Hello!
This past week in Montebello has been absolutely incredible, and I could not be
more grateful for the time that I have spent with the students and the children
here! I’ve been doing similar service activities during the day where I start
at the high school, go to the Creche, and then end my day at Vianney. I have felt so much love here, and it makes me so happy to see the
smiles on the kids’ faces when I see them throughout the day.
These past few days at the high school
the students have been having TONS of exams since the term is ending soon!
Needless to say, they are all very stressed out! Since there are no more actual
classes to teach, I usually am marking the exams, invigilating the students
while they are writing, or having little review sessions with the different
science classes. I’ve noticed that when the Sisters and teachers at the high school say
“Jen” with their South African accent, it sounds the same as “Jane,” so many of
the people here genuinely think that my name is “Jane” because that’s how they’ve
heard it pronounced!
Marking the exams was a real
eye-opener for me since most of the students do very poorly on them. While
there are some who are able to get marks in the 70% or so, the majority get
between a 20% and 40%. While I was first grading the tests, I was extremely
surprised by this and was asking the Sisters whether there was any particular
reason why the marks were so low, and from what I heard from them and from what
I’ve observed myself I think there are two main contributors. Firstly, it may
just be a lack of effort on the students end. The government here dropped the
pass rate from a 50% to a 30%, meaning that students only have to get a 30% to
pass the class. Knowing this, the students may study less for the exams that they have. However, it will be extremely hard for students with this mindset to get accepted into colleges/universities here as they have not lowered their own qualifications for acceptance.
The second reason that I myself have seen is that some of the students do not
fully understand English. Their first language is isiZulu, and
most do not begin learning English until they are at the primary schools. For
many of the exam questions, students will either just rewrite the question
itself or simply guess the answer.
Not only does the lack of full comprehension impact the exam marks, but it also affects how well the students actually understand what is being taught during their lectures. Since their standardized exams are administered in English, the teachers and students are required to speak English during lectures in order to help prepare them. There were multiple instances when I was teaching where I could tell that the students just couldn’t understand what I was trying to say, especially since the concept they were learning was new to them. I am grateful that I was able to spend time at the Creche during my weeks here because I was able to realize that the kindergarten children do not know any English (unless it is in songs or dances, which they love to do). Whenever I’m with them, I try to talk as much as I can just so that they can hear how English sounds and, hopefully, start to pick up some words before they officially learn it in Primary School.
 |
| On their final exam, this student didn't understand the question or know how to respond, so they rewrote the question as their answer |
 |
| One of the Grade 8 exams. The student tried to answer the question in broken English but crossed it out and wrote "I am sorry" on top. |
Not only does the lack of full comprehension impact the exam marks, but it also affects how well the students actually understand what is being taught during their lectures. Since their standardized exams are administered in English, the teachers and students are required to speak English during lectures in order to help prepare them. There were multiple instances when I was teaching where I could tell that the students just couldn’t understand what I was trying to say, especially since the concept they were learning was new to them. I am grateful that I was able to spend time at the Creche during my weeks here because I was able to realize that the kindergarten children do not know any English (unless it is in songs or dances, which they love to do). Whenever I’m with them, I try to talk as much as I can just so that they can hear how English sounds and, hopefully, start to pick up some words before they officially learn it in Primary School.
After the school week ended, I was
able to meet up with the Smith Fellow in Johannesburg, Jake, and travel to
Capetown! We landed here yesterday (Saturday) and are staying until Tuesday
morning. It is an incredibly beautiful place filled with mountains and beaches,
and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to come visit here! So far, we
have seen the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and Table Mountain, both of
which are popular tourist spots and have beautiful views of the city.
It is
crazy how much I miss the Sisters and students back in Montebello and the
brothers in Pietermaritzburg, and I am so glad I get to spend a few more days
with them when I return. Sadly, Sister Antonia had to go to her home to
prepare for a special ceremony that she has coming up, so I won’t be able to
see her again during my time in SA. However, I know in my heart that we will
meet up again, whether here in South Africa or back home in America. I cannot
express how grateful I am for her friendship and help, especially while I was
still planning the Fellowship. Truly, the Dominicans here are so warm and kind,
and I am so beyond blessed to be able to know them and call them my friends.
God
Bless,
 |
| Last picture with Sister Antonia before she left |
Jen
No comments:
Post a Comment