Bry'Chell and School

Bry'Chell is not really keeping up with her blog, which is completely understandable since she has so little free time. Since I publish fairly regularly these days it might seem like our internet connection is all good. It's not, but at least the one I have now is better than the university's wireless. Early morning and late night are the best times to publish. While it's not exactly early now, it is Saturday, so early is relative. However, I've been trying to get into my email for the past half hour and all I get is a "page load error." Knowing UMU, it may not be resolved until Monday. Since I've forwarded my CSU email to my UMU email, that really cuts into my ability to communicate. It get frustrating when I write a nice long email and then the connection dies and I can't send it. I still haven't been able to get on the CBIS website to check my accounts, but for some reason, I can usually get into my blog.

However, what I want to write about is Bry'Chell and school. She keeps saying she doesn't want to forget things that have happened here so she can tell her friends back home. I tell her to put it in her blog. When she has access to the computer she'd rather watch a movie, so there goes the blog.

She just finished mid-term exams. Her school really is on more of a high school model, which makes sense since it's a high school. Tests include more essay type questions and are much more difficult than grammar school. Since she really is only in 7th grade, it's a bit of a shock.

A few things to know, first, 50% is passing here. Second, anything 80% and over is considered very, very good. The difficulty of the tests is measured accordingly. The grammar on the tests--that's the teacher's grammar--contains enough errors that it's sometimes difficult to understand what they are asking.

While the English teacher has the best grammar, even his test contained several errors. In fact, he marked two of Bry'Chell's answers wrong that were correct and two that were correct as wrong. Since it all came out even in the end I left it alone. At 83%, she had the second highest grade in English.

She only passed two exams, English and literature--that's out of 12 classes. I'm not concerned. The school year starts in January here, so she's coming in to the third and last term of the year. She's in a class a year ahead of the class she should be in. The teaching style is way different, there are no books, only lectures with the students taking notes. By the way, Bry'Chell's note taking skills have improved considerably.

Bry'Chell does not have good essay writing skills, yet. She tends to write the bare minimum. I'm of the philosophy that you write until your hand falls off. I also believe in my brother Bill's adage, "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit." Hopefully, you'll hit on enough concepts in all the verbiage that you'll receive some points.

I mentioned that Bry'Chell has 12 classes. They are--Math (which seems to be geometry), English, Literature, French, Luganda, East African History, Computer, Agriculture (that's entertaining for a Chicago kid!), Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, of course, I'm teaching her American History, math and literature from her books from home. We're on a bit of a break at home. She has two months off at Christmas time, so she'll be doing the basic home-school stuff then.

You may notice that she has three, really four science classes--Agriculture is science, sort of a mix of biology, chemistry and physics, or at least mechanics. These would cover all the science that most American kids have in all of high school. They're not done in the depth that American schools cover them. There's a lot more memorization and less (or no) lab. The school has some labs--fairly primitive--but they are labs. However, the classes are real science. I've had to dig back in my brain to help her out, especially with no books. Thank God for the Internet. The physics is applied algebra and considering that she's really just starting in algebra, it's a challenge, but it's also useful because of the practice it offers for algebra.

These are the facts, but they don't really give a sense of the school. Think country school, only larger. There are 50 something kids in her class, about 360 in the school. They sit two to a desk. The desks are wider than at home. There is no storage space in the desks so the kids carry around their notebooks all day. They don't have books, so that's not an issue. However, the notebooks are big and heavy. Between classes the kids compare notes so that they make sure they have everything. Of course, being teenagers, they also talk between classes.

Discipline is sure and swift. Teachers have sticks cut from the trees. They use them. A kid flunks a test, they get "caned", as the students say. The kids act up, they get caned. Kids get caught having a boyfriend or girlfriend, they get caned. Kids get caught lying, they get caned. You get the picture. We're not talking a little swat. We're talking serious licks. Bry'Chell does not get caned. That and not cutting her hair are the agreement I have with the head teacher (principal). Bry'Chell hates it when the other kids get hit. She hates it even more than the other kids laugh at the one being caned. In some classes more than half the class failed the exams. They all received a caning. Bry'Chell came home from school upset that day.

It might help to know that, technically, caning is illegal in Uganda schools. However, I was at a PTA meeting last Sunday afternoon--three and a half hours of mostly Luganda--I understood very little and was bored out of my mind. At one point Sister Sarafina Sanyu, the principal said, "Spare the rod and" all the parents answered, in unison "Spoil the child." For many of these parents English is a foreign language, but they know that line and the vigorous nodding of their heads confirmed their agreement with the concept. I couldn't help thinking of Mother Theodore's line, "Love the children first, then teach them." A bit different pedagogical concept. I'm going to give Sr. Sanyu my Mother Theodore calendar. Maybe she'll notice that quote.

Bry'Chell did not take the Luganda test. Although she has learned quite a bit of Luganda, she has not been speaking it since she could talk as have most of her classmates. Neither did she take the French test, although she really is learning quite a bit of French. She's learned as much French in six weeks as Spanish in the last three years. This is the third term and language is cumulative.

She did take the math test, but her teacher did not post the grade since it was low. However, in my conversation with him, he said she's really learning the concepts and did well in what they have covered since she's been there.

Her sciences grades are not quite up to par, but again, they're cumulative. Whatever she learns will help her when she gets to high school at home. I don't know if the high school placement test includes science, but if it does, she'll be in good shape.

I'm a bit more concerned with English and literature. These are her best subjects at home and I don't know if she's being challenged enough here. I do not want her to lose ground. However, she does a lot of reading and writing on her own, so that will help. I'm grateful to have her Literature book from home. It has some good stories and exercises. That will also help.

Knowing Bry'Chell's experience in school helps me understand my students. Many of them are not as proficient in English as they need to be to do university level work. However, they are committed and hard working. I've never had a group of students who are as dedicated as the ones I have here. They have some deficits, but they are working incredibly hard to overcome them. Of course, CSU has many students like that as well, but the pattern is universal in my classes here.

Since I'm still having trouble putting pictures on the blog I'm trying to get a Picassa album where I can post my pictures and link them to the blog. It may take a while given my Internet connection and time constraints.

I'm aware that I often have typos and grammar errors in my writing. When possible I go back later and edit, so if you read something that grates on your grammar sensibilities, check it later, I may have corrected it.