SILENCE IN PNG SCHOOLS

As an Australian teacher in PNG high schools, I will never get used to the silence in class.

Students in class do not ask questions nor answer questions. They just remain silent all the time. They write but never speak. Many do not have confidence to speak English nor understand English spoken by the teacher.

There has long been a secret practice that students of low academic skill do their best to drag the more capable students down to dumb silence or suffer bashing. This is the school thug culture.

I cannot help compare students in PNG with those I remember in Australia decades ago.

But we hear that standards are dropping in Australia too as students become used to shouting slogans and not seeking skill in logical analysis and argument. They support the low level of abuse on Facebook and Twitter.

We see reports on TV of schools in Singapore, South Korea and Japan where students are deeply committed to study.

There was a report on a school in Japan where students stay until early evening to complete their homework. Could we imagine such commitment in PNG schools?

It may be that grade 12 in a PNG school is equivalent to Grade 8 in a South Korean school. That is why South Korea is a world leader in computer technology. The business world is alive and thriving ready to accept young people for generations to come.

PNG may one day lead the world in exporting coconuts. Boys and girls may grow up to become experts in smoking marijuana and drinking home brew.