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| Students taking the Math final |
The last week of the 2nd trimester. It’s been a
busy week, but overall a good one. Let me tell you, proctoring exams here in
Mozambique has become a game of catch the cheaters for me. I will explain. My
daily routine this week is wake up at 6:00, have some coffee, take a bath,
listen to some of the lion king soundtrack, and then make the 3 minute walk to
school. I greet my colleagues, grab the tests for my assigned class, and enter
the classroom. Students greet me with the usual “Bom dia senhor professor, como
esta hoje?” We continue, and I explain that if I catch them cheating, then I
will tear up their test and cheating material, allow them to get a new piece of
paper, and begin again. The reason I do not kick them out or give them zeroes
is because of this countries culture on cheating. If I gave every student that
cheated a zero, then only 10% would actually get to take the exam. The other
90% would just shake off their zero, laugh, and know that they will probably
pass anyways. This is because the school system is under an extreme pressure
from the district. This pressure is to show successful test scores. The only
problem is that the curriculum assigned by this country is way above the kids’
heads, and often times the tests are poorly written. The kids, first of all,
are given an improbable task. Second off, the schools do not fail children like
they should. If they fail the correct number of students, then the district
will get upset and say the school is not doing it’s rightful job. In reality,
children are being passed through school without having to actually learn
anything. I have hundreds of students in 8th grade who are
illiterate. How did these kids pass their tests and work in Primary School if
they do not know how to read and write in Portuguese? Here lies the problem.
From the top, the district is forcing the schools to lie, cheat, and forge. The
students see this, and assume that this is the way that things are done in
life. They begin to avoid actually doing better work, and formulating ways to
cheat and “just getting by”. It is an extremely sad situation, and it kills my
heart to see these kids thrown in this position. I have been using this week to
create an environment where the students literally cannot cheat. I tear up
cheaters’ tests, cheating material, and give them a chance to retake the test
with the remaining time. Afterwards I give them a brief lecture on the
importance of preparing for life situations. They can easily prevent their bad
grades if they would open their notebooks, and put forth the effort of
memorizing and studying. Many students resent me as I tear up their tests and
cheating materials, but I can tell that some agree with me… They just have not
been taught how to go about an honest and hard-working manner to learn. I want
the students to know that I am not angry at them for cheating. They think that
they are stuck in a culture of cheating. They are too caught in their culture
to realize that an individual can live outside of the norm. I want them to
realize they can succeed. I want them to realize that I am doing this to give
them a chance. A chance that other students in this country are not getting. A
chance to learn the importance of pushing yourself through good ole work ethic.
They are amazed to hear that I have learned Portuguese in under a year, that I
have 2 college degrees, and that I read in my spare time for fun. They are
confused and baffled by me, but I have a feeling that some respect it and will
hopefully strive to improve their scholarly ways. I want them to break from the
chains of this impossibly run school system, and I want them to make an
impression on their country. There are many bright, and intelligent young
students in this country, they just need to find a way to use their
intelligence for the benefit of themselves, their families, and this country that
is trying to find it’s way out of poverty and monetary corruption. 
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