Some how one book that is meant to help the students with their studies has been one of the largest deterrents for student learning in my classroom here in India. This book is for cheating in the class and on the exam. All of the writings of the textbook are translated into Gujarati, which is the most useful part of the book. Where the book takes a turn for the worst is when all of the assignments and questions that are in the textbook are all answered in the guidebook. This completely eliminates all student thought. Students become expert copiers. Students simply copy the question and the answer from the guidebook for all assignments given by their Indian teachers. Teachers check student notebooks for completion of all assignments in the textbook, but really there has been no completion, since students have only been copying all the answers not actually processing any of what is written.
In order to curb the culture of copying I have tried to assign writing assignments that are not found in the guidebook. Many students are confused about the assignments because they are only used to copying for the guidebook. These new assignments bring out student laziness and then in the end the assignments that induce thought are not even completed. As I scan through student notebooks I am puzzled because very few students have any of the class work I have assigned or any homework in their notebooks. They only have the meticulously copied guidebook written in their notebooks.
After correcting seventy six notebooks from my 9A class, I went on a copying and guidebook tirade. I wrote some Spanish sentences on the board and I asked students to copy this into their notebooks 10 times. After completing this I asked them to tell me what this means. Students looked at me with confused glances. I said as many times as you copy something you are not going to learn it, so simply copying from the guidebook is not resulting in your learning.
Although I went on this rant I don’t know what affect it will have. The first essay I was assigned to teach, I launched into a large brainstorming session and gave students an easy framework for creating a simple, but well written essay about their village. As I corrected their essay notebooks I was expecting to see my framework being put to use, but alas there is also an essay guidebook and as a result I read 76 of the exact same essays. At first I naively said to the teacher that “All these essays are copied should they receive credit for this work.” To which the teacher replied, “Yes, they receive credit, it is from their essay guidebook.”
The guidebook tragedy goes even further. My co-teacher pulled out a small book that was in English. I asked her about the book and she informed it is a small guidebook. We both started laughing to point of tears, since her and both know the negative impact that this book is having on student learning. She said sadly, but also through laughter that this book is made so students can sneak it into the exam room in their pockets.
This lack of learnign saddens me. I have a passion for real teaching that creates real student learning. In some ways I realize that this guidebook is their sad and true reality. Many students come into eighth standard without the ability to read English. They are reading material at about the fifth or sixth grade level of the United States, which is nowhere in their reach. Without memorizing the material there would be no way they could come close to passing the exam. For many students memorizing or even cheating is the only way that they will be able to move on in school. In order to rid the evil of the guidebook the whole system must be changed. Since each semester is based on the completion of a large exam, the focus cannot be on genuine student learning, but about preparing for the high stakes testing. For a tenth standard student passing the exam is the only way to move onto higher secondary school. If they fail this exam they must wait a year and retake it or just stop going to school. Passing the exams becomes the most important thing to these students regardless of the fact that their ability is way under the level of the exam they have to fight to be able to pass. Memorizing the guidebook becomes their only weapon, besides copying during the exam.
Where is the light at the end of the dark guidebook tunnel? I guess only through education reform can we really impact language learning here in Gujarat. At this point making large reforms in the education system is a bit beyond my position or authority, but I will try to do my small part and encourage the students to think for themselves during my classes.
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