This week I was welcomed to three schools by kind administrators and teachers. I spent a day each in two public schools, Gaborone Senior Secondary and Naledi Senior Secondary. As Senior Secondary schools, they offer Form 4 and Form 5, equivalent in the U.S. system to grades 11 and 12. Social Science courses are not required, but students can choose to take History, Social Studies, Geography and/or Development Studies. There is a fair amount of overlap in the Social Studies, Geography and Development Studies syllabi and I was told it is unusual for a student to take more than one of these two-year courses while at Senior Secondary. I have had the opportunity to visit lots of secondary schools on the African continent over the past eight years, including schools in Ghana, Namibia, Kenya and now Botswana. The continent is huge and diverse, but there is a similarity in what I have seen in public schools in all four countries, certainly related to the European colonial and missionary legacy. School starts and dismisses relatively early in the day to beat the heat. Classrooms are simple, crowded with well-worn tables and chairs, a chalkboard, lots of ambient noise and maybe ceiling fans. Instructional resources are scarce and dated, instruction is in the second (or third or fourth) language of English (Botswana's native languages include Tswana, Kalanga, Kgalagadi, Shona, Tshwa, Mbukushu, Ndebele, !Xoo and more ...) and teachers for the most part teach to the national exams using the lecture method, while uniformed students dutifully make notes in tidy handwriting. There is a severity in the manner of some teachers that I believe discourages student risk-taking and participation, along with the threat of physical punishment by stick, which some teachers carry with them at all times. There is no data privacy regarding marks. Teachers return exams to learners in front of the entire class, praising and chastising as they work their way through the pile from the highest score to the lowest. Teaching is a physically and mentally challenging profession under the best of conditions. In Botswana public school teacher pay is low, expected overtime is high, resources are scanty, facilities are often dilapidated and opportunities for advancement are limited. It is easy to discern when a teacher has cultivated a more encouraging, active learning environment. The national syllabi content itself is engaging and I was able to listen in on discussions of global challenges, international organizations and gender disparities resulting from cultural practices. I enjoy learning how curriculum is situated in a Southern African and Botswana context. For example, on the list of global challenges learners were considering were HIV/AIDS, desertification, and corruption. A lesson on map reading used a topographic map of Zimbabwe. Student presentations on international organizations included SADC (the Southern African Development Community). Traditional Tswana cultural practices debated included bogadi (bride price), seantlo (practice whereby a widow marries her husband's younger brother) and the rarity of female chieftainship. The culminating activity in the Development Studies course at Naledi is project-based. After conducting a broad needs assessment of the school in teams, students propose hands-on improvement projects, solicit community bids, vote to narrow options, raise funds by selling snacks at school and implement the project. Past projects provided air conditioning for teacher offices, floor tile, whiteboards, computers and more. The class I visited had narrowed down their options to a LCD projector for the school assembly hall, a welcome board for the main entrance of the school and upholstered stools for a student common area. In addition to the two public schools, I also visited Maru-a-pula, considered one of Botswana's best private schools. Maru-a-pula prepares students in Forms 1-6 (equivalent in the U.S. system to grades 8 through 13) to take both the Cambridge International General Certificate of Education O-level and A-level exams. These exams are internationally accepted gateway exams to post-secondary education. The campus is leafy and pleasant with a relaxed classroom atmosphere and an emphasis on co-curricular service, physical education and arts activities. Students (68% Batswana, 32% international) are allowed to have mobile phones in class (not allowed in public schools) and the dress code is more relaxed. No uniform per se, but some sort of black bottom and white top. I was hosted by three members of the Geography Department (including a very generous-with-his-time Princeton in Africa Fellow) and observed three Geography and one Business class. In contrast to the public schools I visited, all teachers have laptops and classrooms have LCD projectors and air conditioning. The most interesting part of the day was a Q & A session with a class of Form 6 students. Several are hoping to attend university in the U.S. and had thoughtful questions about differences between the Botswana and U.S educational systems. This week I also met with Samuel from the Botswana Youth Empowerment Projects and look forward to more communication with this NGO in the future. On Friday I was back at the library with Banabakgwale Association for the weekly SDGs seminar for kids . Tebatso and Tevin brought the SDGs Board Game and we had fun playing the game with the kids, all while helping them practice and comprehend English as they read and responded to questions. No sweets this week, but fortunately I had a couple of inflatable globes in my backpack that we used for prizes!
1 Comment
Gretchen Damon
5/5/2019 09:58:02 am
Always interesting to hear about the differences between private and public schools.
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About MeA 9th grade AP Human Geography and Global Studies teacher at Stillwater Area High School in Stillwater, Minnesota, USA, living and learning in Gaborone, Botswana from January to June 2019 as a Fulbright Teacher. Archives
June 2019
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