of intricate terraces... This was going to be a doddle. So imagine my jaw dropping when the children diligently opened their books and began reciting chemistry that wouldn't look out of place in an A-level exam. Holy sh*t, were these kids 13-year old geniuses or were they a classic product of rote learning? I decided to test their understanding of sub atomic particles by asking the question: 'what is an atom?'. Cheeks flushed red, the heads began to wiggle from side to side and, bless, they hadn't a clue. They could recall the recently covered content word for word from the book but that was it. These children are amazing. Day after day they attend school, they look immaculate and they sit through hours of lessons where they repeat and write, and yet they understand nothing. The time had come to make learning fun! Starting with science, Giles and I have been utilising everything the town has on offer... Vinegar and baking powder gave year 8 their first ever chemical reaction! And next week we're using lemons to compare reaction rates with different acids! In biology we've been designing balanced meals, drawing round people using chalk and assigning the body's organs. Photosynthesis: the playground is awash with stunning plants and so we've been looking at roots, leaves and flowers. Further still are the opportunities for models... Who says you can't make a cell out of pasta tubes, Brillo pads and ribbon!? This is so satisfying, and better still the response from the children has been great. Perhaps the biggest win of all is the teachers' enthusiasm. Initially wary of our 'hero' status after being embarrassingly lauded by the head teacher in his welcome, they're so eager to learn and are already seeing value in our techniques. Without prompting, Samrat, the science teacher, even said 'this is brilliant, they will remember this forever'! Yes!!!
Perhaps the proudest moment I've had this week was watching Giles deliver a lesson that Ofsted would find hard not to class as outstanding (barring the obvious H&S issues and lack of parental consent forms!). Despite having no teaching experience under his belt he is already addicted to the buzz of crafting imaginative lessons and seeing the response from all. The subject: preventing erosion. The resources: bricks and mud from the playground, a jug of water from our hosts, a plank and some moss. The recipients: A very eager class 4! At the start of the lesson not one child could recall anything they'd 'learned' the day before from their books, and yet after some simple demonstrations involving the model which had been proudly built by Giles at 06:30 that morning, the kids had nailed it! The merits of erracing was understood by all. Furthermore Giles had the buy-in from Anmol, class 4's teacher, who had made a model dam the night before and too felt the pride of having enthused his class.
This really is just the beginning for us but the progress that's being made is beyond satisfying! Sure, I'd love some universal indicator and perhaps a microscope out here, but in really using my imagination the resource bank is actually bursting! Fellow teachers out there, keep your ideas coming!
Pics in order:
1. Giles demonstrates terracing
2. Sarah introduces class 8's first ever chem reaction
3. Giles eagerly builds his model
4. Terracing in action
5. Sumira adds some vinegar to baking powder... Her first endothermic reaction with bubbles!
6. Class 8 experiment 1 of many
7. Class 6 plant biology (and the teacher enjoys it too!)
8. Anmol gets the reaction he wants from his model dam
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