Reflection on Education

Malian schools have a unique way of teaching. The kids are typically taught by memorizing the content. They are very good audible learners, unlike many of us who are visual learners. This is a challenge because they don't learn 'critical thinking' until much later, like high school age. To give an idea of the impact of teaching: The kids learn, in French - 'to cross the road, always look left first'. So they simply memorize the statement, in French. A young girl was asked the day before her test if she's nervous about her exam. She said she wasn't because she knew the question... and answer. 'always look left'. So her mom asked her the question in Bambara. Which way do you look before crossing the road? The young girl didn't know the answer. She could only answer in French, by what she memorized! (but didn't know what it meant!)

In fact, when the hospital hires new nurses, they allow 6-9 months for the nurses to learn the clinical basics. They start to develop more critical thinking methods as they face new clinical challenges.

And talk about a challenge in hiring nursing staff! There is a requirement that the nurses be Christian. Also, there are few who are trained and that live in Koutiala. Nurses will often move to their husband's town to work, so it's a challenge keeping staff for long. This is why the Pediatric unit hasn't officially opened. They don't enough trained nurses and staff!

I added a Wordle to the title page of this blog - check it out. It takes all the words from the blog and sizes them according to how often they are used. Cool look!