Mr. Amato was my favorite teacher in high school. He was different from my other teachers in many ways: he spoke to us like actual young adults, he tried to teach his subject in real life terms, he had traveled extensively around the world and he, at one time, was a boxer (so cool!). But most importantly, he was distinctly aware of the emotional baggage his students came into the classroom with and how that impacted the way they learned. He understood I felt alienated and different for being one of the few students of color in my school, and because of it, he intuited perfectly that my drive, as well as my self-imposed pressure to be the best, was partly fueled by my desire to show the other students that not all of us were stupid, lazy or selling drugs---that we too pursued excellence. He let me know that dispelling stereotypes and educating the ignorant was not my burden to shoulder. He epitomized for me what a good teacher should be: patient, understanding, perceptive and excited to give us the tools that would open doors to the future we dreamed about.
Between February and May I taught English as a second language course and it has been reinforced in me that teachers have a tough job. And with that said I have discovered that I am no Mr. Amato nor will I ever be. There were a few challenges in giving the course: securing a room to teach the course, balancing peoples’ work and school schedules, and advertising the course. However, my biggest challenge was working with individuals who lacked the basics in reading, writing, math, and most particularly, Portuguese. As you can imagine that since our common language was Portuguese, it was difficult trying to teach English.
By giving ESL classes, I received a crash course on the way the educational system works in Mozambique, which in terms of challenges, it hasn’t been that different from other developing nations that I have lived and worked in. In most developing nations, education is free. But what that means is that parents do not have to pay fees for maintaining the facility or the salary of the teacher. Students must come up with the money to purchase all other school supplies which includes: uniform and shoes, notebooks, pens, pencils, compasses, and “fichas”. Since the government does not provide school books for students or teachers---teachers must find and purchase their own teaching books and materials. Consequently, the teachers then charge students for each copy (ficha) made out of the book. So if you don’t have money, you have to hope that one of your classmates will share his/her ficha with you so you can study the assigned material. Lastly, there is a registration fee—that is if you can get yourself on the list for an open seat within a class. To get on that list, you must show up on the assigned day to sign up at 8AM, which requires parents, but most often than not the students themselves to start forming the line at three or four o’clock in the morning in order to ensure they secure a seat for themselves. If you show up too late, you most likely will be placed on a wait list. A week later the names are posted of individuals who have won a seat and must pay their registration fee within three days of posting.
Most classes have 60 students to each classroom (but some have more), with the teachers rotating from classroom to classroom after each 45 minute session, e.g. after the Mathematics teacher completes her session in Room A she will move to classroom B, and the Biology teacher will rotate into Room A. This is to accommodate the large student to teacher ration (a secondary school teacher could have more than 120 students). Primary school subjects consist of Portuguese, Social Sciences (History + Geography) , Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Art and Design. First grade students take one subject, second grade students take two subjects etc. Once students enter the eighth grade they are required to take 10 subjects with at least 3 or 4 subjects with double sessions: Portuguese, French, English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Art and Design, History, and Geography.
The school year starts in February and ends in October. Most students pass from one class level to the next based on their grades but there are exams issued during October-December at certain grade levels in order to graduate to the next grade. For example, students graduate to the next grade automatically unless their grades are abysmal from first to fifth grade. But in order to graduate to the sixth grade, a student must sit for an exam if the student’s grades do not exempt him or her from taking the exam. These exams are issued in the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th grades. Tenth grade is the most difficult level as the exam tests students on material from eighth through tenth grades. In 12th grade, students must decide their “track”---- either sciences or literature—as one’s track determines what they will study at the University level. In order to enter into the public university system, students must also sit for an exam and if they pass and win a seat, secure the funds to pay for registration, materials etc, they can enter into the University system. Obviously, everything is more expensive at this level therefore many students cannot afford to attend university right away and thus work for a few years before attending.
