I
figure it’s time to describe where I am doing my internship. It is an
elementary school in the Capital named École Privée Primaire Maternel Mialy.
The children with whom I have worked so far have been between 7 and 11 years
old, but I think there are younger children at the school. They speak Malagasy
natively and the school is conducted uniquely in French.
The
principal and my supervisor is named Melanie or Mialy in Malagasy. She has been
teaching since 1977 and is very good at it. She is a loving woman; she is kind
while maintaining the respect of the children. She speaks French and Malagasy;
she explains that although she worked at a university in Quebec for a few
years, she doesn’t speak English. It is clear that she enjoys teaching.
The
school seems very strict in comparison with my memories of elementary school,
but not necessarily in a bad sense. The children are very well mannered, when I
walk in they all say in unison, “Bonjour Monsieur Kevin.” When they answer a
yes or no question they say, “oui monsieur Kevin” or “non monsieur Kevin.” This
level of formality is really interesting and foreign to me, I am afraid of
being too casual when I am teaching or helping in the classroom. On my first
day I gave one student a fist bump when he provided the correct answer and all
of the students began laughing. It has already been a really fun and
enlightening experience. I really enjoy working at this school; I will attach
more pictures in future blog posts.
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