Le Premier Jour de Classe

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009 school started at the Senegalese-American Bilingual School (SABS).

Though students normally wear uniforms, the first week or two of school they are allowed to wear regular clothes. All of the kids were around the basketball court talking and laughing and it brought me back to my days in middle and high school. It also made me feel very old. :(

I am teaching at the "lycee" which is the high school. High school in Senegal starts with 7th graders and goes until 12th grade. On Tuesdays the only class I teach (at least in the month of September) is 8th grade English. Public school starts in October and since many of the teachers at SABS also teach in the public schools, the schedule will change again.

School started at 7:45 in the morning, sooo early although waking up for Ramadan helped the getting up process. The bell, which reminds me more of the wail of a hurricane alarm sounds and the students get in line behind the teacher holding the sign to their perspective grade. An introduction was given in both French and English after which students walk in a line to their perspective classroom.

To be perfectly honest, the first day was the most disorganized, confusing and outrageous days I have had in a long time. Nothing was really together but teachers had to make sure that students could not sense and feel how unprepared we really were. There was paperwork after paperwork for the students to fill in. By the time it got to my first and only class which was the last period of the day, most of the paperwork was done. The 8th grade which is 6th grade according to the French system (the numbers count backwards) was not separated into Francophone and Anglophone so my classroom was filled with students that speak French, students that speake English, and students that speak both.

You can guess that made it a bit difficult for communcation. But if it's one thing that can be understood by all, it's hangman. So I let the kids happily play until another worksheet was handed out.

Even with all of its quirks and room for improvement, I can't say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the day. Things will continue to progress and all will be pleasant as the school year continues, inch'Allah. (God willing).