By Ryan Trinidad (written on August 9)
Today we went back to Kasoa to receive our orientation for community service. There are three groups. One group is teaching students about HIV/Aids awareness, another is going out into the fishing community and raising awareness about the importance of an education, and the last group are teaching assistants. I chose to be a part of the teaching assistants group. I’ve always wanted to teach younger children, not as a long-term career but just something on the bucket list. So, KB and I sit in the classroom that is filled with students in the 4th and 5th grade. It’s always a good sight to see kids and remembering when you were that young. Sometimes we get too lost in being a grown up and forget what being a little kid is all about. Stress was almost never a factor, and money wasn’t as important. But most of all your number one priority was to have fun. Do you remember how recess felt, and how simple it was to have fun? I saw this within the kids sitting in the classroom with their laughter and constant smiles. This alone made me feel a lot better about the overall mood I would get from the students.
The school’s headmaster, Eric Opoku Agyemang
One thing I learned from sitting in this class was that these kids were smart! Their ability to want to learn was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Kids were fighting to answer questions, and they kept trying even when the answer was incorrect. I was amazed by their determination. I was also impressed by it. So when English was done the class went directly into the next subject, creative arts. Creative arts wasn’t given to us as an option when we first signed up to teach. I was excited to see that the school was learning this, because art is something I include myself in very heavily. The teacher started to draw faces on the board and asked the students to define each face with an emotion. They were all having fun and it was a very hands-on class. I went directly downstairs and asked the headmaster if I could switch to teaching creative arts. Eric told me it was up to me and I could do whatever I felt strongest with. On that note, I hope the students are ready to draw tomorrow!
A school painting
