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Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Update 46
We are again asking ourselves, WHY US?? Today we were driven to Menouf about two hours north...into the Nile delta where lush green rich fields were growing a mass of food using manpower & donkeys. The only single family homes we saw between Cairo & Menouf were a few old adobe homes .Next to them were fairly newer tall buildings of reinforced pillars & framework with bricks filling in the open spaces. Most had reinforcement rods still sticking out on top...ready to add more stories. No money wasted on exterior paint. We didn't see any "live" construction but we imagine that not long ago...the old adobe homes were demolished to make room for the new tall buildings.
It was market day in Menouf and the road was nearly impossible to get down...overloaded tables, trucks, cloths spread on the ground all covered with food, clothing, household items, etc...and people!! People cleaning chickens, washing eggs, picnicking, etc...and shopping!
We were taken to a school...the only Anglican school around, 1000 students, 25 P-10th classrooms. We were asked to observe & make recommendations. Who told anyone we were qualified to do that?? Two old retired teachers??
Soon after we arrived, we were eating tameya (bean pita sandwich)& visiting with the principal, Mr. George. He explained his school was all inclusive...anyone could come...and he wanted to offer the very best education so that the school would continue to thrive & grow. They had plans to add on. Under Nasser, it was closed for many years & was reopened in 1984. Today the school still has many government controls forced to charge a set amount & take a certain number of students. More students than they have room for...
The school was neat & clean(especially compared to the rest of Menouf) and the halls & classrooms were filled with attractive & educational displays.
We visited 6 English classrooms for about 30 minutes each...enjoying the lessons, taking notes & feeling like who am I to suggest anything?? All of the teachers were good...two exceptional! Lessons were well presented & students engaged.
We were in Mr. George's office when the dismissal bell rang & many kids walked in to shake his hand & say good bye. He obviously enjoyed his students! After serving us a feast prepared by school staff, then went for a quick tour of the church & met the Indian pastors before being to taken to the room they'd arranged for us. Not the Ritz!! Mr. George said, "Doable for 1 night." Cold...and no hot water...and no towels...made us appreciate our nice room in Cairo!!
He left & we crashed. He was back 2 hours later & we walked our streets...literally because there were no sidewalks. It's a busy city with lots of new businesses & 6 million people. We stopped for dessert & then a friend of his picked us up in his horse & buggy & delivered us back to our room. You'd think we were celebrities...well except for our room that night. We brainstormed for tomorrow before wrapping up in the wool blankets and went to sleep wondering WHY US??
Day 2 in Menouf—
7:30 am Mr. George picked us up & at 8 all the students gathered in the sports field & we were introduced. Then we were asked to speak. Yikes no time to prep! Roger talked about their deep history & that the future of Egypt was on the shoulders of these young students. I followed talking about goals, importance for a good education & the necessity of being kind to all.
We observed the rest of the English classes till about 12:30. Then we sat around a table with all the English teachers...dedicated, hardworking & eager to learn teachers. I admired them! What they (and most) teachers needed was a pat on the back which we gave them ...pointing out many best practices we'd seen. We suggested that they teach each other their most successful strategies. We did have a few new ideas for them prefacing them with the fact that they know best...and they need smaller class size (average 45) and some type of projector so they didn't have to write everything on a whiteboard with their backs to the class. They readily agreed and asked that we make sure we told Mr. George (which we did).
I felt so comfortable sitting there with them...such comradely. Teachers are my kindred spirits! They were so appreciative with all our suggestions & so pleased to have us there!
As we enjoyed a huge bowl of koshari (national dish of noodles, rice, lentils w/ a tomato sauce), we summarized for Mr. George our observations...especially the teachers request. He talked about his deep desire to give these kids a great education and to have God's love shine through him...not by words but by his actions.
Our driver picked us up at 2:30 & by 4 we were "home"...exhausted & still wondering WHY US???
Sent from my iPhone
It was market day in Menouf and the road was nearly impossible to get down...overloaded tables, trucks, cloths spread on the ground all covered with food, clothing, household items, etc...and people!! People cleaning chickens, washing eggs, picnicking, etc...and shopping!
We were taken to a school...the only Anglican school around, 1000 students, 25 P-10th classrooms. We were asked to observe & make recommendations. Who told anyone we were qualified to do that?? Two old retired teachers??
Soon after we arrived, we were eating tameya (bean pita sandwich)& visiting with the principal, Mr. George. He explained his school was all inclusive...anyone could come...and he wanted to offer the very best education so that the school would continue to thrive & grow. They had plans to add on. Under Nasser, it was closed for many years & was reopened in 1984. Today the school still has many government controls forced to charge a set amount & take a certain number of students. More students than they have room for...
The school was neat & clean(especially compared to the rest of Menouf) and the halls & classrooms were filled with attractive & educational displays.
We visited 6 English classrooms for about 30 minutes each...enjoying the lessons, taking notes & feeling like who am I to suggest anything?? All of the teachers were good...two exceptional! Lessons were well presented & students engaged.
We were in Mr. George's office when the dismissal bell rang & many kids walked in to shake his hand & say good bye. He obviously enjoyed his students! After serving us a feast prepared by school staff, then went for a quick tour of the church & met the Indian pastors before being to taken to the room they'd arranged for us. Not the Ritz!! Mr. George said, "Doable for 1 night." Cold...and no hot water...and no towels...made us appreciate our nice room in Cairo!!
He left & we crashed. He was back 2 hours later & we walked our streets...literally because there were no sidewalks. It's a busy city with lots of new businesses & 6 million people. We stopped for dessert & then a friend of his picked us up in his horse & buggy & delivered us back to our room. You'd think we were celebrities...well except for our room that night. We brainstormed for tomorrow before wrapping up in the wool blankets and went to sleep wondering WHY US??
Day 2 in Menouf—
7:30 am Mr. George picked us up & at 8 all the students gathered in the sports field & we were introduced. Then we were asked to speak. Yikes no time to prep! Roger talked about their deep history & that the future of Egypt was on the shoulders of these young students. I followed talking about goals, importance for a good education & the necessity of being kind to all.
We observed the rest of the English classes till about 12:30. Then we sat around a table with all the English teachers...dedicated, hardworking & eager to learn teachers. I admired them! What they (and most) teachers needed was a pat on the back which we gave them ...pointing out many best practices we'd seen. We suggested that they teach each other their most successful strategies. We did have a few new ideas for them prefacing them with the fact that they know best...and they need smaller class size (average 45) and some type of projector so they didn't have to write everything on a whiteboard with their backs to the class. They readily agreed and asked that we make sure we told Mr. George (which we did).
I felt so comfortable sitting there with them...such comradely. Teachers are my kindred spirits! They were so appreciative with all our suggestions & so pleased to have us there!
As we enjoyed a huge bowl of koshari (national dish of noodles, rice, lentils w/ a tomato sauce), we summarized for Mr. George our observations...especially the teachers request. He talked about his deep desire to give these kids a great education and to have God's love shine through him...not by words but by his actions.
Our driver picked us up at 2:30 & by 4 we were "home"...exhausted & still wondering WHY US???
Sent from my iPhone
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