Old Writing
January 18 - Foosball isn’t the most intellectual of pursuits but it is a good way to kill time. I haven’t played in over a year but I had a foosball moment today. A skilled player can score goals with the 2 defensive players or the goalkeeper. There is a danger though in playing with the ball too much. Sometimes the attacking 3 players are positioned such that the goalkeeper fires a shot that is blocked right back into the goal at such a velocity it leaves everyone slightly dazed. Today I opened the soccer season with a reflection goal. Some would call the play lucky, I would agree the ball caromed off my knee, yet I still contend that a significant part of all sports is being in the right place at the right time and you can’t discount that entirely as luck. There were two notable transfers recently in the soccer world. My guess is that you heard about David Beckham going to the LA Galaxy, not because of the implications for the MLS possibly gaining some prestige but because of the absurd amount of money they are paying him. Most athletes are overpaid but $250 million for a premier player past his prime is a monstrosity. The other important transfer was my switch from the Okatjaruu team to the new start up. We had to work through a lot of fine print on the contract and appeals to a phantom obligation to the team before the transfer was complete. In the end I moved to a better team with better kids that speak better English, all of which make for a more enjoyable time on the field for me. The game today finished at 6pm; I went home for water and a shower and found my house felt quite cool until I saw 90 degrees on the thermometer. It’s so hot here that all the egg on our faces from the pitiful grade 10 results is fried over easy. I asked for mine scrambled but it was going to be too messy. There’s really nothing else to say about last year’s grade 10 kids (if you are interested in statistics I could email you a spreadsheet but I doubt anyone wants that much detail). The three schools in the vicinity are in the cellar for the region and the pass rate for the school is trending downwards. Yet we pat ourselves on the back for beating the two schools that are nearby. I don’t know exactly what I will be teaching yet, its only the first week of school. We don’t figure that stuff out til next week. In the interim I am preparing to teach grade 9 and 10 physical science, grade 8 and 9 keyboarding and if I get my way one period per cycle for reading with the grade 8-10. The class load is more than I would like, but the fact is I am here for the kids. I say that in exclusion of the teachers. I have been with them for one week and I’ve had enough. My view of sustainability is increasing the capacity of my learners on academic and personal levels. I don’t have the patience to do much more than that.
I’ll finish this up with one more thought from while I was at Sossusvlei the week before school resume. I was by the pool at the campground doing my best to cope with the sweltering desert heat and then a German family came to the pool. Two things were odd about this family; first the black mother was caring for one black girl and two white boys. The affectionate mixture was unique in itself but more so was that the mother got in the pool and played with the kids. The other volunteers and I were unable to recall another time with had seen an adult playing with their kids. Maybe that is why the boys put up with my ineptitude on the soccer field.
Water
Last year was defined by the unusually large amount of rain we received. This year is similarly characterized by water but by the lack of it. There has been less rain yet the lack of water runs deeper. Throughout the first weeks of school our water supply has been inconsistent, on one day and off the next. Until this week we hadn’t been without water for more than 24 hours so the inconvenience was easily manageable. When the water is on you shower and wash everything else that is dirty and fill up any containers that are empty. The inconsistency convinced me to dust off my Peace Corps issue jerry can and fill it to the brim. On Sunday I woke up hoping to do wash my clothes and get them on the line before it got too hot but when I turned the knob nothing came. Fortunately the water was on for a few hours so I quickly got my clothes and dishes washed per the usual strategy of taking advantage of having water and preparing for another stretch without. Sometime in the afternoon the water was off again but I optimistically expected that it would be back sometime Monday. The sun continued to burn down us through the day on Monday and when I woke up Tuesday the taps were still dry. Monday evening we got 15 minutes of heavy sprinkles that accomplished nothing except to help me get my hair wet so that I could give it a badly needed shampooing. Most of the kids were able to get at least a small drink on Monday but by Tuesday they were all thirsty and lethargic. I gave up on their short attention spans and talked with them about taking their complaining to the next level and having the prefects approach the adults in charge about a solution the kids’ lack of water. The biggest problem is that the kids are not allowed to leave the school grounds yet they could watch teachers leaving to fetch water for themselves from other sources. Lucky for everyone the main pumps seem to be fixed now (Tuesday afternoon) but I still have my 20L jerry can full of water for washing and flushing, 7L of drinking water in the fridge and I added an extra 10L of drinking water to be able to give to some of the kids. Now it just remains to be seen whether the repair will hold this time or if the water will be gone again on Wednesday or Thursday.
