life! Lyndsay Allen’s Sri Lanka Teacher Exchange blog – From
March 4th
After setting enough cover work to last two weeks (a very complicated job), jamming as many resources as possible along with clothes, shoes and of course hair straighteners into my suitcase I am heading off to Serendip /Ceylon/
March 5th
We arrive to a very hot and humid
The drive from the airport to Rathgama is really interesting; it’s such a shame I had to do it in the dark. From the urban sprawl of
Thursday 6th March
Today is a Tamil (Hindu) holiday so all the schools are closed, excellent news as I am exhausted. After my first Sri Lankan breakfast, omelette, bread and Dhaal I head off to explore
Manju, my three wheeler (Tuk Tuk) driver during my time here takes me for a stroll around Galle Fort’s historic sites. He explains how the tsunami devastated
walls, a reminder of the power of the wave; it is so heavy they can’t tow it away. The five of us then take a refreshment break in the luxury New Oriental during a fierce thunder storm. We head back to Rathgama just in time for me to me to meet my new class, at Mrs. Medes’ afternoon school. Most children in
Back at Rathgama, Sam has ordered birthday cake which he feeds each of us in turn. At dinner Mrs. Mendis has cooked up a storm, a variety of Sri Lankan dishes with, more spice than I’d usually eat so I’m building up my tolerance.
In the middle of a rain shower, I decide to take the short walk to the shop just around the corner to buy some water. Everyone was looking at me as if I was mad. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a strange face or a lone woman. I failed in my quest for water! I went to two shops to get water; both said they didn’t have it. I ended up pointing to some 7up and walking home defeated that my slow English hadn’t worked. Mental note: learn more Sri Lankan. You can’t just say Vater instead of water and expect people to understand.
Tomorrow is the first day at Mawadiwala Vidyalaya, (Vidyalaya means school in Sinhala) it feels like the day before my first teaching practice. I have no idea what to expect, I’m petrified they won’t have a clue what I’m going on about.
Friday 7th March
The school is about 3km away; this is about 20 minutes in a Tuk Tuk. The route along the “main road” from Rathgama junction takes me past a banana plantation and a large section of jungle that has been deforested to make way for Tsunami Relief housing. We arrive at the school and the Mobile Library and the rest of the Help Lanka team are already at the school. The Principle is very shy and most teachers don’t speak English. The teachers that do speak English are quickly called to the Principle’s office to help with the interpretation. It is then decided to call an assembly in the main hall, usually used as two classrooms. The 600 pupils ranging from Grade 5 to Grade 11 are superbly organised, like an army of ants, carrying a chair each from their classrooms. Sam (Help Lanka) and I then give an assembly about Help Lanka and
I am then ushered into three more classes and repeat the same lesson. At interval Mr.Sampath ( Vice Principal) makes me stop for a cold drink and a well needed break. I then am escorted on a tour of the school.
The school has two sections, Primary and Secondary and all pupils either cycle or walk to school. The school facilities are very basic but what they have, they use well. Some classrooms have no electricity and there are no windows in the school. The Grade 5 pupils are part of the Secondary Section of the school but are taught by a primary trained teacher, this is an excellent means of transition! Class sizes are quite small, at approximately 18 per class they’re better than the
After the school tour, the photocopier finally arrives so we can have the presentation ceremony. Typically Sri Lankan, the photocopy engineer is an hour late. It is finally set up, with 20 very interested pupils looking on. The presentation is in the schools’ computer room. An empty classroom with three donated computers, now a photocopier and only one plug socket! A very old extension lead appears from some where. After the obligatory photo session it’s time to meet the rest of the staff. The Domestic Science teacher has prepared Sri Lankan pastries and a Grade 11 boy has climbed a tree to get me a king coconut to drink. The school day goes so quickly!
In the afternoon back at the Help Lanka tuition class the parents and pupils who will be sponsored for the next year are invited to a meeting about the programme. The 10 pupils (ranging from age 4 to 9) are really well behaved. They usually work in silence for three hours doing Maths, Sinhalese and English. I focus on spoken English and giving the pupils the confidence to speak.
