Duck Tales

Generally the 'development world' is dominated by females but this month has been funny because I have mostly been hanging out with dudes. Among which are a few army guys, the other dentists, the university staff, and the all male NGO staff. The NGO staff are funny wee guys, very eager to please but half of the time they have no idea what you want from them because they have never done it before. A number of times we have had to go out for shopping trips for which they accompany me to show me around and because they have nothing to do... I soon realised that I was actually able to navigate better using google intel and basic observational skills than to rely on them to find something, even in the local markets. So what ended up happening is that I would be moving around the mall or market at full Bethy pace and there would be three young guys trailing behind me. They kind of dawdle and get distracted so I would have to always keep eye so that I wouldn't loose them.  The other funny thing about them is that they have these cute little mo-hawks going on with curly hair on top and so when they get distracted or you have to repeat yourself five times they just kind of smile at you with their dark eyes and their Curley little tufts of hair... It's like trying to stay angry at a puppy... Or a duckling. I mentioned this to one of my good friends and so now we refer to them as Huey Duey and Leuey... Above are two of the trio making sure that I have my bike before I go home... I won't go on to describe goofy, Mickey Mouse and Scrouge!

I can't believe that I only have one more week to go! It's hard to explain what it has been like these last few weeks. To be honest it has been a little bit overwhelming and I've now come to the realisation that if we can't get the right things in place soon, then the most prudent thing would be to stop. Everything. I have never been on the cold face of something so wholly and systematically neglected. The students at this dental school are expected to turn up to class each day although their lecturers only turn up on Saturday, they are expected to learn all of their knowledge in one day per week although there isn't enough time to cram the knowledge in during a month of Saturdays! People have been trying to help in various ways and the result is patchy at best. It is not the fault of the students, they are eager to learn. The fault lies wholly with us, the educators. 

It has been a steep learning curve and I have been ultimately grateful to a veteran, a giant, in the world of community dentistry who has been able to guide my thinking and help me to process strategies for getting through. Being able to identify the thought processes and stage of learning that the students are at has helped me to consider the best way to get my message across. The reality here is that the students are learning in a very concrete way. They have missed out on so much during their school years that they have no ability to conceptualise or generalise the understanding from one problem to another. Even basic maths is a struggle. Basically, consider the way that you would present a lesson to your 10 year old and bingo you're getting somewhere. In the past week the biggest break through has come by setting and inforcing routine in the clinic. I'm sure that there must be many (many) layers to the psychology behind their way of thinking and I have not even begun to scratch the surface!

In the mean time, check out the scenary!