I did get to watch the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl on Monday afternoon. After arranging one situation that was later denied I found a backup plan in time to watch Rex Grossman get ripped apart by the announcers and Peyton Manning to be the undeserving MVP. Granted I didn’t see the whole game, but based on his stats, 250 yards, 1 td and 1 int, it seems to me that Manning got the MVP based on the size of the monkey he finally got off his back. Seriously, quarterbacks get too much credit (and blame) for the outcome of a game and if the QB didn’t have a spectacular game then someone else should be honored. How about a defensive player with the 5 takeaways? Considering that Peyton Manning and his offense has been in place for nearly a decade shouldn’t the credit go towards the defensive side of the ball for making the plays to win the championship? Or give it to the punter for keeping the ball away from Devin Hester to avoid another return touchdown.
Another bit of research or just creative thinking that I have not been able to do is to figure out how to utilize the fifty old boxes of colored chalk in the storeroom. It’s too old and hard to be useful for writing but there is a lot of it. I figure grind it into powder and make paint but I’m not sure what other ingredients I would need for this concoction. And we now have a sixteen letter word, ReSPoNSiBiLiTiEs.
Closing thoughts (unedited) from grade 10 learners on how it feels to be in grade 10:
· I am feeling happy and scared.
· I am feling Good Because I will do my school work so that I can go another school at towns
· Fine, because my teachers give me a second changes to attend my school again. It fine because last year I fail with 21 point now I here again.
· I will feel very very happy Because I wante to pass GRADE 10 above 30 points so that every school will wanted mE like a ball wen ther is no resman or MR Refe.
· I feel so great that I am in grade 10. I hope not to say I am in grade 10 but to achive something in life. I hope that I will do it I will try as hard as I can
· I feel Good but I dont want to let the flime of fire burning wich mean I do want to feil my Grade 10 I want my family to feel like me at the first day too
· I feel very Good or so Good becouse I I was wanting GR 10. so that I Can show to athier Coblenz learner how to do the best.
· To be in Grade 10 is a wonderful thing but you feel Like everything anything is all apon you. so you have to handle that process to take it to a place were everything Feed. To be in grade 10 is a wonderfull thing as I said but you feel like you have thornes in your eyes, so you have to remove to see the right path for your future
· I feel nice because I want to finish my school, to support my family.
· I fell were good I am scket ollso I am afraeid to fall this graed I wart to work very hart
· Very nice, good, grate and happy. But sometimes if you are writing exam you will be scert.
· I feel bad because is difucult to be a grade 10 learner Even when u think about the exam
I’ll finish this up with one more thought from while I was at Sossusvlei the week before school resume. I was by the pool at the campground doing my best to cope with the sweltering desert heat and then a German family came to the pool. Two things were odd about this family; first the black mother was caring for one black girl and two white boys. The affectionate mixture was unique in itself but more so was that the mother got in the pool and played with the kids. The other volunteers and I were unable to recall another time with had seen an adult playing with their kids. Maybe that is why the boys put up with my ineptitude on the soccer field.
