On Teaching in the RIM

Peace Corps Volunteers serve in a variety of sectors, including Health, Agroforestry, and Small Enterprise Development. My sector is Education -- Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). I have mixed emotions about this assignment. I've had some experience teaching in the States, and I've enjoyed it a great deal. However, I'm not sure how I really feel about specifically teaching English here. Am I sending the message that these kids need to learn English so that they can be educated/employed in a "better" country and leave this place behind? I don't want that to be the connotation, but what else is the practical use of learning this language? In any case, as of 1999 here, English education is mandatory from middle school onwards, so my presence is helping meet the demand for trained teachers.

Teaching holds an interesting position in Mauritania. It demands more preparation than many other professions, with four years of university and one year of pedagogy. Teachers are respected and well-regarded within their communities, but they are paid quite poorly. My language teacher says he was earning $100/month after 16 years of experience.

The conditions of the school buildings are, far and wide, nothing like we are accustomed to in the States. Water-damaged, paint-peeling walls and dirt floors are par for the course. There is frequently a shortage of seats, with students crammed shoulder-to-shoulder into what benches there are (understandable when they pack as many as 90 kids in a classroom at times! I am fortunate because my classes will probably only be around 50 each). Books are rare. The teacher writes notes and exercises on the blackboard, and students diligently copy it all down into their notebooks, which are their de facto texts. Allah help you if you have sloppy handwriting. I laugh now when I think about how grumpy my coworkers and I all used to get when the photocopiers would break... I won't be having that problem here! ;)

Yesterday began Week 2 of a three-week "Model School" for us 15 TEFL trainees to do some student-teaching and observing of veteran teachers. We have a slew of real, live Mauritanian kids (middle school and high school) who have signed on to show up to English class every day and keep us on our toes. So far I have taught four classes and really had a blast. (Keep in mind, these are kids who have volunteered to come to school on their summer vacation, so they are generally quite eager to learn and participate!)