A couple of things: I started moderating comments several weeks ago when several nonsense comments popped up on the blog (see the comments on the entry "not quite like home...school edition" to see what I mean). It sometimes takes me a while to log on and post ALL comments that are more than the result of what look like fingers slamming randomly on the keyboard. I appreciate the patience during the delay between when someone submits a comment and when it appears - as I have mentioned previously, the internet connection is unreliable.
And for those of you who missed out on this comment (one of three) I just enabled today, I have reprinted it here:
I knew it. Sooner or later you were going to resort to the all familiar way on reporting on the shortfall of Africans. We are all familiar with how Africa is reported in the western media. Disease, poverty, war, corruption etc. I was hoping you were not going to feed your audience with the same old same old. I was hoping you will report on their little "triumphs". I wonder why you did not mention that a student from this same school scored the highest mark in the college entrance exam in the whole country. That, a good number of its alumni are attending or have graduated from top US universities, such as MIT, HARVARD, Yale, Cal Tech etc. I see your subtle condescending tone, but hey, it is your blog and you are at liberty to inform or misinform your audience.
This commenter is correct - students from Ghana do go to universities abroad, and excellent ones as well (the daughter of one Fulbright teacher from Ghana is currently at Princeton). Many of the previous leaders of Ghana have attended university outside of Ghana, mostly in England. [side note - according to wikipedia (I cannot believe I am referencing wikipedia, but something new happens every day), the current president of Ghana John Evans Atta-Mills attended undergraduate and law school here in Legon, but then went to school in London and at Stanford for his Ph.D.] However, I feel the need to state that I worry about how the students from Ghana will cope in the universities abroad since most pride themselves on demanding critical thinking of their students which is not something that is stressed or taught at all here (at least at Achimota - that is all I can accurately speak on) - the curriculum is focused on regurgitation of information rather than application. Additionally, it saddens me that students feel the need or have to leave their country to receive what they believe to be a top notch college or post-graduate education. The more people who leave a place, the more who do not return, and it is likely those with educations who decide to stay elsewhere. Ghana should focus on fighting brain drain by continually improving the university system here as well as expanding the primary and secondary system to include all, not just those who pass the rote tests and can afford all the fees that are required to attend school.
I believe the commenter is also referring to the fact that a student from Achimota received the best scores on the end-of-secondary-school/college entrance exams in all of West Africa (in other words, this student beat out all other West African students who took exams). This is a wonderful accomplishment for this young man, and certainly adds to the reputation of the school where I am teaching.
I was impressed with the handling of the drawn out election process here, I thought I had made that clear in a previous entry - for how many countries in the world (African or otherwise) whose elections devolve into violence, or never occur, or are fraught with election fraud, I would say this election cycle in Ghana was a major accomplishment, as well as their second peaceful transition of power from one political party (NPP) to another (NDC) in the last 16 years. I view this as a major achievement or triumph and was lucky to have been here to experience it.
And my last bit of posting written in pique - I love comments on this blog. Please identify yourself when you contribute. Thanks!
I will be posting a substantive comment later in the week - stay tuned!
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6 comments:
I attended Achimota School for my high School education. It was the best and most rounded education I ever received. Apart from the excellent tuition, we participated in various sports activities such as swimming, soccer, basketball, cross country, field hockey, cricket and track & field. A bunch of us travelled outside for our post secondary education not because our universities are no good. University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are indeed excellent institutions but we felt we had the ability to compete anywhere. We live in a global village and it is imperative to pursue excellence wherever it may be. An African may choose to attend Oxford/Harvard universities with the same reason as a wealthy american may prefer to buy a Lamborghini over a Ford Escort. They simply have the ability to do so.
I am sure, Rebecca, by now you are awed by the natural respectfullness and gentility of your students at Achimota. I am sure you are glad you are not back in the US where high school students arrive in school armed to their teeth. Where a bunch of schools are mere combat zones. Students in combat with their fellow students, students in combat with their tutors and parents in combat with tutors. It happens daily here in the US. You may dismiss these assertions as mere inner city dysfunctionalities. Remember, Columbine? It is as suburban as you can get.
To be fair, there are excellent high schools in America but if you dwell on only the negatives, you leave quite an impression.
Rebecca, you need not worry about students from Ghana. They are doing fine in universities all of the world. I bet you there are more students from Achimota who have graduated from Ivory League Schools compared to the school that you taught at the DC metro area. I will worry more about those students than students from Ghana. Have you stopped to wonder why almost all science graduate programs are mostly populated by foreigners? If they happen to be black, they are likely to be Africans or from the caribbean. The reason is simple, most american schools are obsseessed with the so called critical thinking method at the expense of rigorous fact based grounding. If you never master the facts, critical thinking will get you nowhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achimota_Secondary_School
Rebecca, you need not worry about students from Ghana we are currently doing just fine. If I were you, I would be more worried about the Washington DC public school system, one of the least performing school system in the US; which is right adjacent to Falls Church, your place of abode. We hope Michelle Rhee will soon work miracles there.The students of Achimota welcome you and are grateful for your services and contributions but what they do not need from you is your needless worry about how they are going to perform in an American University. We are already here in the US and doing just fine, thank you.
Please publish ALL comments ASAP....no flimsy excuses.
I would agree - if you dwell only on the negative, you do not provide an accurate impression.
Columbine and the other school tragedies are anomalies of the American educational system. Millions of students attend school every day in schools where metal detectors are not required and they face nothing worse than the hazing that goes on between Form 1, 2, and 3 students here at Achimota.
While I am greatly enjoying my time here, I also look forward to my return to my US school - where I have never felt afraid or threatened.
Respectfulness and gentility - that is one thing that was mentioned to me repeatedly before I started teaching - the students stand when you enter the room (if they aren't sleeping), they greet you as one (they do the Headmistress); but I find teenagers here to be the same as at home - some really want to learn and value being in school, others would rather read a novel, or sleep, or write notes to friends, or do not value the education they are receiving.
I am glad you enjoyed your time at Achimota and know that you received a great education - the same way everyone does - by making sure that you received a great education.
Rebecca Watt
I personally worry about all students. If everyone becomes an engineer...who will teach them? Thank you for using your intelligence and considerable conscientiousness to teach and to worry.
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