When we arrived, no classes were in session due to the teach strike. We met with the Assistant Head Mistress (like the assistant principal) to learn more about Wesley Girls School. We knew that Wesley Girls is a very competitive school to get into, and it continues to have the highest test scores in the nation year after year. The school itself was the first in West Africa, and is 176 years old. It was established by the Methodist Missionaries, and continues to be a Christian institution even though it is a public school. When they first opened their doors there were 15 students, and today it has grown to 1555. It cannot hold any more students as it is already over capacity. This is a boarding school, and since it is public the tuition is free. In order to get into school here you take an exam at the end of your GSS years (like Junior High years), and the top girls in the entire country come to Wesley Girls School, so there are girls from all over Ghana living and going to school here.
There are 4 grades, or as they call them, Forms. Form 1 is like being a Freshman, Form 2 is a sophomore, and so on. Form 4 students wear different uniforms than the other 3 forms. The uniforms are dresses and skirts in the colors of green and yellow- colors of the Methodist church.
Since this is a Methodist (Christian) school, they teach morals and values from the Bible in their curriculum. Only 3 percent of students here are of other religions (Islam, etc.) but must find their own time to practice their own beliefs.
The teachers and administrators live on campus with their families in houses. Some of them are in charge of student housing and live with students. Wesley Girls is its own community, and they have a church in the middle of school where they go to church together with the teachers on Sundays and have other worship throughout the week.
Secondary school is very competitive. Students spend their free time studying for their exams. At the end of their last year they take a final exam which takes a month and a half (yes students, you read that correctly!). This exam is comprehensive, meaning it is over EVERYTHING they covered in their 4 years of secondary school. Can you believe that?!?!? This one exam determines if you will get into college (they call it "University" here), and it will also determine where you get into college. There are not a lot of universities in Ghana, so it is very competitive.
Right now the teachers in Ghana are on strike, which means that teachers come to work, but they don't teach. This means that classes are not happening. As I was at school today meeting with the head mistress, we found out that the students in Form 4 (the "Seniors") took it upon themselves to go and teach the Form 3 students since there are no teachers. Then some of the Form 3 students went to teach the form 2 students and so on. I was SHOCKED! This would NEVER happen in America! If I weren't in my room, I highly doubt a student would get up and start teaching in place of me! WOW! I was totally blown away by this, and I think it speaks volumes for the school and the way education in general is viewed here in Ghana.
After leaving school, we went to our accommodations. We are staying at the University of Cape Coast. Here I have my own room, living room, bathroom and kitchen (see pics below). I have internet, a TV, and most importantly- air conditioning. It is SOOO hot here!!! This evening we ventured out and had a Ghanaian pizza- delicious!!! Tomorrow we are excited to head back to school to interact more with students.
Thanks to all of you for reading. I will report in tomorrow with more info about secondary schools and life here in Cape Coast! (disclaimer- I type this really late when I am exhausted....and sometimes I type it on my phone, so I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors!)
No comments:
Post a Comment