The Parents Meeting (aka my crazy week)

On Wednesday my Principal came into the staff room at 7:45am to announce that there will be a parents meeting tomorrow at 1pm. That means that suddenly, half of our classes will be cancelled that next day--with 1 day of notice. My week, has already been pretty crazy for my learners because I've been sick--and on Monday I missed school and there are no subs of course--so that meant my students for my 7 classes just sat alone with no class when I was supposed to teach.

Anyway--Thursday has arrived and I teach 2 classes and then at break I learn the learners will be "released" after break so that they have time to walk home and tell their parents that there is a parent's meeting (the learners seem to have no idea until this point).

And where does this great meeting take place? Why, under our large fig tree next to the staff building! (Schools here consist of a staff building and then several classroom buildings which exit into a courtyard (no halls, no multi-storey buildings--and of course no gym or meeting hall!). It is lucky it stopped raining just in time.

So here we are, sitting under the fig tree...at 1pm there was a smattering of brightly dressed ladies (imagine typical African women's clothes and you will be right on track), and a few men...it seems mostly grandmothers and grandfathers. We start on time (1:15pmish) and eventually more and more people show up till there are about 80 parents/guardians.

Of course, the whole thing is in Oshikwanyama--which is necessary for the parents but useless for me--but it is pleasant enough to sit under the tree in the middle of the afternoon. Mr. Kafidi occaisionally translates so I get the gist of what's going on and stand and introduce myself at the appropriate times of course.

The meeting starts of course by singing our school anthem, the National anthem (in English!) and then proceeds though a hymn, a prayer by a teacher and then the lengthy welcome and introductions. Then we talk about fairly normal school things for awhile (mostly finances and school fundraising, uniforms and a little bit on new curriculum this year (entrepreneurship).

Then a mid-session hymn, just for fun and some more stuff I don't understand. Then, after only 2hrs45min, we begin "question period" by the parents in which more $$ stuff is discussed. We spend an ENTIRE HOUR discussing who's goats broke into class 8E (the one with the goat-sized holes if you remember) and ATE THEIR BOOKS!! And who will be the one to pay? This is the most amazing discussion I have ever witnessed at school, and its length is also astounding. Anyway, in the end, it is decided that the goat-owner should pay, and everyone gets busy as Mr. Kafidi shows them the photos of the goats and people try to decide who's goats they are...................................

Overall, not a terrible way to spend an afternoon in Namibia, and in the end it only took 4 hours! :)