Teaching in Sarangot

Very interesting...the Nepalese children are lovely but they have very little English and what English  they do know is hard to understand and they have difficulty understanding our English with our Kiwi accent, so communication is very challenging. Most of the teachers only speak Nepalese and there is not enough teachers for all the classes. The noise level is intense in some rooms. The main teaching approach is from a workbook for each subject, it's all read, rote and copy. Some of the content is unusual and the books are full of errors. In most of the junior classes the teacher shouts out what is written or to be learnt and the children shout it back, all sitting crammed up on bench seats and tables. However the children are lucky to have an education at all, as many are from poor families. There is also a government school next door but it only has one English class and if the students want to go on to higher education, they need English. Therefore many parents, if they can afford it opt for the private school. It is not a lot of money by our standards but here it is hard for many families to afford it. 

It is very hazy throughout the area today and we can't see the other side of the valley and barely see the lake. Jim has just made the boys at our homestay squirty bottles from old fizzy bottles, it will cause trouble I'm sure, they are very excited, simple fun.