Of Late
I know that I post so rarely and for that I’m sorry guys. Things happen so quickly and it’s easy to get swept up in it. Thanks for those of you who check often! So here are a few things that have been taking over my life recently:
School Cs:
The Samoan School Certificates (SSC) are country wide exams for the Year 12 students. They try to get one for each of their subjects and need a certain amount to continue on to Year 13. They can only get into university if they get through the PSSC (region wide certificates) in Year 13 so if they don’t make it to Year 13 at all there is really no chance for them to get any higher education.
Let me take a minute to discuss this. Like many other countries, the number of universities in Samoa is extremely limited. There are two. Our school program is not as demanding as, say China or India, so these kids don’t really have opportunity elsewhere unless their families can afford to educate them early on overseas. There’s a lot of training programs (for secretarial work, the tourism industry, etc) so it’s not always either university or working on the family plantation for the rest of your life but still, I want these kids to succeed.
Alright, back to School Cs. Each SSC isn’t just an exam but consists of Internal Assessments that are taken throughout the year as well. For most subjects teachers get an IA outline that gives them a little leeway when it comes to selecting specifics. For Computer Studies (my subject) this is how it works: Throughout the year the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture (yeah, I know) sends me four different CATs (Common Assessment Tasks). Each one is an activity the kids must complete on the computer (on file management, word processing, spreadsheets, and databases). I receive the CAT in the mail, I administer it, I save the results of all my kids onto a single CD and then I send the CD and my marking sheets back to the MESC to get approved. The activity is basically a sheet of tasks (make a new folder, open notepad and type the following). In the third term, there is a final project. The teachers are allowed to select the project as long as it follows certain guidelines and is approved by the MESC. My proposal is going through the ministry right now. Some of the project examples are brochures, posters, invitations, anything really that allows them to combine text and graphics. The projects are collected and evaluated in the same way as the CATs. All four CATs and the major project are all International Assessment and make up most of the final SSC grade. The last part of the grade comes from the exam at the end of the year (external assessment). This is a written exam that covers everything from common errors to hardware functions.
As a first year teacher, this whole process is actually a bit daunting, especially considering:
1. I had no real idea how the School Cs worked beforehand and it has taken me until very recently to really understand the process. There is so much that people assume you know.
2. My kids have never touched a computer before they had my class and only know about them from TV and movies. Now they're expected to understand the interplay between the RAM, the CPU, and the hard drive that occurs when a document is being saved in word. Just imagine that you didn't have your lifetime of experience and were suddenly expected to learn EVERYTHING within the span of a school year when you only have a few hours a week if you're lucky.
They just sat the CAT1 on file management and what an adventure it was. Twenty-eight Year 12 students, five computers. The ministry suggests that each student be given around forty minutes to complete the task and that they all take it the same day so that they're all on equal ground. On the days I have my Year 12, I have them for an hour and forty minutes. I decide this can be done, we'll just spill into after school if we need to (I have them the last two periods of the day) and take turns. Oh wait, let's throw in a faulty computer that keeps freezing on the kids (that brings us down to four) and half-way through the exam, for kicks, let the power go out. Well, it all worked out in the end, sort of, and I dropped the stuff off at the ministry. File management (creating new folders, saving files into specific folders, moving or copying files from one folder to another) is a very difficult concept for my kids. They actually did better with hardware, mainly because that stuff can all be memorized. Some of these kids have never used actual folders before and the idea of copy/paste is so foreign that it needs to be revisited in class all the time. The kids are great though, simply awesome. They knew the first CAT had been hard for them and the next morning they came to my lab to ask me what would be next and how they should practice for it. I made up some Word activities and set them to work. They've been practicing every free period they have and have been asking to stay after school. The CAT isn't' for another three weeks. I'm amazed by them.
As for my Year 13 students, my principal decided that they shouldn't sit the PSSC for computer studies this year. They are at the same level as Year 12 and the PSSC is much harder so I agreed. I'm teaching them more practical stuff and I'm able to take my time with them.
