Hippos in English Class

The seven of us were sitting in the primary school library, my six students quietly working on their compositions while I prepared some extra work for them to take home. Sun streamed through the pane-less windows. Fortunately, it was a bright morning and the sunlight was adequate, as only half the lights in the library work and the ones that do flicker incessantly and emit such a disruptive buzzing sound I swear it rattles the brains inside our heads.

Before long, the silence faded into the usual muttering. I waited for it to abate, and when it did not, looked up from my work to reprimand the source of the talking. Immediately Sebide caught me eye from across the room, an uncomfortable and slightly mischievous smile on his face.

“Yes, Sebide?” I asked.

“Auntie Katie… that thing is disturbing me,” he said. He gestured to the top of a bookshelf, where a brown stuffed hippo sat oh his hind legs, happily supervising our English class. “He keeps looking at me.”

Sebide was grinning now, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and grin back. I reached up and rotated the hippo so he was no longer staring at him.

“Is that better?” I asked with a laugh. Sebide nodded and went right back to work, satisfied. I sat down on my bench and had only just picked up my pen when the silence was broken once more.

“Auntie Katie, now it’s looking at me.” This time it was Boaz, who indeed happened to be sitting in the animal’s direct line of sight.

“Me too,” chimed in Ivan. “I don’t like it.”

“Are you telling me,” I said to the class, “that not one of you likes this poor happy hippo?” They stared at me and said nothing. Taking their silence as a no, I removed the hippo from the top shelf and placed him face down on a row of books, out of sight of the students.

“If his crying disturbs you, don’t complain to me,” I said. “It’s not my fault he’s uncomfortable and unloved. Hippos are one of my best animals.”

“I know a song about a hippo,” said Ivan.

“Me too!” I replied.

“Teach it to us!” cried Sebide, Ivan, and Immaculate in unison.

I laughed, glad for their enthusiasm. “You can learn it when I take you this afternoon. For now, finish your compositions and make sure they are at least one hundred words.”

They politely worked the rest of the period. At the end I sent them back to class, but not before I made Sebide hug the hippo and apologize for making him hide on a shelf for so long. He obliged.

When the students had left, I sat down and scratched out my lesson plan for that afternoon, replacing it with an entire English lesson based on the hippo song. It turns out being a teacher is kind of fun.

At the end of second term, the P.7 students took a mock Primary Leaving Examination to assess their readiness for the real exam that would conclude their primary education. The results were… well, if I had been their teacher at that point the results would have made me cry. The majority of the class failed. And when I say majority, I don’t mean just over half—I mean very nearly all of them. It was appalling.

As a result, measures were taken to get all the P.7 students some extra help this term. Their school day was extended by an hour-and-a-half, which meant they were to arrive at 7:30 in the morning and stay until 5:00 in the evening. Their music, drama, computer, and PE classes were cancelled and replaced with only subjects that would appear on the exam: social studies, religious education, science, math, and English. On top of that, each night of the week a teacher or volunteer gave extra help with a different subject to the students who live in the compound. Honestly, I’m not sure how they made it through each long day.

My assistance looked slightly different. Instead of offering help outside of class, I identified the six students with the lowest English scores and took them during every grammar and comprehension class all term. I used the mock exam as a guide for planning lessons around the parts with which they struggled… which was everything. It would have been impossible to teach them all they needed to know in two months (this exam measures years’ worth of education), but we focused on a few things that I hope and pray will boost their scores on the upcoming PLE.

I will admit, it was a rough start at the beginning of term. Those six knew I was taking them because they failed English, and being singled out for a reason like that, though not made public, did not sit well with them. However, as days and weeks passed they opened up, I became more comfortable and confident, and we ended up having a lot of fun. The hippo disruption was one of many humorous moments in English class. This group of students was truly a joy to teach.

I met Ivan on our first day of class together. He is a hard worker who loves to read our work aloud and does a very good job of it. He is quick to help others when they stumble over words or pronunciations and is often the first to offer an answer in class. His effort and success in what we did often made me grateful for his presence in our group.

Sebide is a tall, muscular goofball. At fourteen years old it is probably inappropriate for me to call him a goofball, but that’s what he is and I told him so several times this term. He has a broad smile and is quick to show it whether he is happy, confused, or embarrassed. Many topics were hit or miss when it came to his understanding of them, but on our last day together he provided a grammar answer that made me quite proud of his effort and accomplishment.

Immaculate is a sunny sort of girl who does good work when she is not aloof. Whenever I explained something to the class or to her individually, she responded with a smile whether or not she understood. Rather unhelpful, but encouraging all the same. She was the second best in my class.

Francis is a boy with whom I worked on reading and spelling last term. Though never officially tested or diagnosed, Marilyn and I are sure he is dyslexic. His reading is poor and his grammar is worse, but when we moved on to comprehension he shone in a way I had not seen before. The examination will be harder for him than for most people, but if he doesn’t give up he has a chance of improving his score.

Boaz is repeating P.7 this year. He went to a different school last year and failed his PLE. From what I have been told, his mother brought him to Noah’s Ark at the beginning of this year to try to enroll him in the vocational school without the secondary school aspect. Piet said no. With Boaz standing right next to her, she told Piet her son was stupid and couldn’t learn. We are trying to combat that thinking and prove the opposite. I suspect Boaz has ADHD based on his high level of distractibility and his inability to focus, but if he can pay attention to the exam for a full two hours he can do well.

Sharon is my brightest and most responsible student. Aside from our regular classwork, she has been completing an extra worksheet nearly every day. I have been scrambling to keep up with her demand. I worked with her when I was here last year and she had always seemed grumpy or too stuck up to give me the time of day. This term, however, I soon discovered that all she needs to get her going is a bit of positive reinforcement and encouragement. She wants to learn, and I love that.

Here is the goal of this long-winded post: These students need your prayers. Yesterday was our last day together and on Monday and Tuesday they will sit for their PLE. If they fail this exam, it will mean the end of their academic education for life, and at the age of fourteen that is a lot to swallow. I don’t expect them to get perfect marks or pass with flying colors, but I hope with all my heart that they can go on to secondary school if they so choose. So please, please, keep Ivan, Sebide, Immaculate, Francis, Boaz and Sharon in your prayers for the next few days as they take this exam that can determine a great deal of their future.