Today in class we had a visitor from Lesotho, one of the poorest countries in the world. Her name is Moliehi Sekese, a teacher who resently won the Microsoft educators choice competition. She teaches maths, science and English. When she came to our class, she started telling us about how she teaches at the Mamoeketski primary school and it was am amazing how dedicated her learners are. In this text I will write a little about the situation at the Mamoeketski primary school and in Leshoto and about the differences that one person can make in the world.
The Mamoeketski primary school has approximately 700 students, and two computers. Even though the curriculum says that one teacher should have 56 students, in Moliehi’s case things are different. Her classroom is filled with 100 learners, everyone from different backgrounds. Some children come to school with an empty stomach, others don't have enough clothes to stay warm in the classroom. Still they show up because they know that the only way they can create a better future for themselves and their children is by getting an education. Because the school didn't have electricity until last year, Moliehi Sekese used to take the computers home and charge them, then bring them to school to teach. She believes that technology can make the learning-process better and more effective. In fact, she had a project with her class: "Indigenous plants". The learners were given a task to find Indigenous plants and then text her with a picture. This created an enormous enthusiasm in schoolwork. Moliehi told us in the class that she even received SMS from students at midnight because they were so excited.
I can't imagine what a challenge it must be to have so many students in one classroom. The classroom is not very big, and there isn't enough chairs, desks and textbooks for 100 learners. They have to use each other’s backs to write on, and walk on the desk to get from one side of the classroom to another side. I was thinking about how the motivation affects the result of our studying. In Lesotho, students are so motivated even though they don't have everything they need to get an education. I guess when things are harder to get, you want it even more. That's when you do whatever you can to get it. Despite the cold in the winter, and the empty stomachs, the students show up to school. In Norway we are wealthy. Everyone has a right to get an education, every student has a right to get a laptop, we have internet connection etc, and yet we're not so motivated. Moliehi Sekese told us about how her school is very proud of having two computers. Even though they are so many students, they manage to share them . "You have no reason to say: I don't want an education" she said to us. And she's so right. We have everything we need and more. When we want to learn something, we can ask our teachers, do research on the internet or look in our textbooks. When Moliehi's students learn, they only have their teacher and the books she brings with her. Which is what brings me to the theme that I wanted to focus on: how one person can make a difference.
In a way, I feel like making a difference is the theme we've had the entire year. Starting with Erin Brochovich, later Gran Torino, the Kite Runner and Narnia. All of these movies are about how one person or a group of people can change something, or make a difference. Moliehi Sekese makes a difference. Her being so enthusiastic and her being willing to travel around the world has brought attention from all over the world regarding the learning situation in Lesotho. People have started gathering money and "itslearning" has offered to give 4 computers to her school. Everyone wants to pitch in to make a difference because we all know that education is the beginning of the change that needs to comein Lesotho. So having Moliehi Sekese at our school and her traveling around the world is making a difference that desperately needs to be made, and it's amazing what she has accomplished…
Sources:
http://www.itslearning.no/moliehi-sekese
http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lt.html
This is a really good article about our guest. You start of nicely explaining what you will be writing about. After that you describe the project and how hard it is to work at a school in Lesotho. You end it by connecting it to a theme that has been repeated this year, how to make a difference. Great work! I have quoted you on my own web page too.
SvarSlett