The Bricksburg Trap

Four weeks into the trimester, I gave a test covering what we had learned -- was and were, and the past progressive tense ("I was reading", "You were walking", etc).

My students did awfully. A small handful of them clearly studied and did well, most of them scored 3 or 4 points out of 20, with several students scoring no points and a whole slew of them getting zeros for cheating.

This was, naturally, upsetting to me. My students aren't stupid -- they don't know how to think, and I have no idea how to teach them that. Everything I've tried so far doesn't seem to have made much of a dent. Attendance usually hovers around 50% (including on test days) and I'm pretty sure a large percentage of my students still think they can bribe me with money (shocking, and not going to happen) or with -- and this has actually been offered to me -- sexual favors (more shocking, and certainly not going to happen.)

So I sat down last week and had Real Talk with them, explaining why I'm here (hint: not for money) and what I care about (that they learn something). Then I asked them to fill out a questionnaire that I wrote, with eight questions -- stuff like "What do you like/dislike about English class?" and "Do you have any difficulty reading or writing and understanding Portuguese?" and "Give me one suggestion for improving my teaching style." They wrote furiously, and I bustled with excitement to go home and read what they had written.

When I got home, I was disappointed. Even though I had explained to them several times that the questions were anonymous and I wanted to be completely honest and really tell me what they think, their answers were all the same.

I like English class. There is nothing I don't like. You are a good teacher. I have no problems reading and writing. I understand Portuguese. When you explain, it is clear. I like to pay attention and come on time and learn. I do not like to skip class and make noise and be disrespectful.

Ugh. What a waste of time.

This all stems from the fundamental problem I see in the Mozambican education system -- that there's no room for creativity and individual thought. Most Mozambican teachers have an entirely dictation and rote memorization based teaching style -- they drone on, students copy what they say, and then repeat it back when prompted. The system totally encourages this teaching style, too -- teachers that I know are creative and fun get sucked into it too -- because otherwise, there's no way the students will pass their exams, awfully written and horribly proofread by lazy, corrupt Ministry of Education officials.

What's the result? Students that have a lot of information in their brains, but don't know what any of it means, and couldn't form an original opinion if they wanted to.

I watched the Lego movie the other day, and the same-every-day, no-thinking, do-everything-like-you're-supposed-to mentality of Emmet Brickowski in Bricksburg really struck a chord with me. This is exactly the problem my students are having. They all like the same song, they all play the same sport, they all have the same hairstyle, and when they're older, they'll all vote for the same political party, because those are the "opinions" they've been told to have since they were able to talk. And let me tell you what, everything is NOT awesome with that.

I want to grab my students collectively by the collar and shake them until their brains jumpstart. Yes, you HAVE a brain. Yes, you can USE your brain. THINK. OPINE. ACT. Do something different from everyone else! Stop following all the instructions!

Bricksville Syndrome is the number one most aggravating frustration I've had to deal with during my time here. More so than rampant poverty, more so than ignorance and disease.

Mozambique is not going to go anywhere unless it can get its education system under control. Corruption at all levels is eating away at Mozambique's shot for the future. Students bribe their teachers to raise their grades, and then teachers turn around and use that money to bribe ministry officials into letting them "help" their students by telling them all the answers to the end-of-year national exams. The end result? Mozambique proudly holds its place at the bottom of the Human Development Index, followed only by the DRC and Niger. Well hey, at least the election results are still a landslide, and that's the important issue, isn't it?

This is not an impossible problem to solve. Zimbabwe, for example, with some pretty severe problems of its own, has taken charge of its education system and now boasts the highest literacy rate in Africa -- 90%. Mozambique, too, can overcome this hurdle -- but what it comes down to is individual responsibility for your actions. If all teachers stopped taking bribes, students would have no choice but to study. If the Ministry of Education and its provincial outposts would design a realistic curriculum and write decent tests, students might actually be able to pass the tests without cheating. Teachers could actually teach and students just might learn something.

The people of this country are hardworking and kind and intelligent. They have so much potential, but they haven't the faintest idea of the fact that they have it or how to use it. If they did, maybe they would look around them and think "You know what? I don't like how things are going, and I want to do something about it."

Come on, citizens of Bricksburg! Wake up! Look around you! Throw away the instructions.

THINK!