The photogenic mob

When I show up to a school or community, there's inevitably a mob of kids trailing around after me. I guess there's not much else going on, especially in the rural schools, where class often ends early in the day. This is especially true if I have a camera out - video or still. The kids at the schools will run into the area I'm shooting and pose. Sometimes they'll start to dance or show off.
Most people here still shoot film, so I think there's a lot of novelty value to showing them the photo right after it's been taken. If I show them a picture of themselves or their friends, a crowd forms pretty quickly. I'll take some photos or video that I don't need, because they seem to get such a kick out of it. The viewfinder on our video camera flips around so they can all crowd around and have a look at themselves in live action I'm a bit jealous. I don't know the last time I thought some bit of technology was that cool.

It's mostly the rural kids that get such a kick out of this - I suppose they're less exposed to technology in the day-to-day. Or foreigners, for that matter. It's also the rural kids who have the worst of a strained school system, especially at the primary level. The kids above were writing exams about half an hour before I took the picture. I took a look at some of the them. One student identified cows, dogs, and goats as examples of C) Birds. Most rural students speak Dagbani at home and English inconsistently, and they naturally struggle to learn in a second language.

There's also a chronic shortage of qualified teachers. Some are simply unskilled 'volunteers' paid on a small stipend. Often they commute by bicycle to schools in remote communities. There is no guarantee that class will be in session for more than a few hours a day. It depends on the dedication of the underpaid teaching staff and the discipline of the head teacher. Occasionally, the head teacher is the one not showing up.

The students learn rote memorization from handmade 'picture' cards, which the teacher holds up to the whole class. Students often sit three to a desk because there aren't enough to go around. They share textbooks. Etc. I saw three students at the school where that photo was taken sharing a desk that must have been broken somehow. They were balancing a science textbook on part of the wreckage. They were alert and paying attention. Good for them - and I mean that.