School Starts, Part 2

This past week has been pretty good. I've found things to fill my time, so I'll give you a sample of a weekday: Up at 5:45, work out for a little bit, take a shower, eat bread and peanut butter (called groundnut paste here), then its off to school by 7:15. School days vary, but I average about two hours a day actually teaching, and the rest of the time I am either preparing lesson plans, talking with teachers, reading, or zoning out. School ends at 2pm, so amidst little kids from the kindergarten yelling "Yevu!" (White man) I walk to our small little market. There are only about 3 people actually selling things at any given time, so I do mean small. I pick up some fresh eggs, onions, spaghetti, or whatever else I need to make dinner. But, I must be finished cooking and cleaning by 6:15 because it gets dark and we don't have a light in our kitchen area. Usually some students come around for an hour or two and I let them use my computer to practice typing or teach some ICT in addition to school. One student, however, is about 16 and is really good with computers, so I monitor his usage but don't need to tell him what to do. Then, its off to bed by 9pm to wake up early for the next day.
I gave my first quiz Thursday, and it was less than stellar. Since students have always copied off each other for tests since a very early age, about half will do even more work to cheat while I am looking instead of looking back into their notes. I just don't get it. I have strict rules if they cheat, but a select few still try their darndest.
So our school has/had a problem. Some students can't read. At all. This is a problem because all tests are in English. How can a student be expected to answer a question when they can't even read the words? Well, all standardized tests are multiple choice with 4 answers, so guessing on the entire test you will get on average a 25%. BUT, to pass you only need to get a 40%! So we have pulled about 30 of our 90 students out of class for a month or two to teach them to read English, and maybe speak it too. They may repeat the grade, but its better in the long term that they know English, and my classes are now comprised of only the 'smart' students, or even those who can understand what I am saying.
I am really starting to love my site, my community, and everything related to it. I'm quite happy with how things are turning out currently, so I hope this will continue.