Nonsensical

If some statements in my last post did not make sense, it was because I posted quickly and edited later.  Sorry.  You can re-read if you like :)

Sunday afternoon at the girls hostel.  Answering "doubts" 

The other nonsensical activity occupying my days is marking exams.  I have always struggled with exams; their meaning for me as a teacher and for the students.  The personalities that I know in the classroom often come out in exams and I even enjoy reading their essays.  However the purpose and value of the exam have perplexed me as a teacher.  I do not often learn anything new about the student's abilities and rarely do I see true improvement. 

In Bhutan class 9 English the 2 exams combined are worth 80 percent of their final grade. Sort of.  They write 2 exams at midterm and 2 annual exams.  The point is that each exam question does not have very much value and the work they do in class contributes a minuscule amount  to their grade.  In order to pass they need 40 percent (or 35 percent).  Not much.  As a result the marks hover between 40 and 55 percent for the majority of the students.  A few strong students make it to the 70's and I have actually seen some 80's.  At midterm I marked

a paper worth 92 percent.

I am perturbed by what they have not learned and what I have not been able to show them about the English language. 

I am encouraged by the fact that my extended lessons about not "vomiting" their ideas onto the page seems to have stuck.  Many of my students have managed to sort the potatoes from the chiles from the meat and have written essays where their ideas are quite well organized. 

So far I have understood every essay I have read  Have they improved, or do I understand dzonglish better now? 

They also wrote decent business letters.  Thank goodness.  I had no idea last term that they would "lay down a few lines for my consideration"  which resulted in "lying on some lines",  "laying under the line" and even more confusing: "lying down for me to consider."   Most of them actually got to the point of the letter in the first paragraph, or even in the first sentence. 

Some days I wish I had not become a language teacher and had stuck to something like science or math that would be so much easier to asses.  But then I would not get to lie down and consider student progress.

We took lots of photos and the girls want me to "wash " them - get them printed.