Water
Last year was defined by the unusually large amount of rain we received. This year is similarly characterized by water but by the lack of it. There has been less rain yet the lack of water runs deeper. Throughout the first weeks of school our water supply has been inconsistent, on one day and off the next. Until this week we hadn’t been without water for more than 24 hours so the inconvenience was easily manageable. When the water is on you shower and wash everything else that is dirty and fill up any containers that are empty. The inconsistency convinced me to dust off my Peace Corps issue jerry can and fill it to the brim. On Sunday I woke up hoping to do wash my clothes and get them on the line before it got too hot but when I turned the knob nothing came. Fortunately the water was on for a few hours so I quickly got my clothes and dishes washed per the usual strategy of taking advantage of having water and preparing for another stretch without. Sometime in the afternoon the water was off again but I optimistically expected that it would be back sometime Monday. The sun continued to burn down us through the day on Monday and when I woke up Tuesday the taps were still dry. Monday evening we got 15 minutes of heavy sprinkles that accomplished nothing except to help me get my hair wet so that I could give it a badly needed shampooing. Most of the kids were able to get at least a small drink on Monday but by Tuesday they were all thirsty and lethargic. I gave up on their short attention spans and talked with them about taking their complaining to the next level and having the prefects approach the adults in charge about a solution the kids’ lack of water. The biggest problem is that the kids are not allowed to leave the school grounds yet they could watch teachers leaving to fetch water for themselves from other sources. Lucky for everyone the main pumps seem to be fixed now (Tuesday afternoon) but I still have my 20L jerry can full of water for washing and flushing, 7L of drinking water in the fridge and I added an extra 10L of drinking water to be able to give to some of the kids. Now it just remains to be seen whether the repair will hold this time or if the water will be gone again on Wednesday or Thursday.
I did get to watch the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl on Monday afternoon. After arranging one situation that was later denied I found a backup plan in time to watch Rex Grossman get ripped apart by the announcers and Peyton Manning to be the undeserving MVP. Granted I didn’t see the whole game, but based on his stats, 250 yards, 1 td and 1 int, it seems to me that Manning got the MVP based on the size of the monkey he finally got off his back. Seriously, quarterbacks get too much credit (and blame) for the outcome of a game and if the QB didn’t have a spectacular game then someone else should be honored. How about a defensive player with the 5 takeaways? Considering that Peyton Manning and his offense has been in place for nearly a decade shouldn’t the credit go towards the defensive side of the ball for making the plays to win the championship? Or give it to the punter for keeping the ball away from Devin Hester to avoid another return touchdown.
Another bit of research or just creative thinking that I have not been able to do is to figure out how to utilize the fifty old boxes of colored chalk in the storeroom. It’s too old and hard to be useful for writing but there is a lot of it. I figure grind it into powder and make paint but I’m not sure what other ingredients I would need for this concoction. And we now have a sixteen letter word, ReSPoNSiBiLiTiEs.
Closing thoughts (unedited) from grade 10 learners on how it feels to be in grade 10:
· I am feeling happy and scared.
· I am feling Good Because I will do my school work so that I can go another school at towns
· Fine, because my teachers give me a second changes to attend my school again. It fine because last year I fail with 21 point now I here again.
· I will feel very very happy Because I wante to pass GRADE 10 above 30 points so that every school will wanted mE like a ball wen ther is no resman or MR Refe.
· I feel so great that I am in grade 10. I hope not to say I am in grade 10 but to achive something in life. I hope that I will do it I will try as hard as I can
· I feel Good but I dont want to let the flime of fire burning wich mean I do want to feil my Grade 10 I want my family to feel like me at the first day too
· I feel very Good or so Good becouse I I was wanting GR 10. so that I Can show to athier Coblenz learner how to do the best.
· To be in Grade 10 is a wonderful thing but you feel Like everything anything is all apon you. so you have to handle that process to take it to a place were everything Feed. To be in grade 10 is a wonderfull thing as I said but you feel like you have thornes in your eyes, so you have to remove to see the right path for your future
· I feel nice because I want to finish my school, to support my family.
· I fell were good I am scket ollso I am afraeid to fall this graed I wart to work very hart
· Very nice, good, grate and happy. But sometimes if you are writing exam you will be scert.
· I feel bad because is difucult to be a grade 10 learner Even when u think about the exam
posted by Brock Blackburn at 4:18 PM
1 Comments:
"It’s so hot here that all the egg on our faces from the pitiful grade 10 results is fried over easy." .... I don't think I can overstate how much i appreciate this voice ..... ;)
Morgan
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