Exams ....part deux...

(My translation students from the Central Campus. They're happy...they passed the course!)

On June 9th at Bouzareah, we started off the second round of exams, les syntheses or comprehensive exams. These exams are offered to those students whose grade point average is below 10 on a scale of 1-20. This is a second chance for students who performed badly to pass the course. They actually dont need to pass (10) the course. Their average must be 10 or above so their higher marks in certain classes can help them outweigh their weaker ones. There is an important exception though. If, in a course a student makes below 5, then they are not allowed at all to advance to next year's courses. They must have 5 or above -out of 20 possible points- in every course AND a GPA 10 or higher.

Should their GPA still be below 10 in a week or two when the results are all posted, then they have one last chance in September to pass an exam called "la ratrappage".

The system here is pretty tough and it is customary for all professors to grade severely. One of the challenges here is the sheer number of students and in the first years of college, well they are like college students anywhere in that they may not be sure of what they are going to ultimately do and they are also at a crossroads as perhaps different opportunities for work and study come along. The other thing is that university studies are completely free here.

A purist might enjoy the concept of free knowledge, but in practicality it presents alot of challenges. I can say that I now have a newfound appreciation for the US higher educational system. I speak here primarily of choice. Choice of schools, classes, teachers etc. I remember one year of studies at San Antonio College while I was still debating where and what to study to complete my bachelor's degree. My courses that year included:

• Computer Programming: Lotus 1-2-3 (to make myself marketable for jobs- incidentally, I never used it.),
• Ballet (dont know why...just something different i guess. The girls were pretty and the stretching exercises were good.),
• French (it's come in handy over the years),
• Drawing (Still lifes, nudes, charcoals etc.),
• Design (basically art in it's many forms.)
• Music and Arts of the Modern World
• Typography (I wanted to be an adman)
• Copywriting (more adman shtuff)
• Photography (black and white darkroom magic)
• Acting (I've always had a comic side to me)
• FCC Regulations (I was doing a music t.v. show with a friend at the time and looking at getting into radio-tv-film).

Over the years, I've come to appreciate my local and homegrown place of learning at a very reasonable fair price, San Antonio College or SAC. While it's not free to study at SAC, it is kind of nice to have the freedom to choose courses..the hours, the teachers etc. Here in Algeria as in Yemen, there are very few or basically no options at modifying one's courseload to individual needs or desires. One is placed in a group according to their year and major and then the program of study is all laid out for the next 4 years. Often, I think they even actually study with the same 60-100 students for the duration of their undergraduate work. Remembering all the good times and things learned at SAC over the year, I just may go back there someday and take up culinary arts at their sister school down the road, St. Philip's College. ;)