"You're white, you don't have to wait."

This is a live blog, people. I'm currently in line at the bank. There are people everywhere; no real semblance of a line- just groups of people crowding the teller. I'm not sure why there's a crowd because everyone grabs a number when they walk in. 

So, if everyone is following the rules, everyone should be waiting patiently for their number to be called. Instead crowds form around the teller window, people talk over the wall, and any poor worker that walks out of their office is quickly attacked. 

While daydreaming about my number suddey being called, I ran into the Cuban Trainers I work with. The first thing they said was "Why are you waiting?! Just go talk to the manager." The older woman of the group pulled me in closer and said "You're white, you don't have to wait."    

My stomach dropped. I know it happens- favoritism, racism, whatever you want to call it - it happened earlier this week when a woman pulled over and offered me a ride even though I didn't ask for it. Heck, it happened this morning on the way to the bank. I am favored because I'm white- I know this but rarely say it. 

Before the Cubans even said anything, I thought about crowding the teller just like the others, but I held back. Now I'm downright refusing. I'll wait my turn because I'd rather wait longer than benefit from racism. It's the least I can do. 

We need another word for Learning

Sometimes teachers practice what experts call a “bitch-session.” This is when we sit and talk about the ican’tbelievehesaidthat moments in our day. These conversations are necessary in our profession to prevent burn-out and other deadly diseases.

Here in Mozambique I have daily bitch-sessions. This does not mean I don’t love my job or my students. I understand that we come from different backgrounds and most often these aggravating moments come from a difference in culture.

A very accurate representation of Mozambican teaching. 

However, my job is to train teachers. I have a specific and detailed explanation of what it means for a student to learn and what it means for a teacher to teach. So what happens when culture interferes with the meaning of learning? Is it now my job to teach a new culture? Or do I have to bend my own culturally-defined expectations of what it means to learn?

A couple weeks ago, a colleague and I were deep in a “bitch session” when she told me this story of teaching singular vs. plural.

A student was having the trouble turning singular English words into plural words so K wrote on the board “bola” (ball) and “bolas” (balls). K asked “O que é a differencia entre as letras desses palavras?” (What is the difference between the letters of these words?)

The students response – “Bolas é plural”  (Balls is plural).

Do you see the problem? Do you know the response K was looking for?

For more background information, K teaches English to students that might be English teachers in less that 3 years. They have passed 12^th grade and a lengthy exam to enter into a Teacher Training College. They should be fluent in Portuguese and understand basic rules of English. 

Ok - so back to the question. K was looking for the student to see the structure of the rule, to identify the letter ‘s’ as the difference between “bola” and “bolas” in order to then create the rule “+s makes plural”. The idea was to identify this rule in the speaker’s language then apply it to English.

All literate Americans know this rule. This is what we learned in first grade. K attempted several versions of her question but could not get her students to elaborate further than “Bolas is plural”. Finally, K folded and said “Esse palavra –bola- não tem “s” e esse palavra –bolas- tem “s.” (This word –ball- does not have ‘s’ and this word (balls) has ‘s’.) The student quickly agreed (because it’s obvious).

What is going on here? This is a person that speaks Portuguese fluently. That uses plural and singular on a daily basis. That can identify a singular and plural word (in Portuguese) very easily.  So, why is it that she cannot answer K’s question?

It’s because the student has gone through 12 years (or more) of education without once being asked a comprehension question.

In education circles we have something called “Bloom’s Taxonomy” it might be a triangle or circle or complicated Venn-diagram. But at it’s most basic level it is a classification of learning verbs based on complexity. 

Made by one of my students. 

At the bottom is Knowledge – this refers to verbs that require only regurgitation of facts. Examples are: memorize, say, list, match, remember, repeat.

The next level up is Understanding – this refers to understanding the big idea. Examples are: explain, describe, discuss.

Therefore, K’s student has Knowledge of plural and singular. If you write two words on the board and ask “Which one is plural?” the student will be able to answer ONLY IF this word is on a long list of words the students has memorized.

If you ask the student “Why is this word plural?” she would not be able to respond.

I’ve known for a long time that Mozambicans were trained in copying and regurgitation but, after 16 months at site, now I’m realizing this is how learning is defined.For an army of young Mozambicans, who are entering the workforce,  learning = copying sentences, repeating after the teacher, and paying for answers. There is little concept of teaching Comprehension or Application, and zero understanding of any higher-level thinking. 

I feel like I am living in the real-life version of “Flatland” by Edwin Abbot Abbot. Trying to convince my students there is another dimension to education that they have never witnessed before. But, all they have to go on is blind trust.

Does that make me the Sphere? Someone unable to imagine dimensions beyond what I already know? What am I missing here?

Love love love