Yangu sets a record at Wardstrip

By HELEN TARAWA
It’s the dream of every teacher in PNG to see their students excel in class and make it into higher level institutions.
Siambo Kurum Yangu from Mendi, Southern Highlands is a teacher at Wardstrip Primary School in NCD who has set a record by sending 61 out of 72 students to high school last year.
Among them was a hearing-impaired student who is now attending Gerehu Secondary School.
There were three such students, a boy and two girls. The boy remained at Wardstrip while the two girls were transferred to Kokopo in East New Britain to be with their families and they were also selected to Kokopo Secondary School.
“How I took the students up from Grade 3 to 8 was a special case. There were three-hearing impaired students who came in from the Callan Services for Disabled Persons.
“When they were sent to the system school in 2012 to do their primary education in Grade 3 I had compassion for the students and I offered to accept them into my class,” she says.
“I wasn’t trained to be a specialist teacher but I took on the challenge to also help learn about the children with disabilities.
“The first month their parents came and sat together to take us through sign language. I had a Melanesian sign language dictionary which helped me teach the three students. It was also a learning experience for the other students.
“We were all learning sign language so I had two groups of children in my class, the abled bodies and the impaired children. I took them on board and it was challenging to get into their system but it was fun.
“To see the hearing-impaired children learning and getting good marks was a bonus for me. They understood and did well like the normal children. And I took them all the way to Grade 8,” Yangu said
The boy was selected to De La Salle Bomana Secondary School but an internal arrangement was made with support from Callan Services to have him transferred to Gerehu to be closer to his home.
“I thank God for the wisdom to get them on board and this made me help all the children.
“I knew their strengths and weaknesses as they went onto each level (Grades 3-8) and I maintained the class and my consistency in teaching them paid off.
“When I reached Grade 8, the school’s management in their reshuffle plans asked to move me to teach another class but I insisted on maintaining the same class of students.
“I protested to keep my class because of the special children and they took account of my concerns. Out of the 72 students that were selected to high school, the 11 that didn’t make it were students who had transferred into Grades 6 and 8.
“Learning from experience, my recommendation was that it is good for the same teacher to continue with the same class. Being consistent we know the students’ weaknesses and strengths and are able to assist them progress.
“I was able to determine which students were above average and capable of doing well and the ones who were slower, I spent more time on helping the latter.”
Yangu said as a result of this achievement, the school administration has decided to use this structure in the school and it is being implemented.
“I was over the moon when 61 of my students were selected. It was a big achievement for me because I have never taught a Grade 8 class in my entire teaching career.
“I faced lots of challenges with the system; people underestimated my potential but I proved them wrong.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover. Give someone what he or she deserves, an opportunity to prove themselves. They thought I was not able to teach. Anybody can do the job.
“I proved the school administration wrong and sent 24 students to Gordon Secondary School from my class alone. That was the cream of my class because there is high expectation.
The cut off mark for selection to Gordon is 105 out of 120 points and all 24 scored above this.
“That’s a milestone for me and I believe we topped the National Capital District. Wardstrip Primary School alone had 86 students selected to Grade 9 at Gordon Secondary which is the highest number in all of the years that I have been teaching in this school. My class was the icing on the cake for Wardstrip.
“I have set the record and proven that children can be taught and they can perform. It takes commitment and loyalty.
“When you commit the outcome is very good. The number of students in one class is not a problem. I started off with 100 in my class and the number was reduced to 72.
“Commitment is the key to the success of sending such a number of students to high school and it’s my personal record and that of the school.
Due to free education, there is increased number of students and Wardstrip has about 90 to 100 students to a teacher – well over the acceptable pupil to teacher ratio.
As the largest demonstration school in the country Wardstrip has 3400 students and 50 teachers.
“It was challenging but I kept telling myself, its free education so the numbers of students are here to stay but I have to remain committed to achieve my goal.”
Another determining factor is the reintroduction of standard based curriculum (SBS).
One of the biggest challenges facing Yangu in her teaching career is the lack of text books. There are not enough text books for every teacher and most times they are required to share books with colleagues.
“I don’t depend on the text books. I write the subjects on the board and leave it for the students to do their own research about the topics and I’ve found that very useful. I made to with what I have as my teaching materials.”
Overcrowding and students discipline are also big concerns for teachers.
On International Teachers’ Day last year she gave an emotional speech and all her students cried because she considers them as her her own.
“As a mother of six children I teach the students like my very own. They often called me mother Yangu. I was more like a mother than a teacher to them.
“It was evident during the Teachers’ Day. My students flooded me with gifts mostly white goods. They decorated the classroom and they took me for a movie that day. I had no idea what they were planning because they kept it a big secret.
“While I was watching the movie, they organised the classroom. After the movie we came back and what a pleasant surprise in my classroom! We had a party with lots of food and gifts.
“I want my students, the 41 who are in high school, to make it to university because I know the potential they have. I meet those at Gordon Secondary from time to time and ask about their new school life and they seem to be coping well.” Yangu is married with six children, five are grown up and one is in Grade 4. She also has five grandchildren.
In a week’s time, she will be attending her third son’s graduation at the University of Technology in Lae.
Yangu, a graduate of Holy Trinity Teachers College in Western Highlands, started her career in her home province then made her way to the city.
She graduated in 1985 and taught at Sumi Primary School in Kagua then she went to Mendi and taught at Kuma Primary School.
“I wanted to teach in a city school so I came with my family. I taught at Hohola Demonstration in 2003, Tatana Primary in 2005 and in 2006 I joined Wardstrip and have been here since.
“I encourage teachers to maintain their classes and give their knowledge with their heart and desire to achieve their goals. My aims and objectives are achieved and I have job satisfaction.
“I teach the students according to their level of understanding. Some are more advanced and others are still slow so I separate them to ensure that they are learning at the same level.”
Yangu is now teaching Grade 4 starting all over again and hopes that she will take this class through to the eighth grade.
“I want to acknowledge the head teacher Emily Ricky for her management and support in my career,” Yangu said.
Ricky said for a large and overcrowded school Wardstrip’s Grade 8 students last year did extremely well compared to the previous years.
“More than three quarters of Yangu’s class was selected to high school so we want to maintain that structure with the same teachers maintaining their classes through to Grade 8.
“I am very impressed with Yangu and I always use her example to encourage others,” Ricky said.
“It’s a good feeling too when parents commend me and I tell them that it is my investment,” Yangu said.
“One of my students brought me a gift on Teachers’ Day, a small package and said, ‘what I have is small, nothing compared with what you gave me. What you taught me will go a long way in building my future’.”
This inspiring story of Yangu and her student can be related to the famous saying: “Give a man a fish and that will be the end but when you teach him how to fish, he will be able catch fish for himself and others too.”