Travelogue...Days 1 & 2: Teachers & Termite Bites

The US- and Mali-based staff spent two weeks in January together in the field in Mali. Our incredibly limited access to the internet did not allow us to post our blog updates from the field, so we are sharing them now from the zippy wi-fi of the U.S. Join us on the blog for the next few weeks for a daily update on the trip!

By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

Day 1-2, January 11-12: The first full day of our expedition was a memorable one, including a lively peer meeting with 10 of our teachers and a termite bit for me.

I arrived in Bamako early on Saturday evening, having met up with Mali Rising supporter and volunteer extraordinaire Tim Gibson at the Paris airport. The Mali staff welcomed us at the airport in sunny Bamako, but then left us to recover under our hotel’s beautiful, big trees. After more than 24 hours of travel, we were happy to head to our rooms, only to find our rooms basically abutted the all-night dance party next door – hurrah for ear plugs!

Sunday morning all that was forgotten as we headed out – me to Mali Rising’s teacher peer meeting several hours’ drive away and Tim to the wedding of a friend’s daughter in Bamako. I was excited to finally see a teacher peer meeting in action. We launched the peer support idea two years ago, with the help of our generous teacher sponsors. The idea was to find ways all year long for our teachers to help each other implement what they learn at our annual training.

Showing off a bit of the termite nest.

Getting a close look at the termite queen.

Making a french grammar lesson engaging is a challenge!

Teachers role playing as students.

The full group gathers.

At each peer meeting 8 to 10 teachers from 4 or 5 Mali Rising schools gather together. Two teachers agree to present a lesson to their peers as if their fellow teachers were the students. After presenting, the teachers gather feedback – good and bad – from their peers. It takes a strong teacher to volunteer to present for criticism!

At this meeting, we hosted 10 teachers – 5 French teachers and 5 science teachers. They came from our schools in Kafara, Fadioubougou, Beneko, Tamala, and Sequessona. Both of our volunteer presenters were from Fadioubougou’s EO Learn for Life Academy.

It was so heartening to watch our teachers in action. Despite their limited tools and support (many teachers are facing classes of 100 students with few textbooks and other materials), they were professional and passionate.

The French teacher, Amadou Traore presented first. As someone who was never great with grammar, I can say with certainty that Mr. Traore did an amazing job of making complex sentences and participles understandable! He had us working in groups, diagramming sentences, and making up our own sentences to prove we understood the concepts.  Feedback from his peers was supportive, but also quite critical. He took the tough feedback with great grace.

I have to admit though that for me the science teacher – Souleymane Kone – stole the day. His lesson was about social insect communities, and specifically termites. He got our attention immediately because he brought part of a termite nest with him! Mr. Kone had us exploring their anatomy, experimenting to see if they bite (well, yes, if you poke them), and more. Although Mr. Kone received some tough feedback about the organization of his lesson, everyone agreed that his passion for the subject was infectious and that students would be hooked to the lesson.

The meeting ended with time for the teachers to share other issues or challenges they face and to discuss possible solutions.  Although there are many challenges at rural schools in Mali, the teachers made it clear they would love more chances to learn together at peer meetings and additional teacher training. We also added the teachers to a WhatsApp group we are using to keep the teachers in contact with each other over the school year. Thank you to all the Mali Rising supporters who made this peer gathering possible!

Learn more about our Teacher Project.