Sunday, November 24, 2013

Toto, we’re not at Fillmore Central anymore…

When I found out I would be placed out here in Maryland County, everyone told me that Pleebo was a big site and that our school was one of many in our community.  Sure enough, Pleebo High School is one of seven high schools in and around Pleebo.  Though there are many schools in this community, our high school is one of the largest and liveliest.  It is also only a five-minute walk from our house, which makes our “commute” one of the easiest around!

On any given day, I estimate around 500 students are attending Pleebo High.  The school runs in the afternoon, which means Sarah and I get to campus around 12:00 and leave around 5:00-6:00 pm each night.  There are four sections of tenth grade, three sections of eleventh grade, and three sections of twelfth grade, and the campus is always buzzing with students. 

In almost all of Liberia’s schools, students are required to wear a uniform to school.  At our high school, that uniform is maroon trousers or skirts and a white collared shirt with a Pleebo High School patch.  Black shoes complete the outfit, and if you’re in twelfth grade, you wear a black neck tie. 

Six class periods are in a normal day, with each period being 40 minutes.  There is also a 30-minute recess period after third period, which is often filled with us tutoring our students or answering questions about the homework we are be collecting that day.  Classes at our school are a little shorter than in other schools around Liberia, and I credit this to the fact that our campus is used for three different schools.  Pleebo Elementary School & Jr. High runs in the morning, our high school is in the afternoon, and the Extension school is in the evening. 

With so many students using our campus, we are often times limited in resources.  For example, many of the chairs our students sit in are “spoiled,” whether that means they are missing the desk portion or are on the verge of falling apart.  Some of the classrooms that hold tenth graders are full of strictly bench seats, which makes quizzing and examinations difficult.  Additionally, the some of the blackboards are in disrepair which can make writing notes a tedious process.

For all of the things that give us a hard time, however, there are plenty of good things as well :) We are fortunate to have the only library in Pleebo on our campus, and it has so many great resources for our students.  We are rallying to get some more science books, but we are blessed with a multitude of math, literature, and geography books that many of our students are utilizing!  (Sarah and I are looking into a possible renovation of our library, as well, so watch for updates on that at some point.) 

Another wonderful asset of our school is our administration.  Our principal, Charles, and the Vice Principal for Instruction, Sam, have been great resources for us as we get settled into our community and into the school year.  They are willing to listen to suggestions from us and Sam is always willing to answer the many questions I seem to have about why things are being done a specific way.  Overall, our administration is very active in the happenings of the school, and I think that their leadership contributes to the overall morale of the school.

Hallway leading to eleventh and tenth grade classrooms

Hallway heading to tenth grade wing & library

Library

Library

A view of the school from the road



Though there are things that we would love to change about our school, and though there are resources we are still missing, I feel very blessed to be a teacher in this community.  My students make my job an easy one (most days), and I can’t imagine myself being anything other than a Pleebo Eagle. 

No comments:

Post a Comment