A few months ago, I posted a photo of one of my host sisters
Sorkna with a caption stating that she had scored first on her exam and would
be going to middle school in Tamba. Unfortunately this is not true and was
never true. I did not deceive you on purpose nor was I deceived myself. I am
here to try and understand the qualities that now go into my kind, smart
witted, and caring sister staying in Botou and ending her formal education.
We have a primary school in Botou. Kids can begin to go to
school around age 4/5 but many wait until much later either because their
parents don't care or because they need them to help around the house or in the
fields. The teachers that come to the school in Botou generally do not choose
to teach here. They are sent here by the government via the department of
education (affecté). Many of the teachers are quite young, some haven't even
been to university but rather received teaching qualifications through a
certificate program. Some are
quality teachers, passionate about teaching and interested in helping their
students succeed. But many take a laissez faire attitude toward teaching. The
style of teaching mimics that of the French, memorizing lessons word for word
and regurgitating them in class. Many students also miss days here and there
often because they are helping with harvests, child care, laundry, what have
you. This combination can make a perfect storm or a perfect rainbow. In the
case of my sister, the former. Her teacher was a new director to the school.
Very rarely did I actually see him teaching. Even rarer did I see Sorkna pull
out her notebook after school and read or learn her lessons. And never did I see
her parents helping her or encouraging her to study. This year was her second
attempt at going to middle school. One day in June she went to Tamba and took
the entrance exam. A few weeks later she told me that she had gotten first and
I took this to mean placed first in the exam and would be attending school in
Tamba. So I posted the photo. It has become apparent to me now that whatever
she recorded "first" in was not related to her ability to go to
middle school (I am still not sure what she was referring to). It looks like
she won't be going to school, likely ever again. There are three possibilities
that can come out of the exam for middle school. 1) you pass and go to the next
year with zero restrictions 2) you pass and proceed to the next year but you
are on probation and must take the same exam after the first year of middle
school 3) you do not pass and you end your schooling
This is public school. This is Senegal. This is what
happened to Sorkna.
School starts on Monday. We have a new school director, someone from Botou which I
believe that will be very beneficial to Botou and the students in the near
future. He held a meeting for both
the mamas and the papas of the students and was very concerned with low number
of students that have been passing the exam to go to school in Tamba. He has brought the attention to the
parents, telling them that they need to be concerned and active parents with
their students if they want to succeed.
The parents seemed to hear this, but we will have to see what happens in
the months to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment