December Post #6

(written December 16, 2012) Often, I’m asked why the missionary kids here don’t attend the public schools here in Cameroon. Well, I suppose there are many reasons for that, but one of them is that the school system here is drastically different from that in the States. The difference in systems would cause a lot of problems when the missionaries return home on furlough and try to put their children into a Christian school in the States. The transition would be unbelievably difficult.   The school system here is very confusing to me, one who is only acquainted with the American and Quebec school systems. I believe it’s formatted similarly to the French school system. I’ve tried to understand the grades levels, but part of the problem is that the system is different for the English speakers and for the French speakers. Somehow, the English schools name their classes differently than the French schools do. For instance, the equivalent to the American 12th grade year is the “terminal” class in the francophone system. I believe that to the Anglophones, that same class is year 6. (But don’t quote me on that. Like I said before, I don’t really understand the system.)   Well, just this week, each student received his report card from the tests that the students recently took. Two of our little neighbor kids ran over to our house, thrilled to show us their grades. I wasn’t home, but C and Ellen gave me a report of the event. Both of these children are Fulani, speaking only Fulfulde at home. In fact, I don’t think either of their parents speak much French at all, if any. Last year, we could barely communicate with these children, but since they’ve gone to school, I’ve noticed some improvements in their conversational French. Well, Ellen and C looked at the report cards, ready to praise the two children for their grades. Then, at the bottom of one of the report cards, Ellen read, “Mal fait.” In other words: “Badly done.” At the bottom of the other report card, a note read, “Dernier de la classe”—“Last in the class.” Ellen and C were both a little shocked at the notes. Then, the kids eagerly asked, “Can we have some candy?” The older boy that came over with the two little ones said, “But they don’t deserve candy—they didn’t do well at all!” But Ellen didn’t have the heart to refuse them. Ellen was pretty concerned for the kids’ schooling, and she asked me what I thought about helping them learn to read. I did consider the proposal, but teaching a child to read is not an easy task. It’s not something I’m trained for, and it would be a HUGE undertaking. I’m sure these two are not the first children to struggle with reading. They’re probably a little behind because of their lack of communication in French at home, but I’m sure they’ll catch on eventually, even without my help.