There are 46 children that live here in the village and another 7 who attend school here as day students. They are getting what is one of the best educational opportunities available in this area. Where they are at academically is of great interest to me.
I have to consider and share a few things to preface my perceptions. The children are coming from some very rough places. Some were horribly malnourished when they came here and had a rough rough start in life which while they are currently healthy and well fed has some effect on their abilities and stages of learning. Also the local language is Amharic. Amharic is based on an alphabet called the fidel. It's characters resemble Arabic and are very mysterious to the likes of my western eyes and mind. All teaching at school is done in English. The student English development varies. Few are at the point where I would say they are truly bilingual. I believe for the most part their thoughts are still Amharic which they convert to English. While school is taught in English all students also learn some Amharic and Oromo (this is the tongue of this region of Ethiopia) So they all even the preschool are learning 3 alphabets.
I had the privilege of doing some reading assessments on the first grade. Right now they are at a point which would be 1/2 way through the school year. To me most of the first graders are at very early reading stage. They sound out and read simple words and have to go back over it again to gain comprehension. They are getting the idea of reading though. There are a couple for whom reading seems to remain a bit of a mystery though. I have read with most of the second graders one on one. Some are ready to be reading chapter books some are still sounding out word by word. Only a couple are readers that are beginning to show fluency.
My first thought was to feel they were way behind. However considering they are close to bilingual and all getting the idea of reading and know 3 alphabets, I am inclined to think they are somewhat amazing.
I have high hope for most of them to be pretty solid scholars as time goes forward. For the next month I and three very young gals from the US will be trying hard to help them with some one on one tutoring and reading time to give their reading skills a bit of a boost. I think they are at a point
where this can make a big difference for them.
The most reassuring thing for me is that they all love books. Love of books is a big step in reading.
I am hoping and praying my confident thoughts are well placed and we will see some progress in the coming month.
Lori, what a wonderful experience you are having!! I know your time is indeed flying by. I am so glad you will have the chance to help the students one on one! There is so little time for the full time staff to do that and it is needed in all the schools. I had heard that the hardest Village was the one in Ethiopia and now I see why. THREE languages is a challenge for anyone. We just returned from visiting our exchange student in her home in China and had no access to the internet so I was anxious to get home and read your blog. Enjoy every minute as the time passes so quickly. Thanks for what you are doing for most likely some future leaders of Ethiopia!!
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