Meredith and I arrived at school today to find that students are taking exams. Unlike in the United States, students here have to take an exam to pass on to the next grade. Due to this, in some of the schools we visited there are older students. This can happen for a variety of reasons: they don't pass the test, they missed school due to a family illness/issue, or they didn't have money to continue and had to take a year or two off. I cannot imagine having to take a year off during my High School career, can you? At the Primary School I visited earlier this week, they had grades Kindergarten through 8th grade, and they had students up to 22 years old in the classroom. Crazy, isn't it?!?! As a teacher I think it is important that students pass in order to get to the next level. If they don't pass, it is only going to be harder for them in the future. The education system in the United States doesn't allow for this.
Along with this, many schools in Ghana make students cut their hair (girls too) to be very short. It is kind of like the US Military where they require it. Here all girls have very short hair, and when I asked for the reason behind it they said that they want girls to focus on their studies, and not on their looks (hair). Can you imagine how this would be if we required this in the American education system?
Here all students wear uniforms. Each school has its own uniform, and at Wesley Girls the Forms 1, 2, and 3 students wear different uniforms that the Form 4 students. Uniforms must be clean, ironed, and worn properly. All of the students here look very professional. This helps with dress code- there are no issues at all!
One of the students gave us a formal tour of school today, and it was interesting to see the history and learn about the programs offered at Wesley Girls School. After GSS (Junior High) you have to decide what program you want to do in Secondary School (High School) which will also lead you into college. Basically, this means you have to decide what you want to do with your life when you finish Junior High. There is absolutely NO switching once you have started and decided. This is a problem here as sometimes people think they may like something, but later they find out they are better at another subject. The program choices include: business, science, general art, visual arts, and home economics. The head mistress told me it is like putting a straight jacket on students and not letting them have freedom to learn and then make choices.
As we took a tour around the school, there were posters I enjoyed that I took pictures of for you. These posters are very different than anything you would find here in the United States!
The teachers here are still on strike, and it doesn't look like it is going to end soon. Due to this, I may be missing some teaching time with students :( I hope it ends soon so we can head back to the classroom.
Tomorrow I am headed to see some cultural sites around town. Things have been great so far. Today for lunch we had chicken and rice- a daily meal here in Ghana. I have also included some pictures of soup with fufu and fish. My host teacher wrote a textbook, and I found out that many secondary teachers (High School teachers) write their own textbooks- crazy, right?!?!
I hope things are warming up in Michigan. It is still near 100 degrees here with nearly 100% humidity. Enjoy your weekend!!!
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