According to Transparency International, Indonesia is the 63rd most corrupt country in the world. Not bad for a country in which over 90% of its citizens report that religion is a very important part of daily life, according to a Gallup Poll. I think most of the foreigners here have witnessed firsthand the extent of corruption in this country. I know I have (see It's Electric! blog). It extends from the highest to the lowest offices, in government, schools, business, and religion. Although corruption in any of these sectors makes me angry, the one that prompts me to pull out my soapbox is the corruption in education.
School in Indonesia, as in most developing countries, is not free. Although the government funds the schools, students have to pay school fees (tuition), buy their own books, and pay for their own uniforms. This does, of course, ensure that educational opportunities are not, in fact, equal. And as I found out just a few days ago, students even have to buy classroom supplies like desks and chairs on occasion.
This is the way it works at my school. There are three grades, 1st class (10th grade), 2nd class (11th grade), and 3rd class (12th grade). In each grade, there are two superior classes. Don't get me started on that title. Anyway, when I first arrived, I thought that the superior classes were for advanced or gifted students. The teaching conditions are significantly better in the superior classes. There are only 20 students in a class (regular classes have a roll of 40 - 45 kids). They have glass-topped desks, cushy rolling office chairs, TVs and DVD players, and air conditioning. My other classes are barebones - two students to a table, broken chairs, no air circulation, and broken white boards with markers that sometimes work. I thought it was highly irregular to give students all these extra amenities only for being a little smarter than the other kids, but later I learned that test scores have nothing to do with it. In fact, although there are a few very bright kids in these classes (as in every class, not just superior), most are just as average as the rest of them. In Indonesia, you don't test into a superior class in order to engage in a challenging, accelerated curriculum that helps you reach your potential. No, that would be too much work with too little reward. In Indonesia, you buy your way into a superior class.
These students pay almost four times the tuition amount of students in regular classes. That's why they have all the amenities. In addition, the school pays for these students to go on class trips to places like Malaysia or Singapore (I don't know if this is true or not because my Ibu told me, and she often lies about stuff like this to try to impress me). You would think that, for all that money, they would at least be able to get some satisfactory test scores. Nope. I snuck a peak at my students test scores in all the classes that I teach. Well, it wasn't really sneaking. The scores were spread out on the coffee table in the teacher's lounge for teachers and students alike to invade the privacy of each other. Among my 300 students, only 3 scored more than 50% on the national exam in English. In Biology, Chemistry, and Physics not a single student scored higher than 30%. The same in math and Indonesian language arts. The class average for most every subject was an impressive 25% - 35%.
Let's think about this for a moment. When an entire school of students can't even reach a 60% class average, someone or something should be held accountable. But that's not where this school's values lie. Parent's don't get called for failing grades in math and science and writing. That's just normal. But when a student performs poorly on the test for reading the Quran, it warrants a phone call and summons from parents who live 12 hours away in another province. Because he or she can't pronounce Arabic satisfactorily.
Now I realize that my values are polar opposite those of most people at my school, and I try to recognize the value and importance of religion in their lives. And I, like everyone else, certainly don't want to hear an ear-assaulting call to prayer on the corner mosque's loudspeaker. But I tell you, in spite of the multitude of mosques in Indonesia (Macon, GA, with its largest number of churches per capita, better watch out), there are just not enough jobs open for every Muslim man in Medan to be a call-to-prayer man. Math and science jobs? Writing? Reading? Well looky there - they're everywhere! I'm not saying they shouldn't be reprimanded for poor marks in Quranic recitation, I'm just saying that reprimands should apply to all subjects.
After discovering these depressing test scores, I began to wonder: Where does all the money go? I'll tell you! Right into the pockets of --------! When teachers are absent, students tell me that in addition to their tuition, book, and uniform costs and the occasional desk or water dispenser, they also have to pay "maintenance" fees and other fees with no title. Today I finally understood what that meant.
