A few months ago, one of my colleagues asked me what I
thought our students' biggest problem was, with regard to administration. “Lack
of accountability” was my immediate response. He mulled it over for a few
seconds, and came to the same conclusion.
I don't know about other schools but here, students can
'play' on their phones the whole of class time, while the teacher lectures on
and on. They can hold none-too-quiet conversations; our teachers have recently
been outfitted with portable amplifiers so they can shout over any classroom
babble. Students don't have to participate in class. All they really have to do
is be there and be counted, turn in the occasional assignment and take exams.
You would think that, if students do not invest time and
attention in their education, they would surely fail, right? Not necessarily.
Academic dishonesty is a hot topic in China, and has been for
a while. The most recent Civil Service exam, held November of last year,
brought forth avowals of 7-year prison terms for those caught cheating.
Nationwide, teachers carefully proctor national exams such as the GaoKao, TEM
and CET exms, separating the students into assigned seats so that nobody sits
close enough to see anyone else's paper. Those exams now require students to
show their ID to gain admitttance into the testing room so that an unprepared
student cannot cajole (or pay) a more erudite student to take his/her place.
You would think that, with all of this focus on dishonesty,
that students would straighten up and fly right, wouldn't you? I mean: how else
would they earn their grades? Or, at least, the teachers and administrators
would see to students being held accountable, right?
Last semester, I had a boy so shy, he didn't dare speak in
class. I kept that in mind, come final exam time. I invited him to speak
directly with me rather than addressing the whole class, as the other students
did. He still couldn't get a word out. I had no choice but to flunk him. Later,
upon reviewing my grades sheet, the dean recommended that I retest that
student. As there was another student from the same class who had also earned a
zero for having missed her final exam – she did not ask for leave and offered
no good reason for having missed class that day, I was instructed to meet with
them both – on my own time, and give them another chance at passing.
That experience left a bitter taste aftertaste. I hadn't
envisioned my teaching responsibilities in that manner. The teacher
accommodates the students? Shouldn't it be: the student complies with
directives?
What worries me is how this lack of accountability in
students' fledgeling steps as adults will translate when they are out from
under the protection of the university environment. Life offers no guarantees
or safety nets, few sure-fire successes and seldom does anyone get a chance at
a do-over. If we permit that now, during their first few steps into the big,
bad world... what exactly are we teaching these kids?
Alice, a good student from a difficult group of rowdy
classmates, contacted me the week before finals. Her grandmother, who had
suffered a stroke last year, has now taken a turn for the worse. Her family had
called her home, worried that their dear daughter would miss the chance at
seeing her grandmother for the last time. Two hours before boarding the train
she called me, sobbing, asking if I would please make an exception and hear her
present her final exam early.
I'll admit to annoyance. This was Christmas week, when I was
busy trying to engineer special memories for all of my 400 students. Free time
was at a premium and I needed every moment I could get. Nonetheless, this child
made an effort, and obviously she needed comforting. Off I went to meet her.
Instead of discussing the planned final exam topic, we talked about her
grandmother. I learned more about her and her family, and was touched and
amazed that she would actually be thinking of final exams when the grandparent
who raised her lay, dying.
Contrast Alice with Sylvia. The day before finals, Sylvia
sends a text message: her sister is getting married tomorrow. Could she make up
her final exam later?
I think we can all agree that weddings are not spur of the
moment occasions in China. Months – even
years of planning go into pulling off the perfect gala, designed to impress
rather than have any symbolism. Surely, Sylvia knew in advance when her
sister's wedding would be, and could/should have arranged her make up exam in
advance.
In her text message, she stated she wanted to make up the
exam and asked when she could. Considering my busy schedule that week, I
suggested she contact me when she came back to school. Today, she messaged me:
Do I have time right now to give her the exam – on a Sunday afternoon? After a
flurry of messages in which she balked at my various suggestions of when to
meet, we settled on the next day. I'll be testing her on my time, seeing as my
teaching obligations are over with for the semester. Come time to turn in grade
sheets, I will most likely be encouraged to give her a grade commensurate with
her peers, rather than with her effort, ability and attitude.
While it is great for the kids to find success with or
without effort, and it makes the school look good that every single student
passes, I can't help but think of how the Alices – those who are conscientious
and hard-working must feel amidst all of the Sylvias.
With all of the talk about revamping the education system in
China, building world-class universities, and all of the news reports of
families sending their progeny abroad for better education, I would think that
this aspect of the Chinese education system would get more scrutiny. The
solution is easy: if a student doesn't perform, don't rate him/her as though
s/he does. In short: hold students accountable.
More than anything in a textbook or lecture, accountability
would give these young adults an education worth having.
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