It is hot here. By hot, I mean above 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) hot. Doing anything in the midday sun has not seemed sensible to me for a while, and it was realized by my teacher trainee that if we could avoid this situation, we should. To adapt, we changed the class schedule; we kept grade 9 at their usual slot of 7:30 am - 9 am, and changed the volunteer teachers class to the earlier 9:30 am slot.
For my classes with the head monk, I could choose to teach on our off days; those dedicated to planning. Or I could teach in the evening of the same day as we teach grade 9 and the volunteer teachers; this option necessitated two walks to the monastery which I knew neither myself nor my trainee would want to undertake. However, it seemed like the lesser of two evils and I consigned myself to teaching at 4 pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. As we prepared to travel to the monastery on the first proposed day of the new schedule, it struck me how hot it was and how nobody would want to learn. I find that in the extreme heat my brain becomes foggy and it’s hard to move much; my limbs become leaden. The same was true for my pupils; the head monk was groggy and one of the girls was freshly-washed but sticky from the damp humidity mixed with the water from washing. She was unwilling to move a great deal and this impeded my lesson plan which involved walking to various places. To adapt, I decided to change the my afternoon classes to the mornings on our off days instead. Now, all classes end by 11 am. Although this is not ideal as it takes away from vital planning time, it is too hot by 11 am to really do anything and most villagers spend their afternoon in slumbers meditated by the inability to breath or move. I am resolved to think that the rainy season will be better because we can resume our old schedule. In the rainy season, there is mud and sometimes classes are cancelled on account of the driving wind, which causes the rain to enter the sides of the unprotected classrooms, but it is not as hot and we can resume our prior schedule with more ease, albeit also more mud. For now, we will continue to adapt to the heat, and change course as we go. Chloe Smith NEH Coordinator and Teacher Trainer Photo Credit: "White Hot" by Rich Herrmann (CC BY NC ND 2.0) Related Posts: Can Rising Heat Cause Resentment? Photo Essay: Class Conditions Village Life Students Adapt to Active Learning
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