Exhibit A: When I enquired as to why two pupils had blank spaces in their exam results I was told they couldn’t write so they could take the test. One pupil I knew, the other I didn’t so asked, “why can’t he write? Is it a physical problem?” “Oh no,” she replied, “he never have a pen!” ?!!??!!?

This is a typical example of the lack of effort and common sense some teachers appear to have. Surely part of my job isn’t to give advice such as “make sure everyone has a pen.” My salary would then be far better spent on pens!

The good news is she assured me she would try to help him this year!

Exhibit B: In preparing deaf children to start school they go to a preparatory class. Here they are taught to speak. A questionable objective for the deaf, but that’s their theory and I don’t know enough to comment. The “oh no!” moment, was in trying to get a girl to speak who cannot make any sound at all and has just started her second year in this same class, as she failed, was to lie her on across a desk and press on her chest, to try and push sound out! As I said, I know nothing of this subject, but suspect this isn’t a preferred methodology!

Exhibit C; Largely due to poverty many children don’t start school at the allocated age, they start whenever their parents find the means to fund them (the government will have you believe it is free, but this isn’t totally true) So it is not uncommon to find teenagers in classes with much younger peers, but I was still surprised to see one tall, lanky boy in with the pre-school deaf pupils. When I asked his age, the reply was 17! His first year in school and he hasn’t even yet started a primary level 1!

Exhibit D: Imagine a Victorian school but with less teacher punctuality and less structure. Rows of children, copying notes, repeating the teacher in parrot fashion and answering teacher questions which are right or wrong, no middle ground or good try! No understanding of checking if pupils actually understand except to say ‘do you understand?’ And accepting answers which are blatant copies of the teacher example.

Such teaching is not entirely the teachers fault, they have experienced equally bad education and know nothing else! On the positive side I have seen some effort made at role play (parrot fashion, which is right or wrong) and most of all it has made me absolutely desperate to get back to teaching! Right now!! Please!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is nothing that makes you want to get up there and no a fab lesson more than seeing a rubbish one!!

So that is why I cannot identify pupils have having learning difficulties or not, as failure is unsurprisingly common, which I really believe in the most part is down to teaching methods. So my training will be more on variation and creativity of teaching methods rather than identifying what is ‘wrong’ with the pupils.

PS Feel free to forward this to the Rwandan government who may throw me out of the country for slander!

Rant over, normal service is resummed!

Goodbye to Gatagara, sad to say bye to my domestic with her children

written by  Sue Mugwiza on January 27, 2008 from Nyanza, Rwanda
from the travel blog: Rwanda
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