Peace Corps Secondary Ed/Science.

Togo/Secondary Education, Lycée Physics/Chemistry Teacher

Requirements/Restrictions

You must have:

1. a B.S. in Secondary Education/Physics, OR

2. a B.S. in Physics, OR

3. a B.S. in Chemistry, OR

4. a minor in Physics (15 sem. hours) with a major in another science.

It is highly desirable but not required that should have had at least one year of high school French, previous teaching or youth work experience, have traveled in foreign countries and are interested in being involved with your students, school and community on more than a "job" basis and in a way which will benefit both you and those whom you will know in Togo.

One married couple can be accepted into this program provided that the spouse is qualified to teach math at the same senior high school level.

Volunteer Assignment Description or Summary

Togo's educational standards are considered high in West Africa and its literacy rate of 20 - 25% is one of the highest in Africa. The government of Togo places of high priority on education as a means to develop its human resources and spends about 20% of its budget on education. Even so, the Togolese ministry of education faces a staggering challenge in its effort to recruit and train teachers. The Peace Corps has been consistently asked by the government over the past eighteen years to supplement its core of professional teachers. At the present time 62 peace corps volunteers teach at 43 secondary schools, both public and private, and at the national university.

The volunteers in this program will fill requests made by the government of Togo ministry of education for fifteen physics/chemistry teachers. You will be responsible to the "Proviseur" or principal of a public, nonsectarian or a private/religious secondary school to teach 15-20 hours a week of physics and chemistry in a school with classes equivalent to the American 11th-13th grade levels. Depending upon your interests and abilities you may be asked to teach a few hours of art, sports or history-geography.

In addition to the usual realm of academic subjects, you'll be encouraged to become involved in secondary projects on the village level, be it helping with the building of latrines, cisterns or wells, or working on a school garden project or whenever domain you perceive as an important part of the development of your area. Limited funds are available from various organizations to help you complete such projects. As a teacher he will also:

1. Prepare some 200 students for their next year of study in the relevant subjects.

2. Introduce problem-solving and creative thinking techniques through lessons offered.

3. Help students find ways to put into practice the basic concepts learned in class through special interest clubs.

4. Develop and introduce new materials and teaching aids based on locally available materials affordable by the school or the students.

5. Participate in faculty meetings or other required school duties.

6. Foster mutual understanding between Americans and Togolese through involvement in community life, carefully exerting leadership if necessary, especially in the previously mentioned secondary schools.

In Togo there are presently 36 Lycées consisting of tin-roofed, cement-clock class rooms. Most schools have few text books or other teaching materials. It is not unusual if none of your students have books at their disposal. Classes at this level of secondary school have an average of 20-65 students per class. At the end of these last three years of upper secondary school (Lycée), students are required to take one national exam. Therefore, one of your goals will be to prepare your students for that purpose.

The physics syllabus for these levels includes such concepts as: weight and mass, fluid dynamics, heat capacity, gravitational acceleration, momentum, work and energy, vibration, sound, pitch, temperature, magnetic fields, and electricity, among others (see attachment).

The chemistry syllabus incorporates the concepts of atomic structure, acid/base reactions, chemical symbols, formulas and equations, organic chemistry, the study of the chemical properties of metals and carbon compounds, including oil and natural gas, among others (see attachment).

In most lycées, with a couple of exceptions, laboratory facilities and equipment are either out-dated or non-existent. You will need to be especially creative in these areas, developing your own material so students can further learn scientific concepts via experimentation.

Physics, chemistry and all other subjects, with the exception of English, are taught in French. A fourteen-week training program for your group will take place in Togo and will consist of intensive French study, including technical vocabulary needed; teaching methodology, practice teaching, and thus familiarization with the Togolese school system. Also at the time you will receive information on Togolese customs and culture.

The Togolese government will provide modest housing similar to what what your Togolese counterparts live in. It may consist of one bed room, a kitchen and a living room, with outdoor toilet and bathroom. At times, in large towns, volunteers maybe ask to double up in houses with running water and electricity.

You will face obstacles in living and working Togo. These primarily arise out of differences between American and Togolese cultural traditions in ways of approaching tasks, problem solving, and performing a job. You are an invited guest in Togo and have to learn to become effective within the Togolese system. Frustrations you will have to learn to face at the beginning include: lack of ability to communicate fluently in the local language and in French; intellectual loneliness; slowness in effecting change; occasional disinterest or lack of understanding of what you are trying to achieve; feelings of lack of accomplishment; misunderstandings of your role by the local people.

A successful volunteer in this program must be mature and creative, willing to work hard and organize, and run a complex program of education, and also be involved in a great deal of community participation beyond the perimeter of formal schoolteacher hours. The demands are high and so are the expectations of the Togolese government, but the rewards of living and teaching in Togo are tremendous.

ACTION form A-731a (Rev. 7/79)