Currently in Mozambique, there are many older students returning to school at all grade levels. For many reasons, (but mostly lack of money) students have attended school sporadically or not at all as children, but as an adult, now have the time and money to do so. Because of the registration system the composition of classes are a mix of child and adult students, both during the day and evening sessions. Students do not attend school all day but are assigned a particular session in order to accommodate the large number of pupils. It would seem obvious that school administrators would put small children during the day, but because of the way registration works, you will often find a student aged 35 or older in a day session (7-12:30 or 12:30-5:45pm), and a child of 11 or 12 in an evening session (6:00-10:15pm).
There is an appeal procedure to be transferred, but it takes much time and sometimes more money, so most students just accept the session they have been assigned. Because of the dearth of teachers, most teachers teach throughout the day and evening sessions—with many not showing up at night, most probably because they are over worked and tired. This leaves students sitting about in their classrooms until one does show up. As you can imagine, there is also less supervision during the night sessions so I’ve been told that many students show up drunk, some have sexual intercourse in the bathrooms, while other non-students show up on school grounds to make trouble because they have nothing else to do. I’m sure it is not the best environment to teach or learn in.
In Maputo, there are a plethora of “private” schools. I’ve met a few students who attend different private schools and it appears that there are varying degrees of how rigorous the curriculum is in each one and in some instances I wonder how different they are from the public schools. However, most private schools have much smaller class sizes, so this is a big plus for both students and teachers.
Unfortunately, learning here is primarily characterized by copying off the blackboard, reciting what the teachers say, and memorizing/cramming for tests—with little or no interaction with the teacher. If students can’t pass on their own, some students have told me that they (or their parents) pay their teachers to pass them. And for those students who are bright, but are unfortunate to get on the wrong side of their teacher, they too must pay in order to pass. If they are from a poor family, there isn’t much they can do to in terms of their educational progress. It is also still the case that many young girls must engage in sexual relations with their male teachers if they want to get through school. However, if they get pregnant, they most often drop out.
Now that I have finished the ESL course, a few teachers from the school where I rented a room asked for me to do weekly English club sessions with them. They are more advanced speakers of English so it has been really nice as well as informative. I sense their frustration with the educational system: lack of autonomy to teach in the manner they would like, providing a curriculum that addresses the daily realities of their students as well as adequately prepare them for Mozambique economic and civic life (the curriculum is mostly adopted from those of Portugal and Brazil); and the lack of authority they have over failing and/or delinquent students (parents get the last say if a student should be transferred or expelled.)
I’m sure many of the frustrations that they feel could be echoed by students and teachers in the U.S. For the last year I’ve read various articles and blogs about the crisis that our public school system is in throughout different cities across the country: from dilapidated facilities to teachers who don’t do their jobs (because of tenure can’t be fired) and overshadow the great work of more dedicated teachers; to students who must focus more on avoiding guns and violence rather than focusing on learning. I know there are various campaigns going on from changing the tenure system to implementing a core curriculum---and as I’ve read these changes have caused much controversy which signals to me that in some way that these changes are probably peeling away the band-aids and looking at how to heal the wound. Here in Mozambique, there are also steps being taken to improve the system albeit slowly, one of which is a collaboration with the Peace Corps which is placing volunteer teachers in rural areas, where there are very few opportunities for students to get an education.
At my last English club session we discussed the various players involved in the educational system: teachers, students, administrators, government, and society. One of the teachers asked the group, “So who is responsible to make a change?” There was a silence for some time and then I offered, “I guess… all of us are responsible, no? Our children, even if we don’t have any of our own, are the future leaders of our communities and countries, so we all have to do our part in some way to make sure they are ready for that responsibility.” And of course, I know that is much easier said than done.
My students left the course with improved listening and speaking skills (not so much in writing) and they said they learned more from me in three months than they did with other teachers after one year. Probably because I really wanted my students to learn and they did so because there weren’t five million kids in my class, so I was able to focus in on their problem areas and give them individual time when needed.
But the best part of the course for me was that one student told me “You good teacher. I like dis class.” Good enough for me. (For now anyway).
