'Abia - Umuahia, Abamola - Yola...'

A JSS1 class. Behind it is another. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is all for demarcation. BTW, because we have insufficient chairs, you'll almost always find two people sharing one of these chairs.

BEFORE
The other day, I went to get my hair plaited at Mary's mom's salon just a few blocks from mine. Luckily for me, Mary and Barakat were present to keep me entertained throughout the couple of hours I spent there. 

Something happened in that time: 7-year old Mary started reciting her 'states and capitals', something the JS3 students at my school can't successfully do. It was so coincidental because earlier that day I had called a few of these JS3 students to the staff room and asked them questions about countries and continents and states and capitals. They all agree on 'Abia-Umuahia'. The problem starts however from what comes after. One said, "Abamola-Yola" (Abamola quickly translated in my head to 'We met Mallam', lol) and I responded half-jokingly, half-angrily saying, "Nibo?" (to say, 'Where did you meet the mola?')

Okay, Okay, Mary is a primary 3 student at a private school and my JS3 students are from a public school. I considered this huge gap of knowledge between Mary and the JS3 students and in that moment, I made the decision to visit a private school and attend one of their classes just to see where public schools are getting it wrong. Maybe there's some sort of 'agbo' the private school students drink that makes them more book-smart. You find that the brighter students at my school are the ones who have at one time or another been enrolled in a private school. 

There are obviously huge differences between both school structures that have contributed and will continue to contribute to this gap (for example, the public school structure's disorganisation, the strikes, the lack of strictness and things like that alone can place public schools behind private schools by a number of years so much so that primary 3 students would be ahead of JS3 students). And let's not forget the obvious fact that private schools are more expensive than public schools. So, maybe I can't bridge this gap but I would still to like to go see what lessons we can learn from them. You know, see the things they are doing differently, with regards the method of teaching, that I can possibly incorporate into my own teaching style. 

AFTER
I wrote the above weeks before I paid a visit two weeks ago to a nearby private school, Alma Rohm Group of Schools. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the difference in 'board system'. Here, they use white boards and markers while we at Anwar-ul Islam School still use chalks and blackboards. Myself and the students spoke in English. Turns out the only time they are allowed to speak Yoruba is in Yoruba class. Go figure! Looks like it's paying off because in this class of 19, only one student had some problems properly expressing himself in English.

By the way, the students' uniforms were clean and there was enough space in the classroom for walking as each student had a table and a chair to him/herself. My JSS1 students are 70 in a stuffy class. Good luck trying to walk in between them.

Remember I wrote sometime ago that we would be starting after-school lessons at our school? Yeah, that didn't happen. Here at Alma Rohm, school closes at 2PM, after which lessons hold from 2-3.30PM.

The students at this school dream. I asked them what their dream jobs were and about 4 people said 'I want to be an aeronautic engineer'. I asked them which universities they had been looking at for the course. One said Ghana, another said England. We had three people who expressed interest in journalism. One of which wanted to go to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). The students at my school dream but I don't think many of them attach any serious plans of pursuit to the dream. 

What I found most interesting was that none of the Alma Rohm students I spoke with expressed interest in Bowen University, a pretty reputable university that just happens to be situated in the town of Iwo lol. I asked why, and they explained that having spent their entire lives in Iwo, they would like to live outside the town for a change. I don't even think university is in the cards for most of the students at my school. Which sadly isn't their fault.

From the Alma Rohm students' choice of course of study to university, I wondered whether the reason these students could have dreams this big and mine can't is because they can afford to; as in they have options. Knowing that you have parents who can afford to send you to Ghana for university can allow your imagination go that far. So, I guess money counts as a factor. I also considered the private school environment as a factor. Being surrounded by intelligent people who look smart and neat makes one strive to be like that also. A positive environment rubs off on you positively, but a negative one will most likely leae you the same or worsen things. Maybe also the exposure of the people they live with? Having parents and siblings one can look up to? The OAU girl says her dad talks about OAU being the best university in Nigeria (I smiled at this and then rolled my eyes. OAU and University of Ibadan (UI) alumni will never quit). A dad who went through university might more than likely make his child see the importance of education. I don't know. Thoughts are needed. Why do private school students turn out better than public school students in most cases? And is there anything that can be done by teachers to correct it?

PS: I'm constantly learning something new from and about my students.
They can be such a delight when they are not being naughty and as the end of my service draws near, I'm starting to realise how much of an impact they've had on me. I'm starting to focus more on making these last days count.

And yeah, it's a town, not a village! :P