Dis Ting: A Ghanaian Whatchimacallit: A bit about DASS

Entrance to DASS

I teach at Donkorkrom Agriculture Secondary School, one of four agric schools in Ghana. One of the perks of working at such a school is the beautifully kept land. The students weed the grounds for the whole first week of each term. The special care of one’s natural surroundings isn’t just particular to DASS. Many Ghanaians wake up at dawn and sweep their house and even outside. The verb to sweep, “pra”, was one of my first vocab words in Twi class. Anyway, the school grounds are very quaint. Students who enter DASS choose one of five programs: General Arts, Business, Agriculture, Science, and Visual Arts. There are 3 terms, with the longest break being from end of July to early September. Students who go to DASS either live in Donkorkrom or board at the school if they are from out of town. They are required to wear a turquoise uniform for school.

Canteen at the center of campus

Form 2 Boys

I am part of the science department and I teach elective physics classes to Form 2 students (or sophomores as Americans would know it) in the Agriculture and Science programs. My first term began three weeks ago, but I’ve only taught for one week. During the first two weeks I did not have a schedule yet. I wasn’t too sure what my presence at the school meant without classes to teach. I still made it a point to visit the school once a day. Each time I went there a couple students asked me to come to their class and teach something. So I taught a few impromptu classes, but I was mainly trying to get to know some students. I asked everyone their names, where they are from, and their favorite thing about Donkorkrom. Some said they like the farming and fishing here, some like the ethnic diversity (Akans and Ewes), and some like school.

Form 2 Science classroom

So far I have just covered some basics to the students, who are learning physics for the first time. Although they all speak English, it’s still very hard for them to understand me, no matter how much I think I’m slowing my speech down. Sometimes I ask the class a question and everyone looks blank and I have to tell them, “I am asking a question.” Then they say, “yes, Madame” even if I was not looking for yes or no. On the first day of class I asked the students if they have learned about scalar and vector quantities. I looked around the class and no one raised their hand. I repeated, “Scalar- do you know that? Vector- do you know it?” And a few kids said no. So I said, “have you heard the words before, but not the exact definition?” “Yes, Madame.” “Okay, well if you had to guess, how would you define a scalar quantity?” After I asked that, one kid raised his hand and gave me textbook definitions of both scalar and vector. I’m left guessing whether or not I’m teaching them the right thing.

This past weekend Joe and I traveled to Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, to buy bikes with our moving in allowance. There is a lovely hostel-type residence just for PCVs called the Kumasi Sub-Office (KSO) with books, computers, a kitchen, bunk beds, medical supplies and other stuff.