Saturday 8th March
I set out early this morning to fit as much into my weekend off as possible. I go to see the
Sunday 9th March
There’s a turtle sanctuary at Ambalangoda a few miles away that releases 20,000 turtles a year into the sea. I released a baby turtle in to the sea, they seem to know which way to go! We stop at an Eco Lodge for a drink and then go back to the Amaya Reef hotel which is like my tourist haven! I eat my first meal alone in 27 years! It was actually very nice to eat 7 jumbo prawns without having to share.
Monday 10th March
The pupils are super excited again. I teach Year 11B for the first time. There is a huge girl/boy divide. Girls are much more enthusiastic, hard working and according to their teacher higher achieving. I use the rugby ball for questioning again, and it works so well with the boys. By the end of the lesson they are all confidently speaking out loud in English.
The staff give up their break for a presentation and question and answer session about BCS and Help Lanka. The staff are really impressed by the session and give lots of positive feedback.
The general feeling is that the £65 starting teaching salary is low, even by Sri Lankan standards. This is leading to low moral and boycotts of lessons.
I spend the afternoon with the grade 5 class using the parachute and balls to introduce English and a positive attitude to me.
In the evening we go to a Coming of Age party in a near by village. Manju’s 8 year old neice has had her first period, and, following Sri Lankan tradition, they y throw an extravagant party. I am welcomed by Manju’s mother who is so pleased to have me at the party, I’m like the special guest. Only men are dancing to the Sinhalese band that are playing. The food is fantastic and I’m starting to get used to eating with my hand. I sit with the boys as no one else speaks English and drink Arrack with them.
Tuesday 11th March
Mr. Thilakerathne is absent today which means I covered his timetable for most of the day, typical. There are no supply teachers used in the secondary section, nor is there any cover work. I taught 2 year 8 classes together and one pupil (Lakshunu) was getting a bit over excited and silly, I was on my own so gave the Level System a try. At level 3 I warned him if he got to 4 he would leave, he did and after 10 mins I invited him back in to the classroom, then he worked well.
Year 11 boys are the same the world over. They are laid back!!! Their English text books are so advanced yet the pupils seem able to speak virtually no English. Year 6a demanded that I teach them today, I was frog marched from one classroom where I was observing to their homeroom. I had no idea where their teacher was.
Lahiru’s family invited us over for a family dinner. There were many dishes as expected by Sinhalese hospitality. Again, it was very awkward as the hosts won’t eat at the table with their guests. After dinner, everyone sits about in silence on garden plastic chairs.
Wednesday 12th March
Today I was using the mobile library with a grade 6 class. They were very excited about using the games and the books and puzzles. At one point I looked up and realised there were over 60 pupils on the field, a lot more than the 18 I started with. Pupils have decided to leave their own lessons and join mine! I suppose it’s better than wondering around the school building. I started to make the video tour of the school with three pupils, Thamasha, Varsana and Ishani. Thamasha has already completed her O’level exams (the equivalent to GCSEs taken in Year 11) however she still comes to school to study and use the library and her English skills are proving invaluable to me. Many pupils continue to attend school to act as prefects and continue their studies. Thamasha is taking an IT course in
In the afternoon, Mrs. Mendis’ class were also very excited to use the mobile library. We made butterflies using the paints and used the parachute game outside to learn the different colours in English. When the pupils went back to their Mathematics and Sinhalese work they were very focussed and enthusiastic. One of the pupils, Harshani, a grade 1 pupil who is usually very anxious at the end of the day and always wanting to leave, didn’t want to leave!
Thursday 14th March
Today I spend most of the day with Mr. Jagath’s grade 5 class. I taught the class using the rugby ball and the pupils were very enthusiastic, hard working and obedient. After the lesson, we spent an hour face painting. None of the pupils had had their faces painted and thoroughly enjoyed acting and looking like lions, witches and pirates. I saw corporal punishment used for the first time when a grade 5 pupil was clipped around the ear for becoming too noisy!!
Grade 11 pupils had the afternoon off as their parents had been invited into the school to meet with their child’s teachers. In grade 11 there is a real issue with attendance so the Principal and Assistant Principal call in parents to discuss the issues and also talk about options post 16. On the same day, grade 5 parents have been invited to the school to discuss similar issues and also to meet with their class teacher.
Each class has a home room which they are responsible for cleaning (there is a rota). The school prospectus was hand written in 1994 and all timetables are produce by hand!
