Teaching in Full Swing

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     I'm currently co-teaching classes in print journalism and broadcast journalism. I've been given the task of placing myself in between the two courses to coordinate the multimedia production assignments to fit both course schedules. All of the grad students in the program are required to take both classes so I need to make sure the assignments that I create make sense and also don't over burden their already busy schedule.  It's been quite a challenge. A lot of the students still work part time in the media industry so it's a balancing act for some of them. As with any graduate program, the students vary in age and experience.

     I've been able to follow the usual sequence of skills that I expose them to. I started with basic audio collection and editing a few weeks ago and now we're into photography. We'll be tackling video by the end of the semester. A lot of the challenges have been in technical side of things. I've had to regroup a couple of times based on the pace at which the students have been absorbing the materials. The IT guys, Benson, has been very helpful but there are limitations based on the the quality of equipment here. I've brought over a lot of gear to donate to the school but implementing them in the curriculum and creating a checkout system and policy has been a challenge. Also, I wasn't able to get certain accessories because of my limited budget so I'm making due. I'll probably end up picking up some random things over Christmas break when I come back to the states for a couple of weeks.

     Anyhow, last week we had a lesson on photography. It was a fun day but a lot of work. There are 34 students and only 8 cameras so I had to split them up into three groups so that made for a long day. Once we got going some of them really got into it. I purchased the some Nikon P7100 cameras which is the same camera we use to teach with back in Oregon. They worked like a charm, so I've been really pleased with them.

     It seems that every time I teach basic photography to a different group there's always variations in how I cover the material. I like to think I'm adapting to the students, but I'm not sure if that's always the case. Somehow I manage to cover the right material by the end of class. Of course having a keynote presentation always helps. One thing I've noticed is that I teach them how to take a bad picture first and then show them how to fix the problem. It's worked quite well but time will tell if they've absorbed everything like I want them to. Their photo assignment is due next week so I have my fingers crossed.

     If I teach them well, I usually get comments like "I don't look at pictures the same anymore" or "you've ruined my ability to enjoy movies because I start analyzing all of the shots" Of course this is temporary as time passes you start to learn to enjoy things for what they are. Anyhow, here are some picture of me teaching in our seminar room along with some nice shots of some of my students photographed by their peers.

     The students have been very welcoming like most people in Ghana. There's the random tardiness that comes with the territory but I've been working with that as much as possible. For the most part they have a good sense of humor and are hard working. I'm still getting to know them, which will take some time. For the most part, they are very engaged and the class is very dynamic. hopefully I'll be able to remember their names by the end of the year. I'm terrible with names.

 

My First Month in Ghana

     Today marks the first month of my Fulbright here in Ghana. I can't say that time has flown by, it's been moving along at a moderate pace. My first week was all about getting oriented and the subsequent weeks have been about getting settled and getting down to business teaching. Getting started has been a bit tricky with the strike that's going on. First it was the teachers and staff on strike, but now it's just the staff except some of them will come into work from time to time to make sure things keep running. It's an odd situation. I have an office space and a nice place to live, so I can't complain but when things happen you never know how it may be resolved.

Here I am at my office with my office mate and colleague Etse Sikanku. We co-teach the broadcast journalism course together. He got his PhD from Iowa and just recently moved back to Ghana.  

Here I am at my office with my office mate and colleague Etse Sikanku. We co-teach the broadcast journalism course together. He got his PhD from Iowa and just recently moved back to Ghana.  

     Anyhow, two weekends ago, which was a holiday weekend, the water ran out at my apartment complex. All the buildings have large water tanks that get filled every so often. The delivery truck drivers are among the staff on strike so I wasn't sure how this would play out. I had heard that strikers were even preventing water trucks from outside campus from coming onto the property. All hope was not lost, the good people at my school tracked down the right people to talk to and got the situation taken care of by the next day. I awoke to the sound of water filling up the toilet tank. Music to my ears. I have two large bins full of water for just such an occasion, so I wasn't in dire straits, but I'll have to say that having running water is really nice. I'd rather go without electricity before going without running water. 

It was like this all day on the second day I was without running water. Ironic isn't it? I wanted to pull a McGuyver and make a rainwater collection system on the roof to channel the water into the holding tank.

It was like this all day on the second day I was without running water. Ironic isn't it? I wanted to pull a McGuyver and make a rainwater collection system on the roof to channel the water into the holding tank.

     So getting settled has been a long process. For a while I was shopping every other day for food, housewares and various other random stuff you need when you move into an new apartment. There were a lot of random things and there was only so much I could carry with me given the 20 minute walk from school to my apartment. For that reason, I bought a bike for about $60. Not a bad deal. It's made life a whole lot easier since I don't have a car. I'm in the market for one and hope to get one soon but my bike will do. Anyway, this picture of my bike in front of the Legon Mall is a familiar site. I do most of my shopping at the Max Mart there. I think after several trips here and to the open air market on campus, I have what I need to feel settled in my apartment.

      I'm starting to form a routine so my grocery runs are now 2-3 times a week, usually on my way back home from teaching. I'm feeling more comfortable so I'll be looking to get off campus more to explore.  

Here's my bike loaded with a sack full of groceries from the Max Mart 
just off campus near the old main gate. I feel like a Sherpa when I load
 up the bike and my backpack sometimes to get everything home. They're 
not used to people bringing their…

Here's my bike loaded with a sack full of groceries from the Max Mart just off campus near the old main gate. I feel like a Sherpa when I load up the bike and my backpack sometimes to get everything home. They're not used to people bringing their own bags so they gave me funny looks the first time. They know me now. :)

Hipsters, Fishermen and Art

    So there are hipsters in Ghana and they had a very cool art festival last weekend. Jamestown and Usshertown are two of the oldest and poorest parts of Accra. The big attraction is the lighthouse, Ft. James and Ussher Fort. Both forts were at some point converted into a prison. Now they're tourist attractions and Ussher Ft. is being converted into a museum. This region is on the coast, so it's home to a community of fishermen. So it was an interesting juxtaposition of cool young hip artists, fishermen and tourists in an old neighborhood with a colonial past. It's a part of Accra that I hadn't visited before so it was new experience. I'm glad I made the trek with my friend Kodjo, a local who I had made friends with on my last visit to Ghana. It's always better when you have a local to hang with who can give you more insight into things. Of course I probably saw more westerners at this festival than I had in my previous trips to Ghana in the past so it wasn't like I was feeling too much like an outsider. 

    The highlight for me was seeing Ussher Fort being converted into an art space. There were some really cool contemporary installations that were very different from the indigenous art of the region that you see everywhere. It was a breath of fresh air. I hope that the renovations do justice to that space and it becomes a significant presence in the art community. Anyhow, lots of fun that ended with a bowl of Banku, palm nut soup and fish. Yum!

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