Friday, November 14, 2008

Teaching Heaven

Last week was the first round of National Exams here in Mozambique. At the high school level, both 10 and 12th grades have national exams at the end of the school year. Last year, while in training I visited a PCV at her site and one of the things I was asked to do while on my visit was proctor some national exams. Since I was not a member of the faculty of that school I thought it odd that this new guy could come in and control some exams, nevertheless it was done. My experience there was much the same of what I experienced in my own classes when giving exams...mildly loud and full of cheaters. I am overwhelmingly happy to report that my school had its act together for these national exams. During testing it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop and there were 700 people writing the exams! You can imagine my astonishment to this phenomenon – I wasn't used to this! It was what I have always imagined testing would be like if I were a teacher in the States or Europe, but never did I expect this after my experiences over the past year. The students did little more than sit at their desks, keep their eyes on their own exams, and only talked when they needed more scrap paper or had a question. For that week, I was in education heaven and loved it.

Two days after the chemistry exam was written, the chemistry group was dispensed from further proctoring to start the grading process. If the process is long in the US, it's even longer here. In an effort to prevent corruption in the school system, the Mozambican government goes to great lengths to safeguard the integrity of these exams. The first step in limiting corruption starts with the exchange of exams with a neighboring high school. It just so happened that the school in which we switched with was the same school where a fellow PCV teaches. After the exchange takes place, the second step is done by the school direction which separates the pertinent student information which is located on the corner of the exam and gives every test a different alphanumeric code corresponding to that information. Think of a coat check system and you can start to get the picture. Finally that's when we get the exams, which we must sign out. The third step is going through every exam and putting a red line in every blank space (as to prevent professors writing in the answers). The fourth step involves a primary and secondary correction. Lastly, the fifth step involves two revisions by other officials. Only after this process is completed will the students get the grades. It's a simple process that takes an enormous amount of time. In the end, it is my belief that this process dramatically minimizes corruption that would otherwise occur if the system were not in place. Parabens!!

You might have noticed above that I said that the first round of examinations was completed. This statement implies that there is more than one round to be held, which is the case in Mozambique and most places in the world (including NYS). Every exam is offered in two rounds at the end of the school year and then once more during the second trimester. For the end of year exams, if you fail the first then you can take the second and hopefully get the passing grade needed to move on. If you are unfortunate enough to fail both rounds then you can repeat the grade or take the "extraordinary" exam later the next year. You cannot, however, enter the proceeding year without passing all the exams. On top of all of this there are two classifications for the certificate/diploma you can achieve: sciences (Mathematica, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) or "letters"/arts (English, Portuguese, Geography, History, Drawing). If you are going for the sciences certificate, for example, you must get certain grades on the corresponding exams and make the minimum for the others.
**Disclaimer: The preceding paragraph is everything that I have observed and taken in over the past year, some parts may be incomplete or simply not true. Obviously, this was not done intentionally but you get the gist.**

Along with the end of the first round of exams came a very bittersweet period of time for me here in Chibuto. Last Friday was the goodbye party for one of my two sitemates who finished up her service (COS-ed) earlier this week. It was difficult seeing her off and saying our "goodbyes" but in the end I was very happy for her that she completed her service and left on a great note! As she said, "It's my time to go and I'm happy with my service, so I can leave happy." It doesn't get any better than that. My other sitemate leaves Chibuto at the end of next week, which will once again be a very difficult time. It's like saying goodbye to my Moz family! As some would say, "out with the old and in with the new" which is a little too brash for how I feel but the implication is spot-on. While I must say goodbye to my 2008 Chibutense family, I will also be receiving two more PCV sitemates for the next year. Now it will be my turn to be what Meg and Alyssa were to me for the new Chibuto PCVs.

In speaking of the new group of volunteers, this past weekend was their site visits. Every new group of PC trainees is sent to current PCVs so they can get a glimpse of what life is like/could be like for them. I received 2 chemistry teachers and their stay was refreshing for both them and myself. It was nice to show them around my community, my school, the beach, and answer the array of questions that they had. Two of the days they were here were spent at the beach. The first beach day was a chance for them to meet the other area PCVs. It was a great exchange of information on everyones part. It is my hope that this trip energized and excited for their swiftly approaching service!

As I write this, it amazes me that I have a week and a half left in Chibuto before I head down to Maputo for training and then back home for the holidays. I don't know where the time has gone but I'm really excited to be coming back for a brief visit! Any questions regarding my visit can be directed to my email (jon.d.bates@gmail.com). I'm pretty sure this will be my last post before I get back into the States so if I don't post before then than have an amazing Thanksgiving and I will see you all very very soon!

Jon