There is nothing wrong with the JIJO’s,
we need them for one big reason: they bring in new ideas to teachers who
otherwise would never have heard about these ideas. The problem lies with the
teachers who work in under-resourced situations.
These teachers live with their problems. The rooms are not spacious; there is fixture, not furniture. The concrete blackboard gives off cloudy dust when wiped. The room is crowded. Many learners attend the lessons without textbooks, the only teaching learning material supposedly available. The school does not have budget for extra teaching learning materials; anything other than textbooks, chalk and duster are extra. Teachers can’t afford anything on their own. Some enthused teachers try to find extra materials as suggested by the trainers, but such materials are not available at the local stationers’ or other stores because they do not usually sell. Though the realia are an issue in the training, trainers do not usually use realia. They have brought better things. So the teachers do not find anything usable around them. There is no library.
The textbook activities require pair work and group work as the theory says learners should be actively involved in their own learning. There should be extra reading materials for children; students should be engaged in tasks and projects. Audio players are not only useful but a must for developing students’ listening; picture writing is motivating for learners as they can imagine several things by looking at the colourful big poster hung on the wall. Excursions allow students to write reports and descriptions. Students should spend at least a few hours in the library every week.
During the training there is always one standard conversation that takes place between the trainer and the teachers after one or two activities have taken place.
Trainer: This is useful; do it and see how effective it is in your class.
Teachers: It does not work at our situation. We do not have things this activity requires. We work at under-resourced situations. You do not know our situation.
What can we do to bridge the gap?
Laxman from Nepal
Comments
laxman_gnawali
My colleague Tika sent me an email as a commnet on the above post. He says:
It captures the current practices in the Nepalese schools. The big number
of students sitting on fixture for 40-45 minute period creates hurdles for the teachers who want apply what they have learnt in training. Today's students' apathy to learning is another barrier for teachers to effectively work in the class. Trainers' "new" ideas may not fit well in the the culturally contextualized procedure. So teachers are trapped in barriers of various dimensions. Still teachers are teaches; they keep teaching whether rain or shine.
Isn't that great?
tikarampokhrel
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Tika, Nepal
I see, most of professional people discuss in the training session and training is not genearally imparted in work-place to teachers. Training on the place may prove them good opportuninties to reflect upon their practicews. I hope very soon, we will apply on the job training and reflect on the action. let us see how far is it useful in Nepal as well as in other countries too.