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Done in 2008
December 2007
In December 2007 I went to Hikkaduwa and:
- made arrangements with Monk Kassapa
- found a location for two classes near the buddhist temple
- hired a teacher for the children for the times when I would be away
- agreed upon a teaching method with her and bought books for the children
- found students for the school
- had an admission test to evaluate the children’s scholastic level
- chose children and arranged two different classes
- kept all other children on a waiting list
- arranged classes
- bought a computer and placed it in the monk’s room
- organized an opening ceremony as the monk wished.
- At this point we enrolled the children in the two classes.
January 14, 2008: beginning ceremony and classes
Our school year is the same as the public school and classes, one hour each, are every day in the afternoon, taught exclusively in English following a Cambridge University Press Course which consists of:
- a school book written entirely in English;
- a practice book which gradually teaches children to speak English fluently.
The weekly lessons are concluded with a test every Friday, and the teacher sends me weekly updates so that we can agree upon what to do next.
Chathurika (the teacher) and I decided that:
- English is the official language during classes
- stories are used to teach reading comprehension
- what has been learned is reviewed on the computer
- all the children know that classes are free, and the three children with the best grades will get a prize at the end of the school year
Prizes are useful items like a new backpack, a pencil set, a pair of shoes, etc.