Busy Day in Dakar

Today is our last day in Dakar before traveling to our host communities. Our day was busy and filled with trips to the US Embassy, the market and the West African Research Center. I would post pics about the Embassy visit - but we weren't allowed to take any - none outside or inside. HOWEVER, I did end up seeing a high school friend of mine who worked at the Embassy in Dakar (totally random, I know) - and he took a picture that I can share with you later. While at the Embassy we learned about the Ministry of Education in Senegal and some of the challenges they are facing in the Senegalese education system. One of the challenges they are facing is teacher training.

Right now, only approximately 1/3 of the teachers are formally trained. Another challenge is class size. Class size can average anywhere between 40 - 90 students (in some rural areas). Having a class of that size poses a lot of challenges - other than sheer bodies in a classroom. It is difficult for teachers to assess all those students - imagine grading 90 essays!??!? Another area of challenge is making sure the assessment is aligned with the curriculum. They have a national curriculum along with national exams the students have to pass after elementary, middle and high schools. Yet another area of challenge is making classrooms STUDENT-centered vs. TEACHER-centered.

There is currently a debate happening in education right now in Senegal about reading instruction. Right now, students are taught in elementary school to read in French. However, French isn't the mother tongue of most students. There are three predominantly three languages that are the mother tongue of most students: Wolof, Pular, and Sere. However, students are taught to read in French. The argument has been whether students should learn how to read in their MOTHER TONGUE or in the LINGUA FRANCA (which would be French). The problem with students learning how to read in their mother tongue is that there currently aren't any resources (books, etc) in Wolof, Pular, or Sere. Assessments would need to be aligned and materials would have to be created. At least it is opening

the lines of conversation about language acquisition and best practices in teaching reading.

After we left the embassy - we headed to Little Buddha for lunch and had traditional Yassa Poulet. Ohhhh man, it was delicious! It has been my favorite food item so far out here! It is chicken and rice, made with a yummy onion sauce! It was the BEST! Mmmmmm!

After that, our group went on a walk (to walk off some lunch) and took some pictures at an outdoor gym. There are tons of pictures outside on the cliff overlooking the ocean. It's beautiful. At night, there are tons of people working out and using all the free equipment. We had fun with our

two in-country hosts (Ibrahima and Assitou). We also spent some time at the West African Research Center. There aren't public libraries in Senegal. This is an area that has a wide collection of books about West Africa and Senegal that students can come and use in their center. It is a fully functioning library, in addition to a research center. Students can come and use their computers and wifi. There is also a meeting room where conferences and meetings are held.

Tomorrow we leave for our host community - Nioro Du Rip. I am anxious to meet our host teacher and get to see the host community we will be staying in for a week. It's about a 4-hour drive from Dakar and we leave at 9am. Hopefully, I will be able to post (if we have wifi). :)