School

The inside of a classroom

This is a small school.  Most schools have several buildings like this one.

This blog is especially for my WWS correspondence class.  You asked what the schools here are like.  They are much different than they are in America.  First of all, most kids in the US speak English at home and at school.  In The Gambia, kids speak one language at home (It might be Mandinka, Jola, Wolof, Fula or another one of the local languages.) and a different language at school (English). When the children start school, they have to start lerning English as well as their other subjects.  Gambian students study many of the same subjects as American students: science, math, English, physical education, art and social studies; but they also study agriculture and Islamic studies. 

There are no school busses here, so most of the kids walk to school.  Some ride bicycles, and in the city some kids ride public transportation.  The schools here do not have windows so that it does not get too hot in their classroom.  Most schools outside of the city do not have electricity, so that means no computers or television or air conditioning. 

Every morning, the students have an assembly where they hear announcements, sing the national anthem of The Gambia and recite a prayer.  After assembly, students go to their classrooms.  They study their lessons until lunchtime.  They learn by copying from the blackboard, reading out loud, reciting parts of their lessons from memory, singing songs, and doing practice work.  At lunch, the students spread out over the school yard to eat.  Students get into groups, and each group gets a bowl of rice with some sauce.  In some schools, there are not enough teachers for all of the classes, so a new group of students comes after lunch and the morning students go home.  Students have many responsibilities at school.  Some students are responsible for sweeping their classrooms, some fetch water for their class, and some water the school garden.

If you have any more questions, let me know.