Friday 15th March
To do list:
Complete display
Interview teachers
Teach grade 6B as promised
Take class photos
Finalise future curriculum plans
Talk to Mr. Jagath about strategies for teaching boys
Interview questions
Mr. Kumarasiri was really positive about the impact of my visit. As well as being Obe hari Lasani (a very beautiful person) he is also very impressed with how kind I am and more so about how much I care about the way we teach. He says that both the staff and pupils are enthused about learning and speaking English. He was really keen to know when I’d be able to return to the school!!
School Management Structure
There are 17 classrooms and 24 teachers.
Teacher list
Mr. Jagath – Grade 5
Mr. Thrushra – Accounting
Mrs. Champrika
Mrs. Sempali
Mrs. Gunawardana
Mr. Thilakerathne
Mr. Jayasighe Arrachi Kumasrasiri (Principal)
Mr. Sampath
Mrs. Sunila
Mrs. Chamini
Mrs. Shayamali.
Last year 16/35 pupils passed their O’level examinations. The Education Department are putting pressure on the school to develop new strategies and schemes of work to improve their results. Most teachers have one hour per week as non contact time, with more time for the Assistant Principals.
Subjects taught at the school
The end of the school day runs like a military operation. There are no teachers to be seen and the prefects ensure the end of the day runs smoothly. At 1.25pm all pupils stand behind their chairs, look towards the sun and listen to a Buddhist Reading and stand in silence. They are then dismissed one class at a time by their class prefect (from grade 11).
All the arrangements for the school’s first ever field trip have been made. The school is bound by many health and safety rules when taking pupils on school trips. The Ministry of Education in
In the evening I go into Hikkaduwa to meet Mijra, a German volunteer. It’s nice to be out of the house. Its so different living in Hegoda in Rathgama as its not safe for me to go out alone after
Saturday 16th March
Today we visited the Help Lanka houses near Weligama, where the Sri Lankan stilt fisherman sit perched on wooden poles. The stilt fisherman tradition started after world war two using left over steel. After the Tsunami Help Lanka built 11 houses for eleven families most in need and now we are visiting the families with some donations of food and supplies. Many of the houses in the area are in appalling conditions, more like garden sheds than houses.
In the afternoon we go to the Fortress Hotel in Koggala for lunch and I take a tour of the hotel’s best suite ($1700 a night). In the evening we play pool and I am actually the best pool player in the game! The boys then show me how to play carom, a tactical game played mainly by men, shockingly I score the winning shot. Wales have won the Grand Slam back at home and we celebrate at a funky beach party in Una.
Sunday 16th March
Today is the day of the Mawadawila school trip, its really rainy in the morning but it clears up early in the morning. We visit the
Mrs. Mendis is very tearful that I’m leaving. She calls me daughter for the first time and says that she loves me! She’s so sweet. I think she’s enjoyed having some company. Last night she showed me how to do a sari and we took lots of pictures. Sam and I then drive up to
Monday 17th March
In the evening there are Kandyan dancers at the hotel and after dinner we meet up with Charlotte Riaz, a play therapist who is working for the Epiphany Foundation with her husband. She mainly works with street children and abused children.
Tuesday 18th March
We begin the long drive to
Wednesday 19th March
On route to the Amaya Lake Hotel in Dambulla Nalinda takes me to the beautiful Aluvihare cave temples at Matale. I have another Ayurvedic Massage again, just to pass the time because it’s raining. We go in to Dambulla in the evening and eat from the street food sellers. The spiced doughnuts are lovely and I don’t get ill. Back at the hotel we all drink Arrack and talk about he differences between the
Thursday 20th March
We have a lovely relaxing morning by the pool in the sun. At Sigiriya I pay 1000 times more to enter than my Sri Lankan friends. Sigiriya is a spectacular rock fortress 22km north of Dambulla. In AD 473 King Dhatuesena was murdered by his illegitimate son, Kasayapa, who then built a huge fortress on top of Sigiriya rock. The climb is hard, especially in the mid day sun. We then drive for hours and hours to a rubbish hotel near Negombo. On the way to the hotel we see a Hindu parade during which a man was hung from hooks in his back! Unbelievable.
Friday 21st March
Today is a Poya day (a full moon day) so it’s like a bank holiday and many people give out drinks and sweets on the street to people all day. It’s also Good Friday so the many Roman Catholics fill the streets on their way to mass. At