Soesdyke Community High School, by Taruna Sadhoo

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Excerpted from her newsletter, "The Golden Arrowhead"

Once students are in the sixth-grade they take an exam called the Common Entrance Exam, this exam will determine whether they will be able to attend the local secondary school or community high school. Students who fail the Common Entrance Exam are only able to enroll in their village’s community high school. Because of this, community high schools are viewed by most as schools that only house academically incompetent individuals. The Ministry of Education continues to struggle to implement solutions that will erase the negative generalizations held by its citizens.

Yes, some of my students have learning disabilities. However, most are academically behind their peers because they were never exposed to the resources needed to establish a solid academic foundation. Many of them cannot spell or write because they attended primary schools in classes of over 50 students. How can a child truly develop their comprehension and general skills and abilities in such an environment? 

Physically, Soesdyke Community High School is a large house that has three large rooms divided by blackboards (there are 18 classes in total). The school measures approximately 150 ft. by 30 ft. and is surrounded by sand and garbage that has accumulated since last year and has yet to be burned. The total number of students currently enrolled is 530. Form 1 (7th grade) students are the largest group, totaling almost 200. There is a huge drop out rate between Forms 1 and 5. There are only 15 students in Form 5 (11th grade).

Currently Soesdyke Community High School does not have enough benches for all students to sit. Each day there is a constant battle over who sits where. Why should children who come to school to learn have to worry about finding a comfortable area to sit? Our parents and students are currently fundraising to acquire more seats and benches, to make up for the demand. 

For the last three weeks, I have been teaching Guyanese social studies to students in Forms 1 and 2. I see these eight classes four periods each week. Each period lasts approximately forty minutes. Starting next week, I will permanently be teaching Forms 2 and 3 social studies and Form 1 four periods of reading. Life as a social studies teacher has been extremely busy - of 35 academic periods within each week, I am responsible for teaching 32 total periods of social studies. The most challenging part of teaching has been getting students to think critically about the subject matter and facilitating lively discussions. Students are most comfortable with just copying what is written on the board and doing what they are told without asking “why?”

The students I teach have many different academic needs, but they have just as much passion and drive as any other group of students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching. Most students are academically years behind their counterparts in other countries - especially the girls. Even though I am scheduled to teach SS and reading, I informally teach math, spelling, and writing. My students have enormous issues within these academic areas that cannot be overlooked. I have come to understand how connected and essential basic mastery of the core subjects are in order to build each students knowledge base in all areas. For example, it is hard to discuss my social studies topics without ensuring that they can read and spell basic social studies words such as history, government, country, or accurately grasp what is meant when I say that one of Guyana’s counties makes up 75% of the entire country’s land space.

Completed Projects/ Ongoing Projects:

• The library has been cleaned and organized! It has been transformed from a cobwebbed storage room to a user-friendly library for both students and teachers. The library space will also be used as a resource room for those seeking additional academic assistance. Currently, we are in the process of having a carpenter build an additional set of bookshelves. Many of the books that have been donated to the school library are over 30 years old and are no longer fit for school libraries in the states- you can clearly see the “Discard” stamp on the inside covers of most books. A few of them are so old and outdated that certain “scientific facts” reported within them have since been proven incorrect. We threw those away!  
• Students with reading and writing issues now have the opportunity to receive one-on-one help each morning before school.

Upcoming Projects:

• Upper level students will receive the opportunity to participate in a peer-tutoring program.
• Commencing students will be able to participate in interview skills training and resume writing workshops.

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