Make Scores not War

Throughout the scholastic year in Belgium, I strive to obtain the best possible points in my classes with the limited knowlege of the language in which the courses are taught in. It was very surprising for me to find that I am able to keep up with the pace of most of my classes and maintain, more or less, the average scores of the class. That being said, by my American standards I am not doing well. The majority of my test results are scored in the 50% range, as in I am passing, not doing well in my classes. However, this is a fact that astonishes the kids in my class. Students here all receive points around that range despite the fact that they are producing intelligent and correct work. It seems as though the schooling system, though more rigorous is entrapped in a mindset which forbids for students to succeed. Perhaps it is not a benefit in State College for 90-100% to be as attainable as it is, at the same time, I feel as though the thought that such a grade is possible serves as a motivational tool for the challenge of success.

This is me with my very successful 55% History test.

There is another aspect in which has made itself increasingly present as my comprehension of French has increased. This discovery would be the great and wide divide between the students and the teachers. For the teachers their job is to give the lesson. Their expectation is that the students will copy their lecture word for word because any element may appear on a final. In addition the believe that if the students are unsuccessful it is their own fault because they have done their job. There seems to lack a discussion about how the methods of the information delivery effect the level of absorption of knowledge. On the other side of this battle lies the students. The students, I have found, are a force that moves together to support each other. This can be obviously be a good and bad thing for a teacher. If for example there are students who don't understand a lesson, their classmates are their to guide the others to a point of understanding. Although, there have been many cases where the students show resistance and band together to make a lesson impossible. For example, the other day we had a presentation that was due. We knew in advance when it was due, but when we were not allowed to work on it during the school day, the students refused to work outside of the academic hours. The next day when it was time to present, all of the students refused. When the students do not want to complete an assignment, there is nothing that the teachers can do.

I can't imagine the difficulty that the teachers have in the schools in Belgium. It seems to me that they lack a lot of respect and therefore their interactions with the students are difficult. The task of enforcing rules and regulations is near impossible making for a rather hostile and tense learning environment. Student life can be plain and simple, however once emerged in a classroom becomes all out war. It is times like these when I am so grateful that I success is not necessary in Belgium for graduation in America. Otherwise I fear it would be impossible.