The vast majority of my time spent here in Pohnpei is going to be focused on improving the education system. I will be working closely with Mr. Miller Benjamin, MAHI’s Senior Educator. Mr. B has over 30 years of education experience on the island, after recently retiring as Principal from the SDA School here. His knowledge of the culture and education in Pohnpei will be invaluable on our mission. I am extremely excited to work with him.
On Wednesday, John, Mr. B and I visited the seven lowest performing public schools on Pohnpei. Our eyes were opened to many of the problems we are going to face over the coming school year. There are many different areas we can focus our efforts, but we have decided to concentrate on reading and writing. We have learned through several teachers and following our intuition, that students cannot learn mathematics, science, or any other subject, unless they can read and write on grade level.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to getting students to read on grade level is when they start learning in English. In Grades 1-3 students are taught in Pohnpeian. What we found is that every grades curriculum is three years behind, so that a Grade 8 student is reading on a Grade 5 level. The situation is more severe than this however. When students start learning in English in Grade 4 it is not an instantaneous shift. Questions and explanations are still in Pohnpeian and it is not until Grade 6 or so at best when English is the primary language heard in the classroom. We will be conducting assessments to see exactly at what level the students are reading. I am fairly confident the majority of students will be at a minimum of 3-4 years behind.
The obvious solution is to start teaching students in English beginning in First Grade but many in the Department of Education are opposed to such a policy change as they fear the loss of culture in the youth speaking their native language. Although their sentiments are understandable, the fact of the matter is that the policy is causing the students to fall behind for the rest of their education. While Pohnpeian is a beautiful language, it would undeniably be to the youth’s advantage for them to start learning in English at the start of their education. Pohnpeian is only spoken on this island, and their ability to read, write and think in English is critical to their future success and prosperity.
Beyond the policy decision to delay learning in English, there are many other problems in the education system in Pohnpei. In many of the schools we visited, they were lacking in basic supplies, particularly textbooks. We found textbooks from the 1980s and many schools without enough books. Another key educational resource was also missing – teachers and administrators. Every other week the principals of all the schools are gone for a whole day attending meetings in Kolonia. Apparently, meetings in all sectors of government are very popular in Pohnpei. Also, several teachers were not present as they were attending workshops. Why they don’t have these meetings and workshops in the summer is beyond me.
Several times, I had to step back and wonder where to even start in tackling these problems. While these site visits were very informative, we still have much to learn about these schools. We will be conducting assessments of the teachers and the teachers will be assessing themselves and their administrator(s). After this we will be conducting student reading assessments to find their reading level. Before we can help them, we have to know where they are, assessing the “damage” in a sense. Moreover, in assessing the teachers and administrators, we will have a better idea of the organizational integrity of the school and how to best assist and instruct them.
I only touched the tip of the iceberg with the problems facing us in our efforts to raise the reading and writing levels at the seven schools we have adopted, but this is a cursory glance of what the main issues are from our first impression. Ideally, we will be able to dramatically improve the level of teaching and administration at these schools, thus increasing the level of reading and writing at all grade levels. Furthermore, this would be a sustainable program, as the teachers would remain in the schools year after year to continue being successful teachers. The educational world is in agreement that the most valuable education resource is the teacher. If we can produce great teachers on Pohnpei, we will have taken the largest and most critical step in providing the youth of Pohnpei with a quality education. These seven schools are only a trial run – hopefully we can expand it to all 35 public schools on the island.
My ultimate dream for these schools, and for all of Pohnpei, is for a culture of achievement to spread throughout the island, originating in the schools from students seeking to fulfill their infinite potential by pursuing their education. I have no illusions that this dream will be easy and without obstacles. Indeed, it will be a long, arduous venture that will likely extend beyond my time here. But as Lao-Tzu famously said, “Even the longest journey begins with a single step.”
Click here to see pictures from the site visits!
On Wednesday, John, Mr. B and I visited the seven lowest performing public schools on Pohnpei. Our eyes were opened to many of the problems we are going to face over the coming school year. There are many different areas we can focus our efforts, but we have decided to concentrate on reading and writing. We have learned through several teachers and following our intuition, that students cannot learn mathematics, science, or any other subject, unless they can read and write on grade level.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to getting students to read on grade level is when they start learning in English. In Grades 1-3 students are taught in Pohnpeian. What we found is that every grades curriculum is three years behind, so that a Grade 8 student is reading on a Grade 5 level. The situation is more severe than this however. When students start learning in English in Grade 4 it is not an instantaneous shift. Questions and explanations are still in Pohnpeian and it is not until Grade 6 or so at best when English is the primary language heard in the classroom. We will be conducting assessments to see exactly at what level the students are reading. I am fairly confident the majority of students will be at a minimum of 3-4 years behind.
The obvious solution is to start teaching students in English beginning in First Grade but many in the Department of Education are opposed to such a policy change as they fear the loss of culture in the youth speaking their native language. Although their sentiments are understandable, the fact of the matter is that the policy is causing the students to fall behind for the rest of their education. While Pohnpeian is a beautiful language, it would undeniably be to the youth’s advantage for them to start learning in English at the start of their education. Pohnpeian is only spoken on this island, and their ability to read, write and think in English is critical to their future success and prosperity.
Beyond the policy decision to delay learning in English, there are many other problems in the education system in Pohnpei. In many of the schools we visited, they were lacking in basic supplies, particularly textbooks. We found textbooks from the 1980s and many schools without enough books. Another key educational resource was also missing – teachers and administrators. Every other week the principals of all the schools are gone for a whole day attending meetings in Kolonia. Apparently, meetings in all sectors of government are very popular in Pohnpei. Also, several teachers were not present as they were attending workshops. Why they don’t have these meetings and workshops in the summer is beyond me.
Several times, I had to step back and wonder where to even start in tackling these problems. While these site visits were very informative, we still have much to learn about these schools. We will be conducting assessments of the teachers and the teachers will be assessing themselves and their administrator(s). After this we will be conducting student reading assessments to find their reading level. Before we can help them, we have to know where they are, assessing the “damage” in a sense. Moreover, in assessing the teachers and administrators, we will have a better idea of the organizational integrity of the school and how to best assist and instruct them.
I only touched the tip of the iceberg with the problems facing us in our efforts to raise the reading and writing levels at the seven schools we have adopted, but this is a cursory glance of what the main issues are from our first impression. Ideally, we will be able to dramatically improve the level of teaching and administration at these schools, thus increasing the level of reading and writing at all grade levels. Furthermore, this would be a sustainable program, as the teachers would remain in the schools year after year to continue being successful teachers. The educational world is in agreement that the most valuable education resource is the teacher. If we can produce great teachers on Pohnpei, we will have taken the largest and most critical step in providing the youth of Pohnpei with a quality education. These seven schools are only a trial run – hopefully we can expand it to all 35 public schools on the island.
My ultimate dream for these schools, and for all of Pohnpei, is for a culture of achievement to spread throughout the island, originating in the schools from students seeking to fulfill their infinite potential by pursuing their education. I have no illusions that this dream will be easy and without obstacles. Indeed, it will be a long, arduous venture that will likely extend beyond my time here. But as Lao-Tzu famously said, “Even the longest journey begins with a single step.”
Click here to see pictures from the site visits!
