One of the hardest things about going away - albeit just for two weeks - was saying goodbye to Vanda, who had to stay in England as she is preparing for her advanced English examinations. I was really touched to receive some sweet notes that Vanda left in my suitcase as I unpacked on arriving in Kigali.
Her notes got me thinking how I would organize my lessons today. I started with the usual drill of vocabulary and pronounciation, for the first hour, as well as revising over yesterday's work. We then moved on to what I called 'the love day'.
On Monday, a number of my students had asked me if I was single or married. When I mentioned Vanda, they demanded to see her picture. So today, I brought a small framed picture of my beloved to the class, together with her notes. The class had to read them with perfect pronounciation. I then asked the students to write a love message to their spouses or partners in five lines of perfect English, which they then had to read out to the class. The romance of the Rwandans was a pleasure to hear.
After a serious topical discussion as to why they wanted to be English Teachers - of which one student said that: "to be a teacher meant that you would get a blessing from God (I wonder if English teachers feel the same!)", we then had a great afternoon learning the Beatles song, "All you need is love". It is one of my favourite songs and I had it on my I Phone, so I managed to write out the words, the night before.
After reading the song on the blackboard a few times, we then all sung 'All you need is love' (courtesy of the Beatles), most heartily - alongside a musical accompaniment from wonderful I Phone, practically blowing off the corrugated aluminium roof off the classroom building
It really was a 'love day'.
-- by Robert Halfon Post From My iPhone
