The Practical Science Resource box project is one.  The workshops were completed at the beginning of the year and teachers were supposed to be trying out new ideas and coming to the Science Conference I was organising to complete the project  with tried and tested ideas to share with colleagues.  On the whole it has been a successful 7 months for this project and as a pilot it’s one I hope to roll out into two districts next year in a much bigger way having learnt from my experience this year running the pilot.  It’s clear for example that Ghanaians level things to the last minute (much like myself!)  This has lead to an influx of queries and requests for me to visit schools and support; their work, making of the Teaching and learning resources (TLMs) and implementing ideas in the classrooms.  Not all of my visits were like this one but the very young male, naïve (?) and inexperienced teacher requested that I observe a lesson where he was to put his bucket full of penises to good use.

The premise of the lesson was great…not sure he was so naïve and his choice of TLM design may well have been a joke with his young friends but in the classroom his inexperience was clear – I sensed he was squirming and regretting a little his choice once he was up there! The lesson was literally just the children putting on condoms, the Circuit Supervisor (also observing) was constantly interrupting and extending it into an ethical discussion which negated the need for knowing how to put on a condom.  It was stilted, disjointed, lacking in depth and linked learning.  On the upside the Head Teacher was super happy as he had lost 3 of his girls that year because they had had babies… he felt this could help to reduce the numbers the following year. 

There were many simple TLMs that had been produced for the conference. 

They were definitely the less challenging Practical ideas and I’ll be careful to up the ante next year.   Overall I do feel it’s been a pretty positive outcome with lots of room to improve as it rolls out.  We now have to cross out fingers and hope the funding proposal I’ve written gets 30,000 plus GHC approval I need to roll it out to Talensi and Nabdam.. watch this space.