My Host Family
My house is on a family's property. There are three people in my host family: my host parents Fiasiumu [Fee-ah-see-ooo-moo] (host mom) and Tagiao [Ta-ngee-ow] and my seventeen-year-old host brother Ulavale [Oo-la-va-lay]. When I first came into the Peace Corps I had never wanted to live with a host family but I could not be happier with mine. I have my own house and since there are no little kids, I have a lot of privacy. Plus, I get to make my own food (though I usually eat with them on Sundays after church) which helps (though sadly not too much) in making sure I'm getting enough nutrition. Not only is it safer to live with a family, but they can always tell when I've had a bad day and will usually have me come sit with them or make me food. I never considered before how amazingly good it is to have people to come home to when days are rough. They provide me with so much, like electricity, water, rides when I need them, and it is Samoan culture to give back so I try to help them in any way I can. I help my host mom get materials for the preschool she runs in the house, I help my host brother figure things out on his computer or simply give him homework help. I'm also always on hand if they can't figure out something with their TV, VCR, or DVD player (access to a DVD player, another host family bonus).
Peace Corps in General
Emotions run extremely high in the Peace Corps. There are days spent in the depths of despair as you try to resolve what purpose you serve here. There often isn't a lot of appreciation. Leaving family and friends to fly to the other side of the world just to help only to encounter certain people that treat you like they don't want you here is emotionally tumultuous. There are days though when things just seem to work, you successfully proposed a new project, your students finally understand the concept you've been explaining and reexplaining or you even have a moment where you feel you've been accepted, you feel like you belong. You have to find the good things amid the bad and savor them because they are the reason you came in the first place.
School Cs:
The Samoan School Certificates (SSC) are country wide exams for the Year 12 students. They try to get one for each of their subjects and need a certain amount to continue on to Year 13. They can only get into university if they get through the PSSC (region wide certificates) in Year 13 so if they don’t make it to Year 13 at all there is really no chance for them to get any higher education.
Let me take a minute to discuss this. Like many other countries, the number of universities in Samoa is extremely limited. There are two. Our school program is not as demanding as, say China or India, so these kids don’t really have opportunity elsewhere unless their families can afford to educate them early on overseas. There’s a lot of training programs (for secretarial work, the tourism industry, etc) so it’s not always either university or working on the family plantation for the rest of your life but still, I want these kids to succeed.
Alright, back to School Cs. Each SSC isn’t just an exam but consists of Internal Assessments that are taken throughout the year as well. For most subjects teachers get an IA outline that gives them a little leeway when it comes to selecting specifics. For Computer Studies (my subject) this is how it works: Throughout the year the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture (yeah, I know) sends me four different CATs (Common Assessment Tasks). Each one is an activity the kids must complete on the computer (on file management, word processing, spreadsheets, and databases). I receive the CAT in the mail, I administer it, I save the results of all my kids onto a single CD and then I send the CD and my marking sheets back to the MESC to get approved. The activity is basically a sheet of tasks (make a new folder, open notepad and type the following). In the third term, there is a final project. The teachers are allowed to select the project as long as it follows certain guidelines and is approved by the MESC. My proposal is going through the ministry right now. Some of the project examples are brochures, posters, invitations, anything really that allows them to combine text and graphics. The projects are collected and evaluated in the same way as the CATs. All four CATs and the major project are all International Assessment and make up most of the final SSC grade. The last part of the grade comes from the exam at the end of the year (external assessment). This is a written exam that covers everything from common errors to hardware functions.
As a first year teacher, this whole process is actually a bit daunting, especially considering:
1. I had no real idea how the School Cs worked beforehand and it has taken me until very recently to really understand the process. There is so much that people assume you know.
2. My kids have never touched a computer before they had my class and only know about them from TV and movies. Now they're expected to understand the interplay between the RAM, the CPU, and the hard drive that occurs when a document is being saved in word. Just imagine that you didn't have your lifetime of experience and were suddenly expected to learn EVERYTHING within the span of a school year when you only have a few hours a week if you're lucky.
They just sat the CAT1 on file management and what an adventure it was. Twenty-eight Year 12 students, five computers. The ministry suggests that each student be given around forty minutes to complete the task and that they all take it the same day so that they're all on equal ground. On the days I have my Year 12, I have them for an hour and forty minutes. I decide this can be done, we'll just spill into after school if we need to (I have them the last two periods of the day) and take turns. Oh wait, let's throw in a faulty computer that keeps freezing on the kids (that brings us down to four) and half-way through the exam, for kicks, let the power go out. Well, it all worked out in the end, sort of, and I dropped the stuff off at the ministry. File management (creating new folders, saving files into specific folders, moving or copying files from one folder to another) is a very difficult concept for my kids. They actually did better with hardware, mainly because that stuff can all be memorized. Some of these kids have never used actual folders before and the idea of copy/paste is so foreign that it needs to be revisited in class all the time. The kids are great though, simply awesome. They knew the first CAT had been hard for them and the next morning they came to my lab to ask me what would be next and how they should practice for it. I made up some Word activities and set them to work. They've been practicing every free period they have and have been asking to stay after school. The CAT isn't' for another three weeks. I'm amazed by them.