Two weeks ago, I returned from my vacation in Thailand to find the brick-paved school courtyard being torn up and replaced with tiles. I looked at the renovation and wanted to scream. How could the school pay money to make an unnecessary renovation for purely aesthetic reasons when my students have to sit 3-to-a-desk because some of the desks have holes in them? Or when the damage from electrical fire that occurred five months ago and killed the very valuable and educational language laboratory still hadn't been repaired? But I held my tongue and kept my indignation to myself. They're still working on it two weeks later with only about half of the courtyard finished. All I can think to myself as I endure the stares of the workers is that my mom could have finished it in two days.
Anyway, today was my last class with my 11th graders. We were having a grand old celebration - playing games, taking photos, looking at slideshows - when someone knocked on the door. A student opened it, and in walks a teacher followed by the Principal (my favorite person in the whole wide world!). The teacher was carrying a cardboard box filled with money. He made a short speech and then my co-teacher shouted out, "Come on, then. Give some money!" I watched as my students begrudgingly pulled out their wallets. Thinking they were collecting for a charity, I asked my co-teacher who the collection was for in case I also wanted to contribute. She said that the school ran out of money for the tile project on the courtyard and now the students have to pay. She added in a low voice that the teachers also are required to pay. Then she made the face she always makes when she's telling me about something the school does that she doesn't like.
Now let's pause for a minute here and think about this. The students are forced to pay for a renovation that does not in any way benefit or improve their educational experience. Hmmmmmmm. While many of them walk around with the soles of their shoes flopping around, detached from the leather, or when the boys' uniforms rival Britney Spears in tightness because their parents can't afford to keep up with their growth spurts, the principal drives his shiny car and buys his son a new motorcycle. WHAT IS GOING ON?
Did you know that sometimes, when a student fails to meet the required score on their high school entrance exam, they can pay the principal to allow them to attend the school anyway? Did you know that sometimes, a principal at a school will photocopy the national exam questions and answers and distribute them to students so the school's scores will be higher, as will the principal's paychecks? Did you know that in many schools and universities, departments are required to meet a quota for students who pass and that teachers are responsible for modifying their grading rubrics until they meet the quota? Even if not a single student makes a passing grade? A lot of this I hear about from friends of mine who teach in other schools. I never observed it at my school, but I'm not afraid to say that I wouldn't be surprised if any or all of these occurred in my school. When I gave a writing assignment to my students and wouldn't accept the papers that been printed directly from wikipedia or a blog, they didn't understand what they had done wrong. Academic integrity and rigor is not even on their radars because they are never exposed to it. They know that cheating is wrong, but only in a kind of abstract way. The obsession with appearance over substance that I regrettably learned too much about over the past year seeps into the academic system. It's more important that the students walk on a shiny tile floor in the OUTSIDE COURTYARD than it is to prepare them and teach them to grow and learn and build a better future for themselves and their country.
It is with this gruesome truth in mind that I ask: do we need to be sending our tax dollars into a system like this? Does a program like mine really belong in a culture like this? I often wonder if anything I have taught my students about creativity, hard work, honesty, and the joy of learning will stick because I don't think it will ever be reinforced. Can an untrained, inexperienced ESL teacher really make a lasting impact at a school in only nine months? I know a huge part of our jobs is to spread the love of America. I tried, and maybe it worked. Although my students still see me as a white foreigner and not an American, maybe one day someone will say something bad about Americans and they'll think of me and say, "Hey, they're not all so bad." But in my mind, I would much rather my students hate Americans because they are well-educated, well-informed, independent thinkers than love America because they swallow everything they're told without thinking. I worked really hard to paint a fair and accurate picture of America for my students and colleagues. I talked about the good and the bad, the prejudices and the freedoms, the poverty and the opportunities. I was as honest as I could be, and I think they respected me for it. I hope they grew in an understanding and maybe even an appreciation for our culture that reaches beyond MTV and Hollywood. But in reality, I don't know that I made much lasting difference.
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