Passing Grades

The passing grade in most schools in South Africa are 30%. In many ways this seems fit, especially in the more rural areas where teachers are overworked, burned out, and scarce. Although this is the norm, when I teach my students, I tell my students to strive for higher. In my school, you only need 40% to pass English class, but I encourage my students to strive to learn more and to aim for 80%. I reward the students who earn 80% or higher on classwork and quizzes with stickers, and I call them to the front of the class to be recognized for their hard work. I don't want them to graduate with a mediocre education, especially with English. They need English to pass other subjects, they need English to get into University, they need English to get a job. If they settle for 40% they will not be prepared for life outside of the comfort of their school. 

A few weeks back, I began to notice a HUGE change in my students, after I grade each quiz (they get one at the end of each week), I go over it with each student individually. One student got 4 out of 5 on his weekly quiz. I was proud of him, he got 80%! I asked him if he was proud of this grade. He said “no.” I then proceeded to ask him why he wasn't proud of getting 80%. He said, “Well the question I missed, we have been working on all week, so I shouldn't have gotten it wrong.” I was so impressed how much this student had changed. Last term, he would be celebrating a quiz grade of 2 out of 5 (the passing grade), and now he wasn't satisfied with missing one question.

With the term ending in two weeks, I gave out my end of term test today. Before school started, I had many students visit me in my office, saying they felt good about this test, and that they were going to get 80%. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous, only three of my students got a score of 80% or higher on the last end of term test.

At 9am, it was test time. I went over the rules for taking a test. They know that if they are caught looking at another classmate's test, talking, or walking around the room; their test will be ripped up and they will be given a 0 (they know this is true, because I have done it before). The three biggest cheating culprits moved to the corners of the room, before I even had to ask them. I handed out the tests, and the students began.

They brought their tests back, one by one. To keep them busy, I always bring scratch paper, and crayons and allow them to color. They know if they start to talk before everyone else is finished with their test, they must put their heads on their desk for the remainder to the period. Yes, I have turned into that teacher.

After class was finished, I began grading.

 

 

Journal entry. Read the question and then write a short (4-5 sentences) response.

If you had R1,000,000 what would you spend it on a why? (These are a few of the students answers verbatim. Every single student said they would spend the money to either go to university or to help their community)

The money that I will spent, it will help me for my university, and I will use it to get my laptop, and other things. I will buy me a beautiful clothes. AND I will NOT use it for alcohol or smoking. And I did NOT give it to the girls. It will help me with everything that I want for my school work.

I will spend first to build my mother house and help the community with the road. And a car for my dad and help my sister with the things of school, buy the clothes and build for my grandmother a house and shop because she made me to be stronger and I never give up. I give my mother to buy food, give my parents R100,000 and take money to put in my bank and help me when I am in varsity. When I die I need my community people talk about and the news come a memory service. I want to help my school with water, they need water.

When I have R1,000,000 I will save that money till I finish school and I will make sure that money I will help my family. The next thing I will make sure I am finish school and that is a lot of money I want to go matric in that money I want to make sure I use that money good. When they tell me say we must go to the tavern and we don't have money. I will say shut up what do you mean that money. I will use in my matric when I finish school.

I will help the disabled people because they don't have work. I will donate to the Sebotsi Combined School so they can buy better food. I will spend some on the community so every house must have a water pump wich produces water.

The first thing I do I will help my community. I will start to buy a clothes to give other children who don't have a parents. And I will buy food for them and a home. Last thing I will buy the coputer for my school.

By the time I had finished grading their papers, 13 of my students (more than half my class!) had reached their goal of getting 80% or higher on their test! And the rest of my students (except for one), succeeded in getting higher than the passing grade for English this term. I can not be any prouder of my students!

Pictured below: My 13 students who got an 80% or higher on their test! (Of course we had to do a boys only picture and a girls only picture as well). They were very excited!

A Fun Filled Weekend

Some weekends, I spend making lesson plans, catching up on sleep, and reading. Other weekends, though, are jam packed with events, and visits from friends. This weekend was one of those busy weekends. Once work ended, I meet up with another Peace Corps volunteer and we ventured back to my house. A little after we got home, I started up the braai, and successfully started a fire! We cooked some wors (sausage) and made some (instant) mashed potatoes. I have no problem bragging about my first successful braai.

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we woke up early (6am on a non school day!) and went for a hike through the game reserve. As we wandered through the game reserve, we saw nyala, impala, tons of birds, and zebra. No matter how often I go into the game reserve, every time I see an animal it is incredible.

 

After cooking some breakfast from the left over braai meat, we got ready for the Orlando Pirates  -  Polokwane City match in the Peter Mokaba Stadium. The Peter Mokaba Stadium is a stadium from the 2010 World Cup games. Although the game was in Polokwane, the stadium was packed with Pirates fans. I only saw a handful of people wearing Polokwane City jerseys. There were actually more people wearing Kaizer Chiefs' jerseys, and they weren't even playing!  In reality there are only two big teams in South Africa, and those are the Kaizier Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates, and everyone in South Africa chooses a side. Since the first game I went to was the Chiefs – AmaZulu game, my team became the chiefs.

 

As the game was winding down (Pirates were winning 2-0), we quickly walked to the taxi rank, so that we would make it to the camping grounds before it got dark.  Taxi ranks are also full of surprises. From friendly faces, to people trying to sell you skunk (week) to waiting an hour for the taxi to arrive. This time, the taxi took about thirty minutes to show up, then we had to get gas, and finally the taxi driver decided to have a ten minute conversation before heading to Tzaneen.

 

About thirty minutes into the taxi ride, was our destination on the right. To say you’re getting off (before the next taxi rank), you would say the name of the street, after robot (light), at spur (a grocery store), etc. After asking for our street, we clobbered off the taxi, and met up with our friends who were a mix of host country nationals and Peace Corps volunteers. The host country nationals drove us all to our camp ground where we found the rest of our friends still attempting to set up our ten person tent. As the tent got set up, we drank some beers, ate some food, and caught up in everything that has happened since the last time we saw each other.

 

Once it was time for bed, we all snuggled together. Although the days are hot, the nights are still extremely cold. I think I only got two hours of sleep that night due to how cold it was. Every time I rolled over I found a new cold patch, and the hat I was wearing kept coming off. Somehow in the middle of the night, Laura and I traded hats.

 

The next morning we woke up and got ready to go to Minas, which is a Food and Art Festival that was a five minute walk from our camp grounds. We ate burritos, pizza, gourmet hamburgers, cheeses, sushi, tapas, and all those other good things that we haven't eaten since being in The States. We also got to sip on beer that wasn't black label or castle light (the equivalent of drinking Natty Light in University). As the day wore on, we began to run into local friends. Luckily one of them is also a teacher, and offered to drive me home that night, so that I wouldn’t have to take a taxi back home that night. As the night calmed down, Holly and I drove home. We chatted about friends, teaching, about bars closing, and new clubs, boys, and all the delicious food we ate. Neither of us was excited about having to go back to teaching the next day.

Pictured: Hanging out with other PCVs!

 

Pictured: Hanging out with some of my local friends.