.....and can you do some pre-school teacher training!

"Sure why not... hang on I have no preschool teacher training!"
"That's OK you have more training than they do! Anything you can do will be helpful. Just go and observe and see what you might be able to offer!'

So off I went....



BUT first what is preschool in rural Bangladesh? I can certainly tell you it is not lots of 4 year olds playing in the home corner or with dough and painting or even learning to write their name! For children to be allowed to attend school here they must pass an entrance exam where they need to know both English alphabet and Bangla Script and numbers in both English and Bangla. If you are poor and illiterate how can you prepare your child for the exam? That is where our preschools come in! We provide fee free pre-schools for 2 hours a day 6 days a week for poor and marginalized children. In keeping with the Bangla way of doing things classes are held on mats on the floor and largely by rote.

So as I observed I was being observed


... situation normal as a Bedeshi ... The resources where extrememly limited. 1 blackboard (1.2 m x 80cm) mats for the floor, small blackboard, chalk, 1 book, 1 pencil and sharpners and erasers to share. The children sat around the edge of the room on the floor matting repeating the alphabet and numbers.



OK so I am not preschool trained and this is nothing like education as I know it. ..... how can I help.... let's avoid that for a month or two.

So some time later I tried again and visited another few preschools. These had had the benefit of being given some resources and training by Nina Sampson. Much was the same... observer being observed


... rote learning...BUT The puppets Nina provided came out. They were looking fairly new so I wondered if they had been used much but the children clearly knew the rhymes and songs. When the jigsaw puzzles came out however, the children had no idea how to use them. It was good to see children in smaller groups rather than all doing the same thing.




At the second preschool for the day the puppets again came out but this time they were used for a different rhyme. I hear many saying "yeah so?"... but here that means a lot. Remember everything is by rote and everyone the same. The children again where familiar with the rhymes and could use the puppets. This encouraged me that the resources where being used AND it was adding variety to "the curriculum". I was on to some ideas I thought I could contribute ...

So off the the key board... emails were sent. I need $50 for each kit... 22 preschools without kits. My church had said if I had a particluar need ask... so I did. In our general email I asked people to join in. I had one response straight away so went ahead in faith.... and I wondered if my school might even help.... no I wouldn't ask... but one wonderful teacher took it up with her class and the staff anyway.

Jacquie suggested we add a ball to the kit and I thought some plastic fruit might have a variety of uses but we would forget about the puzzles. Alphabet and script charts are a must.

Jacquie and I headed out and ordered puppets


and went off to New Market ... well there are always adventures shopping and while my husband was impresed with my bargining skills I actually got ripped off.... and I had made another 'majorererer' stuff up and then I found out there were more preschools than I had been planning for. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH My great plans, ideas and dreams where giving me nightmares!

BUT all things work together for good

After prayer and good nights sleep an email awaited with good news and we were off and running again! Dalwar came to my aid and did the follow up shop, and in true Bangla style he rose to the challenge of beating the bedeshy prices!

Within a few weeks all was organised and Esther and Steve were helping me sort resources into bags.

Saturday Dec 13 arrived and 5 Bideshis and Dalwar, this time as translator, headed up country... I was as nervous as... me trying to teach teachers!!!


I started with the Story "Let the little ones come to me" and encouraged the teachers that they were doing a great job. I had 5 main points I wanted to talk about, including that they knew the children so they could trust themselves and try something new.


I showed the resources and suggested ways they could be used. ... and we played with some puppets.

The highlight was when we broke into small groups. Each group had some of the teachers who had previously received a preschool kit and were just receiving a few top ups. They shared excitedly with their peers about how to use to puppets and the songs they had learnt etc.

It was so great to see and be a part of.

I was very moved when they all stood and sung a song of thanks to me!

So what did I learn? The value of observing, the joy of calling others to join a vision, the frustration of doing anything in this place and the joy of seeing people excited about learning!