Cape Coast Workshops

Tuesday July 22^nd

We arrived at school at the usual time. Today we started with a discussion of the curriculum led by Ernest. After that we broke up into two groups, K-1 and  grades 2-6 and we talked about Successes, Challenges and Best Practices in teaching in their schools. Barb and I led this session and started with Successes this week rather than with Challenges as we did last week. We heard lots of interesting success stories, from teachers collecting firewood from students and selling it to buy a computer for the school, to a PTA fundraising to build a cement building. At lunch Owen, Angela and I went for a walk around the complex and met a young student teacher who is writing exams this week and getting ready for graduation. It was really interesting talking to her about the process and her feelings about the fact that she knew she had a job in a remote rural village. She is 22 and the village is far from home. She is very excited but nervous too.

Cindy and Barb ran a language workshop for the last two hours and then we headed to the hotel. It was decided that four people would go to the AIDS workshop this evening and the rest of us who were planning for tomorrow's Canada Night would stay behind. The four of us went for a swim first, and then dinner. We had a couple of large beers with dinner. Then we regrouped in the lobby with our computers and another beer and finished our planning. We retired shortly after that.