Burdened by the System

During the assessment of the first years when I first got this teaching job, I had recorded all the scores of the students in my mark book and also inputted them into the Edupack app that helps us generate results sheets. Feeling fulfilled, I was planning on relaxing after a stressful school session when I got a call from my department head, who asked me to come to school immediately because I had done something terribly wrong in the school I inputted. That was strange because I was certain I did the right thing, but on getting to his office, I was welcomed with a rant about how I wanted to ruin his efforts through the years in service.

I was in awe, wondering what I could have possibly done wrong to warrant such a reaction and statement, and then he went on to tell me that about forty percent of the students failed my exam, and recording such would put not just the school in a bad light, but the principal, himself being the HOD, and me, the teacher whose students had such a score. I tried explaining to him that it's not my fault they failed; after all, I taught them diligently, and about forty percent of them got distinction, while the remaining twenty percent had above to show I did my job, and those who failed obviously are unserious academically.

To crown it all and prove my point, I went on to bring out the exam scripts of some of these students who failed the exam to show they didn't write anything on the paper aside from their names, but my HOD wouldn't have any of my explanation. He told me, regardless, not more than ten percent of the students must fail the exam so the school would have a good reputation, and to rectify my error, he said I'd have to purchase another mark book and restart the recording of scores and make sure the majority of those students who failed the exam ended up passing it.

It was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever had. I mean, how can you say I must make sure students who got ten or fifteen over a hundred go on to score at least fifty so they'll pass the exam? That's to say I'll have to give them an extra forty marks to make them pass the exam. To me it was wrong, and I tried as much as possible to let them know it's wrong and renders not just my efforts as a teacher useless, but also the efforts of serious students who paid attention in class and read well to prepare for the exam. At the end of the day, I had no choice but to do it when they insisted, even though it raised concerns about academic integrity, fairness to students who worked hard, and the validity of grades in our schools.

After that day, I've been doing this every single examination even though it's wrong, but since my superior claims it's for the right cause, I've got no choice but to play along, but in truth, I'm not pleased with doing this, because it just, at the end of the day, encourages unseriousness among the students. I mean, if I'm a student who is unserious and ends up getting promoted despite my behavior, then I won't see the point of being serious with my academics since I know I'll get good grades and be promoted to the next class regardless.

Truth be told, this is disheartening. Every time I'm forced to alter those scores, a part of me feels I'm betraying the very reason I chose to be a teacher, which is to guide, inspire, and uphold the value of hard work. If I knew mediocrity was part of the game, maybe I wouldn't have signed up for this act of pampering laziness. Well, this is where I find myself, in a system where truth is inconvenient, but then I hope someday things will change to the point where we'll embrace integrity without fear of backlash.

All photos are mine.