Well, I’ve been very busy for the past week but unfortunately, I didn’t actually get much done. Most of my time has been consumed by waiting for other people and handling some moving, banking, and immigration problems. I’m having a real problem adjusting to the pace of things here, too. In general, I’m pretty high strung, punctual, and somewhat anal retentive. None of these qualities are suited for life here.
On the plus side, I did have a few great experiences yesterday. First, I gave a presentation on “Multiculturalism in Education” to a class at the University of Mauritius. There were far more responsive than I had thought they’d be and it was interesting to hear what they had to say about the topic. I am hoping to meet with a group of them next week for some interviews.
After that (and like a million bus rides) I went to an “International Hearing on the Harm Done in Schools by Suppression of the Mother Tongue” where a panel of experts heard testimony from witnesses about the damage being done to children by prohibiting them from using Mauritian Creole as the primary language of education. The witnesses presented varied forms of evidence from legal documents to personal accounts.
Neary 90% of Mauritians speak Creole as their first language, but education is only provided in English and/or French. This creates a host of issues beyond just that of language learning. Some of the social issues include the supression of creativity, feelings of inferiority, stigmatized lower classes, and an enormous children who are frequently struggling, embarassed, and let down by their schools. Additionaly, this system has had a severe effect on the scientific, mathematic, and technology disciplines. Imagine being in primary school and learning mathematics for the first time in a foreign language or taking an algebra class where the teacher only speak German and Romanian.
The hearings will continue today and tomorrow with a judgment to be made on Saturday. I will try to keep you updated, but no guarantees due to the weird Internet situation.
hi, I agree with you concerning the language issue. Unfortunately, you cannot view this problem from a purely pedagogical perspective in Mauritius. There are too many ethnic lobbies working in the background. I am convinced, like most foreigners, that the mother tongue is the way forward for our lower primary education system. Unfortunately, there are many who will fiercely oppose progress.