Arriving back at Kovol after their break feels like returning home for Steve and Gerdine Stanley and family. Their break was fantastically refreshing and they really enjoyed it.
The very day they arrived in the village Steve was back into the literacy class. The progress the students have made is wonderful. He was amazed to see their attendance record and the motivation they have had to consistently attend class. However, Steve saw the empty seat of the man that recently died and grieved internally; death has left a gap in the class.
Steve confused the students by writing one of the letters on the board in a different style to what their co-workers Philip and Natalie had been using, which was a different style from the literacy books they have produced. Oops! The teacher style guide document he hadn’t gotten round to creating would have been useful to have in place before now!
After settling in it was time to get back to school and work on translation, literacy and Bible lessons. They felt a little uneasy getting going again and within a day they were back in the groove.
They are now only six weeks away from the first literacy class graduating! Time is flying. It’s time to get the post literacy course prepared for printing. They want to keep the momentum going and get these students into the next class so they can continue to practice.
They will be trying out a “nine hole” programme. Students receive a bookmark that has seven levels marked out. Each level has nine tasks. Upon completion of a task the teacher punches a hole in their bookmark and after nine holes they graduate to the next level. Each level asks more of the students.
The aim is to have students progressing at their own speed to finally arrive at reading out loud at a speed of 100 words per minute. Steve prepared the programme six months ago while in the UK. All the stories need checking to make sure they flow well.
The testing process proved Steve hadn’t thought properly about the flashcard tasks and so a little restructuring is in order. The final goal is for students to read at 100 words per minute.
After several months of concerted effort, they want to make sure the students have a road forward for continuing to develop their reading and writing skills and be able to use those literacy skills in their everyday life.
Having not watched any of the group stage of the world cup, now that it was the knockout stage Steve decided it was time to start watching the England games. They were able to stream the England/Mexico game underneath one of our houses and had good crowd watching with them. Whenever they have a culturally acceptable way to share their lives with the Kovol people they love to take it.