As for my Year 13 students, my principal decided that they shouldn't sit the PSSC for computer studies this year. They are at the same level as Year 12 and the PSSC is much harder so I agreed. I'm teaching them more practical stuff and I'm able to take my time with them.
My Host Family
My house is on a family's property. There are three people in my host family: my host parents Fiasiumu [Fee-ah-see-ooo-moo] (host mom) and Tagiao [Ta-ngee-ow] and my seventeen-year-old host brother Ulavale [Oo-la-va-lay]. When I first came into the Peace Corps I had never wanted to live with a host family but I could not be happier with mine. I have my own house and since there are no little kids, I have a lot of privacy. Plus, I get to make my own food (though I usually eat with them on Sundays after church) which helps (though sadly not too much) in making sure I'm getting enough nutrition. Not only is it safer to live with a family, but they can always tell when I've had a bad day and will usually have me come sit with them or make me food. I never considered before how amazingly good it is to have people to come home to when days are rough. They provide me with so much, like electricity, water, rides when I need them, and it is Samoan culture to give back so I try to help them in any way I can. I help my host mom get materials for the preschool she runs in the house, I help my host brother figure things out on his computer or simply give him homework help. I'm also always on hand if they can't figure out something with their TV, VCR, or DVD player (access to a DVD player, another host family bonus).
Peace Corps in General
Emotions run extremely high in the Peace Corps. There are days spent in the depths of despair as you try to resolve what purpose you serve here. There often isn't a lot of appreciation. Leaving family and friends to fly to the other side of the world just to help only to encounter certain people that treat you like they don't want you here is emotionally tumultuous. There are days though when things just seem to work, you successfully proposed a new project, your students finally understand the concept you've been explaining and reexplaining or you even have a moment where you feel you've been accepted, you feel like you belong. You have to find the good things amid the bad and savor them because they are the reason you came in the first place.
posted by Meghan Veltri | 5:15 PM
6 Comments:
Your tenacity is unwavering. We are so proud of you and at wonder of your never-ending approach to teach in conditions that task your patience.
Your efforts today will have an enormous and positive impact on the village of Si'umu and your current students.
All our love and support.
Your Easton family
Meghan,
I have been nominated to a post in the South Pacific where I would teach computers (no invitation yet, so no details...the rumor has it we [going with my husband] leave in October). Anyway, if you have time to send an email, I would greatly appreciated anything further you can share on your teaching experience. I am most interested to learn if you worked in a computer field before joining the Peace Corps and what level of computer hardware knowledge you had before you left.
You can reach me at estellagr8@yahoo.com
Love from the colder climates! It's great to hear you have access to a DVD player! I've been so worried about your movie habit :) Try blowing your breath outside in our direction. Maybe by the time it reaches us it'll snowball into a warm weather front.
hey jsut want to come up here again and say hello..i am so happy to read that you are enjoying there espercailly where i was born and grew up...thanks girl for doing such a great job there...and yea i miss easter...american easter is different fro the samoan easter.....good luck girl and hope all is well
It is fascinating to read your blog! My daughter is now in Samoa, and from what I have heard, her job will be similar to yours. Teaching computer skills in the schools. Reading your experiences gives me a clue about what her experience may be like. Thanks for sharing this.
Hello, thanks for putting up your brilliant story. I was looking for email address or phone number for that family. I really wants to contact my best girlfriend, Iulieta who is their daughter but I have no idea how, so my last option is looking on the internet for some information or on bebo....what a day..if u have any email address or phone number of that family will u please send it to me. Im Katarina, we went with their daughter at W.S Polytech. Its been ages but I really wants to contact her. I hope you will share with me some more details of Tagiao family. Im living at Melbourne, Australia. Looking forward to hear from u soon.
Please u can reach me at taeleipu57@hotmail.com
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