‘Apiako (my school)

I’ve been a teacher for, I don’t know, around seven years now? I’ve taught in public schools, private schools, international schools, and all-female remedial boarding schools. Now, I have the privilege to work at a wonderful little primary school on a small island in the middle of the ocean.

Longomapu GMS has around 100ish students and grades range from kindy (kindergarten) to class two (7th grade). School starts at 8:30 am with the flag raising and prayer, which admittedly I don’t have a photo of because I usually arrive at school around 9:30. There’s a brief snack at 10:30 am, a lunch at noon with a recess once they’re finished eating, and a dismissal at 3:20 pm.

During pre-service training (your first three months in country) you do a brief practicum week. You work in a school alongside another volunteer, you teach a daily lesson, and you get a feel for the classroom in Tonga. The school I worked at was.. interesting. I don’t want to dunk on this school but I will say that the principal didn’t show up until Thursday. After this week I was prepared for the worst in terms of school atmosphere. I did not get anything remotely close to that.

All the teachers at my school are insanely talented and motivated. Teacher absences are a serious problem in Tongan education, but with my village being as remote as it is, there’s not really anywhere to go, which I believe leads to a very high daily teacher rate. Every teacher has a grade, their own classroom, and between 12-20 students. I do teach my own lessons, but I will also occasionally assist them in theirs.

I like to think I was a part of the last generation of high school students that hardly had any technology in the classroom aside from typing and the occasional movie. The biggest annoyance in a modern American classroom is cell phones. I know a few of my old students read this and you know my stance on it. I think cell phones are horrible for students. Sure, you can implement rules, you can take them away, you can try anything. But for every action there is a consequence. Implement rules, they’ll break them. Ban them, they’ll be more sneaky. Take them away, they withdraw emotionally and the lesson won’t get through to them. I think one of my favorite parts of the Tongan classroom is that it is education at the simplest, most effective level. Pencils, papers, books, teachers,  and students. It’s beautiful. And best yet, students want to learn! If you host an after-school tutoring session, they’ll show up. You ask a question, they’ll answer it (even if it’s wrong). I’ve even been extremely moved but how badly these students want to learn and it’s motivating me to be the best version of myself for them.

So, what is my schedule like? I teach two to three lessons a day. I teach class six every day, and I teach one class in a different level every day. When I’m not teaching I try to create curriculum for the other teachers; I’m actually working on a larger project at the moment of all the curricula I’ve made into one large book. And if nothing else, I like to just pop into classrooms and listen. More times than not they ask for help pronouncing weird English words, like onomatopoeia, or ukulele. I only teach English but occasionally I’ll try my best, usually failing, to dabble in a different subject. The other day I had all the students stand up and I made them planets, I used my phone light to act as the sun and I demonstrated an orbit by walking in circles around them. If anything it was memorable. My lessons are typically 50% in English and 50% in Tongan. My Tongan language skills have come a long way, I’m in the advanced category now! Something I really look forward to about returning to America next year is meeting a Tongan and speaking to them in their language. ‘Oku ke inu kava aho katoa pe?

I plan on doing a day in the life video soon, which will include my teaching day, so more school things to come. Also, something I was thinking about recently is, if someone is reading this and is coming to serve in Tonga in the future and has any questions, feel free to email me at camsorter@gmail.com.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. Here are four random photos from my week.

‘Ofa atu,

Cam