On the first day of school in America,
you usually show up at 7 A.M.: new clothes, new backpack, and new school supplies.
Teachers read and pass out syllabi, you forget your locker combination a bunch
of times, and you hope no one gives homework on the first day. Students and
teachers are, collectively, excited and nervous for the following weeks.
On the first day of school in
Mozambique, Jamie and I showed up at 7 A.M.: eight students and one other
teacher in the entire school. The class schedule was still incomplete. Each classroom
should have about fifty students, according to enrollment, and there are thirty
two high school teachers. We waited around for a bit, then everyone went home.
This scenario is more than typical
for Mozambique: it’s expected. The first few weeks of school, students don’t
bother showing up, because teachers don’t bother showing up, because they know
their students won’t bother showing up, etc…
Weeks 2 and 3, however, went
better, and I had an average of 10 students in each class. I’m teaching 11th
grade English (as many science education Volunteers end up doing) to two turmas, and 10th grade
Chemistry to four turmas (each with
+/-50 students), for a grand total of 18 hours. All students take chemistry
from 8th to 10th grade, and then continue with 11th
and 12th grade chemistry if they choose to; English is mandatory 8th
through 12th grade.
English is very rewarding to teach!
The majority of my students are excited about learning it, correctly perceiving
it as a marketable skill, though almost all are atrociously behind where they
should be in their fourth year of a foreign language. This is understandable
for a variety of reasons: most English teachers have a very poor grasp of
English; students don’t have textbooks or dictionaries; up here in the rural
north, kids don’t learn or speak Portuguese outside of school; students are
taking courses in Portuguese, French, and English at the same time. A fellow
English teacher reprimanded me in the second week for teaching my 11th
graders the simple present tense (I am
Mozambican, she likes school,
etc.), something they should have learned in 8th grade, but most don’t
understand. English is going to be a lot of work, but I’m excited for the
challenge!
Chemistry class is a different story.
In 10th grade Chemistry, students are learning Organic, which is
normally a college course. And a horrible, painful college course for people
(like me) who care about the phenyl group attached in the third position of the
fourth aromatic ring. This is boring enough for college students with a solid
background in chemistry, much less for high school students who have a basic
understanding of chemistry. It’s even worse in Mozambique, where, on the first
day, not a single student could tell me the difference between an atom and a
molecule, or that O stands for Oxygen. I tried starting with a review of atoms
and the periodic table, and hopefully got a few students in each class to
understand, but now am moving on into Organic. On the plus side, maybe my own
grasp of Organic will improve… Sigh…
My students are very attentive and
respectful, and want to learn (English, at least). Sometimes I think Chemistry
class is more about just staring at the white lady trying to speak Portuguese.
Whatever.
Even though I have my challenges
cut out for me, I’m glad school (and my official Peace Corps assignment) has
begun. I’m having SO MUCH fun, enjoying free time (spent reading and cooking)
and getting to know Jamie better. She has a blog with more photos, and a better
chronology of our saga. We’re still without electricity or cell tower access,
but more information to come soon!
Love,
Elizabeth
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