Chapter 7: Presence of Mass and Fun

Monday
July 8, 2019

Chapter 7: Presence of Mass and Fun

Rain pattered down on my tin roof for most of the night. No thunder or lightning, just rain. We were on the wet and crowded roads early, by 7:00 a.m. The soggy streets full of the usual: yellow taxis; passenger cars; motorbikes for hire with umbrellas; and small three-wheeled, motorized commuter cars, all honking, swerving, and zipping their way along. In equal number were the people on foot, walking along the edges, down the middle, and through the traffic. There are no sidewalks on the shoulders, only dirt or mud or driveways or

grass. The pedestrians I found more interesting than usual today due to the rain, going about their business as usual, water be damned.

Shortly after 9:00 a.m., we arrived to AME University classroom 056 met by a classroom of some fifty students eager to begin class. The “we” in this case was not Jay and me, but Calvin and me. Calvin would be my partner for the morning. Set up was much smoother. Without trouble we connected my trusty laptop to the projector, it lit up, and class was in session. The first order of business was collecting the assignment that was due from each student: “What is the attitude of a bad student? What is the attitude of a good student?”

Then the day’s class really began. I tossed out two tennis balls, each to a student on opposite sides of the room and divided the class in two. The race was on. Which group of students could pass the ball, one student to the next, fastest? GO! Just like that, the energy in the room went from calm, well-mannered studiousness to one of lively enthusiasm. They cheered when they won, hooted when the ball was dropped, laughter throughout. It was great.

Their exuberance was perhaps too spirited because after just two games a teacher came to tell us to be quieter. Oops! (Not really!) They played a few more times this time with more arm waving and fist pumping and less loud cheering. The left side won, much to their pleasure. Now we were REALLY off and running. Fun.

The lesson itself started with a review of the previous class: definitions of study, learning and barrier. We briefly went over the appropriate student attitude, also review, then I played the first video of the day, on student attitude. They were riveted.

Next we took up what mass meant. We spent a bit of time on this concept, differentiating between the object itself and the ideas and words associated with the object. Mass versus

significance, though I never introduced the word “significance”. To bolster this point I showed them the word “moon” next to a photo of the moon. This was followed by showing the class a very wordy article describing the phases of the moon and compared it to an illustration showing the phases of the moon. Words and ideas compared to the mass of the same. Next we got a good definition for “absent”. Then put these together to present the first barrier: absence of mass.

We next spent a good amount of time going over the various manifestations for studying with an absence of mass. This included saying them aloud, acting them out, and playing a form of charades where students would come to the front, act out a symptom and the class would call out what they saw. More fun!

I showed a video on this barrier and its symptoms and how to handle them. This was supported by pictures of students studying various things and what the associated mass would be. I showed them a demonstration kit and threw one together right there using odds and ends to hand: pen, bottle, phone, cap. Using these objects, I demo’d different ideas to them like inertia.

Next was sketching and its usefulness in supplying mass. I pulled up a blank map of West Africa and had different students sketch out on the whiteboard where different countries were located. Then, with their input, I sketched on the whiteboard how body cells get food, water, etc. These displays of the usefulness of a demo kit and sketches was a

fair amount of fun for them.

By now we were about seventy minutes into the two hour class. Time for the real fun to start, the part they ended up loving the most. In my luggage, on the flight over, I packed twenty pounds of clay. It added extra weight, of course, but evenly spreading it to each bag made it work. This was enough for every student to get a good amount, enough for each one to create and sculpt whatever they wanted. Now it would finally be put to use. It was a great way for them to see the connection between significance and mass, ideas and real life objects.

As a starter, I made a man and plopped it on the table in front of the class. Many were intrigued. But they had their own ideas and their hands and imaginations were freed. They made snakes and letters, monkeys and tea cups. Some made the practical: a mobile phone, a mortar and pestle. Some made the whimsical: long armed men, three-dimensional cubes. This took us all the way up the end of the period. They didn’t want to stop.

