5teveo, y0u 5uc|( m4n. D1gu571ng.

Having a bit of writer's block this week. The post is short and disjointed. Sorry!

First things first, Gambian English sometimes is horrifying, so I've made an effort to make sure my English grammar is correct. I realized I have time and time again made mistakes on this blog, and feel rather guilty. This is my humble self critique. Sorry again for any glaring mistakes you might find.

Without putting value judgments on these statements here are some of the issues we face as educators in The Gambia:
1. Materials. Peace Corps doesn't really give you anything and local schools don't have supplies to begin with. Along with frequent power outages, we often find ourselves unable to teach much in the computer lab.
2. Mass promotions (similar to the U.S. No Child Left Behind Act). When there is little incentive to do well and move on to the next grade, you will start to have a rather mixed bag of student quality.
3. There is a conflict of state programs to get women educated and their expected time commitments to the household.
4. Lack of opportunities post graduation. Related philosophical questions of resolving pre-destined life ultimately in the hands of a higher power, and therefore the benefits of striving for rewards during life.
5. Reading and writing skills seem much less of a focus than oral communication. If you think about the implications for this in the computer realm, reading manuals, instructions, on screen choices is difficult for many.

Comments: It runs a terrible risk of diluting the country with outside influence, but a university degree program in tourism and management (with a focus of business strategies) could be a great help to many students looking for a brighter (economically) future. Watching how this worked in Thailand it brought motivation to students, increased development, and overall economic growth. I did not have a chance to observe much of the negatives of the program, but cultural decline seems to be an obvious one.

Comments on teaching computing skills: With our entry level courses we must begin with concepts on computer theory that I myself never learned academically. My generation was privileged enough to be able to learn computing skills through trial and error experimentation. In the entry level courses here students often come in with questions such as "What does the keyboard do, Who invented the computer," and," What is a computer?" We have had classes on how to hold a mouse, differences between left and right click, input and output design, basic parts of the computer, and the GUI as a desktop metaphor. Still I think for some we are reaching too high and going over their heads. Simplify.

I am thankful for those things that finally fueled my fire for life. Understanding the similarity of Steevo and my high school experiences and the transformations he undertook freshmen year of college, feeling old age for the first time being bed ridden from slipped discs in my back, realizing I could overcoming huge challenges being under the surgeon's needle in Vienna, competing in Little 5, or being here now...

I am a bit troubled at the current moment feeling like for all my schooling I never became an expert on any one media related technical skill, rather possessing a brief survey of skills.

Thank you Dad and Jacob, but also curse you! I want to feel my feet clipped into pedals pretty bad right now. You both got me hooked on biking. I think I finally found my sport only to leave the siren's call.

I really like this commercial.

Anyone who knew me on the bike knows I wasn't exactly the same person. In fact there is a family story growing in fame in which I rather rudely insulted my Uncle Will while we were on a ride together. It seems that I became a man pedaling from anger on the bike, as it was my way of letting off steam and stress. Sorry to anyone who felt the wrath. Running in The Gambian heat I feel a hit of that stress relief, but nothing quite like my cycling days.

Finally GO BUCKS!