I don't even think it's the 'big bad NGO's' it's the new 'gap year' companies that are sprouting up all over .. kids paying a thousand or more to go somewhere, have no help, the money doesn't reach the site (goes into the pockets of those behind desks) and the locals are left with a kid just out of school who's 'meant to know what they're doing' ... even teaching English.

Personally I think they should all be shot (gap year companies that is!) and let the 'decent' NGO's get the 'right' people in to do the job ..

Kira

Cheers Noel, useful to see it from another point of view. Your website link suggests you are Dutch, but your name seem Italian? Either way, I wonder if you have anything similar in your education system to what I experienced at school? Granted, it was studying French and Spanish, but we had a couple of young 'assistants' in the departments. They were used sparingly in the younger classes for the occasional 'flavour' of real culture from their respective countries. In the older (16-18) classes there would be individual oral sessions, mainly designed for familiarisation with colloquial speech and accent work.

We found it very helpful to have someone in the position of a 'semi-teacher', in that they were easy going, friendly, not part of the school hierarchy; in other words, not in the usual authoritarian position of teachers. So when left to speak with them they gave a very good idea of where they came from, their society etc. It provided a stark contrast from the usual, repetitive, phrasebook/category type work, 'The Restaurant', 'Buying Tickets' and so on.

Do you feel this is an appropriate function for native English speakers to provide? Is this sort of work used in Africa yet? Certainly my experience teaching in China was that this is as helpful over there (with caveats) as it was to me. The kids would often come back to my room after classes, chat about where I came from, my family and so on. They'd play games on the PC I had, or show me their favourite films, music, cartoons and so on. They were able to discuss things they normally would not.

Would value your opinion, and/or anyone else's, on that :-)

I know what you mean, though I didn't specifically mean NGOs per se, was just giving a nod to what's already cropped up in the thread ;-)

Sad to say...I was one of those GAP year kiddies, or at least partly. Not the hut building type, but the TEFL type. Neither did we pay more than would cover our teaching program and orientation time in Beijing IMO. As you say, my school didn't help me out at all, so was a bit in the dark. Being honest, I would say that my time there was useful to half the kids (the brighter ones) but not the others. With the lower sets, their discipline problems (try controlling seventy 13 year olds when you can't speak Chinese and the school don't assist you in any way!) and lack of any basic English hampered what they might be able to get from me being there. With the brighter kids I would say they did find a good deal of use, particularly as a contrast to the methods usually used to teach them (not that one way is better than another necessarily). And when I had a few chances to teach the older (16-18) year olds, they were able to use me for things they wouldn't normally learn in a class IMO.

It's a knotty issue, this altruism lark! Liked the quote from Twain though.

Assuming that Noel and Bossies' views, that teaching the teachers is a more beneficial use of time (and I can see why, good point), what can be done for work in Africa then? Be that 'charitable' in any way or not, do you see any volunteer schemes currently available that are worthwhile/that aren't destructive? Just to throw that into the mix ;-)

I think there are a lot of 'schemes' that don't involve pen & paper pushers in the western world ready to grab 'gap year' money .. I know of 2 that have asked me if I know of some volunteers heading their way, one in Dakar & the other in Guinea Bissau .. interestingly enough I've had two people contact me about the G.Bissau one recently who are on their way down there.

Forums like this one & other travel orientated ones are the way to go ... if you can't get a 'job' with an NGO initially

Kira