By the end of class, Jay had arrived and gave the last instructions for the day. Their essay assignment due on Wednesday: What is the problem with education in Liberia today? For the final minutes we had them write success stories. Some of the better ones are excerpted below.

For the afternoon we spent time at Jay’s office, ordered lunch in — spicy chicken wraps. I worked on this diary entry, Jay

attended meetings. At 3:00 it was time to pick up his daughter Myai from her very first day of school. He was so excited. She had a great day one. I photographed this big family moment. Jay will use the best photos for the blog he is writing for her. Previous blog entries cover the day she was born and getting her ears pierced.

A quick note about one of the pictures from the day. We were stopped at an intersection when a handful of people came to the side of the car and pressed against my window. Young children were leading their blind parents into the streets, begging car passengers for money.

It is 5:53 p.m. West Africa time. I am going to throw on my running shoes and run some laps around the property, followed by laps in the pool. This is my, now daily, exercise routine.

Successes!

“I’m with the conviction that my studies will be much easier now. I actually like the fact that today’s lesson was so interactive and demonstrative. Many thanks to today’s proctor. Cheers, Mr. Colin!” - Kadiatu H. Bah

“Today’s lesson was great. Most especially when we were playing with the clay.” - Hawa N. Bah.

“What will be most helpful to me from my studies is that I learn new ways of teaching, and it will help me to be important in society. I like the ways our teacher teach and also with examples, videos, and demonstrations. This can make anybody learn well whether smart or not.” - Jeffvin D. Whennie

“The thing that will be more helpful to me is the absence of barrier and presence of mass. Today’s lesson was not only about talking, but practicing and fun.” - Monica P. Sengbeh

“I learn a lot today from Mr. Colin. He’s a great teacher. We also played a game and the game was fun. Mr. Colin taught us about absence of mass and how it can make you feel. He brought clay. We demonstrated with it and it was so much fun. I want to

thank him for being a good teacher because he makes the lesson and learning so easy that everyone can understand it.” - Henrique W. Monger, Jr.

“I like the way in which you present your lesson not just by saying it but you did visualize what you were actually saying, it was really cool. I did enjoy the clay exercise because that brought so much creativity and networking. And I hope we will continue the lesson the same way we did today because there was a lot of fun, laughter, and learning.” - Musu Mariama Kiadii

“Overcoming the explained barrier today will help me more in taking more information and retaining it. Because visualization keeps the information in a rememberable way. Today’s lesson was fantastic because we observed the presence of a barrier and getting rid of it in the simplest way.” - Mohemed A. Diallo

“I like how the lesson was being taught. Fun, fixing of clay, lesson, picture. Yeah, it was wonderful.” - Faith Sonkarlay

“I’ve found it hard to keep focus on some subjects, but from today’s class I’ve learned that the best way to enjoy what you study is

getting the mass of what you’re studying.” - Mohammed Kromah

“I learn about the first barrier that stops me from learning and also how absence of mass can make me feel. The most helpful way I can study is to have the picture of what I’m studying. I like that we had a practical lesson and also the demonstration we had with the clay. I love this class and I’m willing to learn from this class and change my society.” - Lela R. Bestman

“I learn that people pick up their lessons by mass. Just reading the notes makes the student tired and bored. But he gets more interested in the lesson when we look at the mass. Having the mass of every lesson will be very helpful to me with my studies. I like every aspect of today’s lesson because we didn’t just listen and read or write, but we also play, which makes us happy and will always be happy when this class time is closer. We will always be in school because of this class. It’s fun time.” - Faith Angel Roe

“I learned that we students learn better with the demonstration method than by just reading or listening to lectures. I also learned that it is best to always find the mass of what you are reading or studying. What will be most helpful to me with my studies is overcoming my barriers while I am studying. I liked how everyone could do and create different things during the clay demonstration.” - Josephine K. Boakai



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