At Madhi High School, we are officially three weeks into the second term of the school year. In fact, I am almost half way through this term’s materials as we are moving at a steady pace. Classes are going well for me and my co-teacher Ameeta. We have found our rhythm and are working well together to teach our students English.
While my academic classes have been going well, lately my Spoken English class attendance has been at an all time low. On most days I only have a handful of students. I have talked to the students, the other English teachers and even the principal and they have all told me that this is normal. Students are tired at the beginning of their second term. They will be more focused after Diwali break in November. The students at Madhi High School finished their first term examinations on September 23rd. Their examinations lasted ten days- each day they would write one exam in the morning and another in the afternoon. On September 24th, the second term officially began. Less than one day after they completed their exams, they returned to school and to their regular classes. No wonder they are exhausted!
The lack of attendance for Spoken English classes left me frustrated. I was arriving at school every day, an hour early, ready to teach my students and they were not showing up. I had excellent attendance last term and was so disappointed at how drastically the situation changed. However, the other day, I had a realization. These students work so incredibly hard. How can I be upset that they need a short break from Spoken English?
The typical schedule for an average secondary school student is as follows:
6: 00 am: Wake up and get dressed
6:30am/7:00 am: Go to tuition classes
9:00 am: Finish tuition classes and return home for breakfast
10:00 am: Arrive at school
10: 30 am: School begins. Classes start at 11 and go until 4:50 pm
5:00 pm: Go to tuition classes
7:30 pm: Finish tuition classes
8:00 pm: Eat dinner
8:30 pm: Study or do housework
11:00 pm: Bed time
Tuition classes are extra classes or tutoring sessions offered by teachers before and after school. Usually there are ten to fifteen students who go to a teachers’ house for supplemental lessons in several subjects. At Madhi, like many other government schools, there are no clubs. There are sports teams but students do not regularly practice. Sometimes they get in a few minutes of cricket during recess or kick the soccer ball around for a while. They have no fun extra-curricular activities to participate in. Their lives revolve around school and there is much pressure on them to succeed. Of course there are the students who do not work hard, just as there are in every school around the world. But most students work tirelessly to pass their classes in hope for a better a better future. They do not get a break after exams end. They have one long break in November, for Diwali and another break at the end of the year, but no long summers off like we have in the States. No summer camp or Little League. What’s more, they go to school six days a week. Monday through Friday they have full days and on Saturdays they start school at 8:00 am and finish at 11:30 am. Then, they have more tuition classes. Can you imagine?
When I taught in a rural village in Malawi for two and a half years, I noticed a similar situation. Actually, it may have been worse. I taught at a boarding school and in general, my students slept for 2-4 hours a night. They studied late into the night every night. Their weekends were filled with study halls and they were only allowed to leave campus one Saturday each month. They did have extra-curricular activities but most clubs were for additional academic support, like Maths Club, Science Club, Writer’s Club, etc. Still more, these students worked literally around the clock to succeed in high school in order to be eligible for university.
The education systems in developing countries are weak. There are insufficient and poorly trained teachers, limited resources and a lack of schools and universities. In both of my experiences, the students work so hard because there are fewer spots in college than there are students. They study endlessly, hoping to make it to college and get a decent job that can support their family. In both India and Malawi, there is a strong family bond and even when a child is grown, marries and has children of his own, he is still responsible for supporting his parents and other siblings. Thus, there is a great demand on these students to succeed in school. I am not sure about you, but I cannot imagine taking on the rigorous schedule these students face daily. I think I will cut my Spoken English students a little slack.
