Schedule for orientation and PST. Lunch is 1.5 hours long.
Day8:30-10:3010:30-12:302:00-4:004:00-5:30
1Plan for orientation, 1.5 hour breakWait around for rabies shotsDo nothingNothing in particular, 5-minute explanation of Freetown map
2Plan for PST, 1.5 hour breakDevelopment talk that gave no actual informationFirst Krio Lesson (quite fun)Meet President of Sierra Leone (very cool)
3Krio lessonMed kitsSkits on meeting host familyDo nothing/medical interview
4Drive to BoStill driving to BoLunch with host familyDinner with host family
W1
6/24
5
Talk about host families (fun)Useless safety/security talk with lots of buzz words and acronymsUseless development talk about listening to communities rather than simply advancing your own agendaKrio lesson
6Krio lessonRegurgitation of useless safety talkSomewhat entertaining talk on customsKrio lesson
7Krio lesson4MOST Lesson Planning Exercise (not entirely useless)EPIC Journey (actually extremely non-epic mental health talk)Krio lesson
8Krio lessonMedical Policies and First Aid (If you crash your motorcycle, call local doctor, not PC)How to dumb down your speech so African children can understandPlan for going to villages
9Watch village teachers lecture on proper diet and letter writingKrio lesson with talking to people in villageSL Education SystemWandering around village with town cryer.
W2
7/1
12
Educational Materials (textbooks and gradebooks - not actually used)Krio lesson (wandering around village, chatting up locals)Cultural Sensitivity, Take #124Krio lesson
13First goal of PC (I skipped, but sounded worthless)Diversity (brought in Indian and Chinese-American PCVs)KrioSexual Assault Awareness (How to avoid inadvertently enticing Sierra Leoneons).
Site Interview (to determine where I would be sent)
14Using language to avoid harassment. Independence Day Activity PlanningThe dangers of a singular story (somewhat interesting)Connecting different components of mathematic/scientific literacy (100% worthless)Learning how to present Independence Day activities in Krio
15Krio - Gender Equality (very nearly a mutiny on account of universal frustration)VATs discussing cheating and other challengesMath Syllabus (i.e. no matter what we do, no student in our schools has any chance of passing the tests)Watching Anchorman with popcorn and soda (to celebrate the 4th)
16War Don Don (movie and discussion with trainers who were there)Science Syllabus, lecture plan practiceLearning about Community Mapping and Pairwise Ranking (this latter term could actually be really useful for one of my sociological research projects!)Krio - Exploring the burroughs of New York
W3
7/8
19
Krio - TransportationDifferent teaching strategies (repetition vs. substitution vs. transformation)Drawing children's books based on stories (??)Krio - Talking to taxi drivers
20PeerTeach (25-minute lessons to classes made of 5 peers) - I taught on binary numbersDental Health/Nutrition, Cooking Demo by PCV coupleHow to use protractor/compassKrio - Telling thieves what's up
21Transportation Safety - "I ask that you seriously consider this serious topic with all seriousness"Malaria - drawing your blood and performing a rapid test (cool!)Krio - Ordering at a CookeryGardening - putting seeds in the ground (I really wanted this to be useful, but it was not)
22Teaching a lesson in village classroom (drawing to scale)Teaching another lesson (perimeter)Community Mapping ExerciseMoney Matters Krio Lesson and walkaround town (visit to PCV's house)
23KrioRelationships (with other volunteers and locals)Teaching Science Experiments, i.e. "How to suck acids/bases through a pipette with your mouth"Krio - Walk to lorry park to practice ordering at restaurants
W4
7/15
26
KrioSample Math lesson from VAT and 2-hour Q&AStudent-centered classroom (i.e., heed your students' need. i.e., naptime)Krio - Visiting the Tailor to get fine clothes sewn
27Krio - Visiting the DoctorSexual Assault Awareness (part 2)Community development talk of some kind, I thinkSites Announced! I'm going to Jaiama Nimikoro in the Kono district
28Krio - Medical Care and Parts of the BodyGender Equality (not again!) and STIs (i.e., how to correctly put on a condom)Involving Youth in Social Programs (painfully useless)Krio - Dirty Jokes
29Krio - Language Test PracticeDemystifying Critical ThinkingCheckup exams for language , safety and security, community development and cross-culturalSample questions: "What is the Duty phone number?", "Name 5 ways in which Sierra Leone is different from America"
30Kono - Intro to Language (tones, nasal consonants)Gender Roles/Intro to IslamKono - How to name your childrenMaking Math/Science sessions more engaging/Slave labor for clearing more land for Mapco farm
W5
7/22
33
Supervisor Conference: Peace Corps Mission and GoalsRoles and ResponsibilitiesAmerican DiversityPeer Observations
34Supervisor Conference: Rehash of what was said MondayTeacher Communities of PracticeScenarios - what to do if you see your volunteer riding an okadaTravel logistics
35-39Site Visit (i.e. Drink way too many Star Beers with principal, NGO officers, paramount chief, and supreme court justice)
W6
7/29
40
Site Visit ReviewClassroom Management (i.e. Don't hit your kids)Visual Aids (charts and stuff)Revisiting Krio
41Kono: NumbersCreativity with Limited Resources (this class was a very non-creative use of two hours of our lives)Teaching Vocabulary (not sure what this was about, but it was a huge waste of time)Kono: 'I am jumping'
42Kono: Names of random objects we see around usError Correction (i.e. Don't call your students stupid)Kono: Names of jungle animalsSummer School Briefing
43Kono: Coming and goingSafety and Security: Bystander Intervention (sadly, they didn't show us the final episode of Seinfeld)Assessments (giving tests)Life Skills Presentation Prep
44Kono: I'm going to the toilet!Q&A with VATsPrep for Life SkillsPresentation on Malaria and Nutrition
W7
8/5
47
Summer school - JSS2 (7th-ish grade) Rules and Math AssessmentSummer school - JSS1 (6th-ish grade) Rules and Math AssessmentKono: Animals of the BushClass Prep
48Summer school - JSS2 (7th-ish grade) Introduction to FractionsSummer school - JSS1 (6th-ish grade) Introduction to FractionsObservations and Evaluations (i.e., We are watching you - don't screw up!)Kono: Fruits
49Summer school - JSS2 (7th-ish grade) Learning Fractions through PizzaSummer school - JSS1 (6th-ish grade) Learning Fractions through PizzaReporting your Coworkers for Illicit BehaviorMeeting with Country Director pertaining to earlier bicycling transgression...