Salone Skul Dem [Salone Schools] – Part 1

Post by Lara

9/25/12

By request, I’m starting a new series on schools in Salone- similarities and differences to US schools, and hopefully I’ll be able to give you a good idea of how I spend most of my days now that the school year has begun.  Today I’ll describe the physical layout of the school property as well as the buildings and classrooms.

The view of Kevin's school (St. Joseph TVSS) from the top of the water tower

One of our fellow volunteers told me early on that schools here remind her of the schools in her hometown in California.  That being said, they look almost nothing like the schools that I attended in Ohio growing up. Something about below zero weather during part of the year seems to result in Ohio schools being built enclosed with strong roofs and heaters and well-sealable windows.  Schools here are often open campuses with classroom buildings separated by green space or gravel rather than enclosed buildings.  The buildings are built from concrete or blocks, and usually are painted (my school is not- it’s built of textured stone blocks instead).  Students meet in the middle of the school grounds for morning assembly before going to class, so the meeting space is usually big enough for a few hundred students.  In my own school which was built by Christian missionaries, the assembly takes place in the chapel.

The Chapel at Centennial Secondary School (Lara's school)

Inside the classroom, the windows seldom have glass (it’s too hot here to warrant closing the windows anyway), and the room is generally big enough to pack 50-100 students in, 3 to a bench-seat.  The chalkboard may or may not be a board—sometimes it’s just a rectangle of black paint on the wall, other times it’s a painted board nailed to the wall.  Between the not-so-freshly-painted chalkboards and the open windows, glare can be a serious issue at times. Some teachers I know bring cloth to hang over the windows when the sun is coming in directly to cut down on blackboard glare; others only use the part of the board that is readable.  This is a difficult constraint to deal with because students here seldom have textbooks, so whatever the teacher gives as notes serves as the textbook for the class. 

A senior secondary classroom at CSS

Just like in the states, schools here have a crest, school colors, a song, a motto, a uniform, and other defining characteristics. At my secondary school, Junior Secondary [junior high] girls wear a blue dress trimmed with white and boys wear a white button-down shirt and khaki shorts.  Senior Secondary [high school] girls wear a white button-down shirt and a blue skirt, and boys wear white button-down shirts and khaki shorts or pants.  The white button-down shirts are stamped with the school crest.  All students wear white socks and black shoes.  At Kevin’s school, the uniform is similar but boys wear blue shorts or pants.  The uniforms are made by local tailors (almost always men) who work on foot-pedal sewing machines.  Students must come to school in proper uniforms or they risk being punished or sent home—pretty similar to my Catholic high school.  Kevin’s school has gone a step past uniforms and requires that girls not have more than 10 braids in their hair at school.

Construction of a new building at TVSS

The schools that we have seen in Sierra Leone tend to be well-cared for, though the condition of the paint and facilities varies greatly.  Some schools were clearly painted within the last year, whereas others have taken a beating from at least one rainy season, which is enough to leave buildings looking much more worn than a year of Ohio weather does.  Rainy season also causes the “bush” to grow up on the school grounds in a crazy way.  A few weeks in Salone rainy season will cause un-cut brush to grow up like a whole summer without mowing in Ohio.  Also, when they decide to clear the brush, they do so by hand with a cutlass. It’s slow-going, to say the least, but I’ve been amazed at the industrious way that Sierra Leoneans attack brush here—they are aware that tall grass provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes, so they try to stay on top of things.

A lot of schools, though not all, have a library. We are both lucky enough to have libraries at our schools, and Kevin’s has brand-spanking-new books that were donated from the states.  Our school is also working with an Engineers Without Borders group from Pennsylvania to start up a computer lab, which may be running by sometime next year.  There is no “gym” usually, but we have a football field and sports take up a significant part of the year.  Our school grounds also include space for agricultural classes to hold “practicals” and learn best practices for planting and tending crops here.  Since my school was built in the 50s, it has a number of half-century-old trees that shade the campus, many of which are mango trees.

A CSS volleyball match

Hopefully that gives you a fairly good idea of the physical aspect of Salone schools. I want to write some more posts describing policies and procedures, the syllabi, standardized exams, and other notable similarities and differences between schools in the US and Salone.  I hope to post a photo or two of the schools sometime.  Feel free to post any questions you’ve got. Thanks!