Fine, Miss. And you?

"Good morning everybody, how are you today?"

"Fine, Miss. And you?"

The first time I received that response in perfect unison from my class of third graders, I was a bit surprised.  Then, as I watched the students in their classes all week, I noticed that very much of their schooling is memorization, rote learning, and recitation.  

Education in Jamaica is based on the British system, which focuses on a student's ability to take in a lot of information and retain it.  In contrast, in America, the focus of education is on a student's ability to take basic concepts and apply them to other areas of life, using problem-solving skills and creativity. 

In fourth grade, students in Jamaica must take a literacy test.  If they do not pass, they are not allowed to move on to fifth grade.  And, many students do not continue past sixth grade.  Attendance in school is compulsory until sixth grade, when students must take an exam to determine 1) whether they are able to continue school and 2) if they continue, what school they will attend next.  Due to these crucial standardized tests, memorization is the main focus in Jamaican schools.  

Corporal punishment is still legal in schools, and teachers tend to be very strict and stern towards their students.  As a result, the students are very disciplined.  However, because the teachers know that some students will not be able to continue their schooling, they may spend most of their time on the best students that they know have the potential to continue on in school and neglect to fully discipline the others.  

It was interesting to see how the students interacted with us (American teachers).  They are not used to teachers being "nice," so at first, when we were smiling and laughing with them during the lesson, they tended to get a bit out of hand.  Once we better and more clearly established our role as authority figures and teachers, however, we were able to still have fun with complete control over our classrooms.  

Overall, I tend to disagree with the focus on memorization and the use of corporal punishment.  A classroom should be an area where ideas and discussions flow, and where teamwork and creativity among peers are encouraged to solve problems.  

As a sidenote: The kids let out all their energy at recess.  Oftentimes, boys will fight, and the teachers never intervene (and tell us not to intervene, either).  They stand back and let the kids work out their conflicts themselves and allow them to play without too much supervision.  I think that American schools could use a bit of this mindset.  Kids should be allowed to run around and play and interact as kids at recess without too many restrictions and anxious adults standing by, flinching when a kid scrapes his knee on the blacktop.