Fiji25 Blog 22 Draft - Audrey

Audrey Blog Draft

In predominantly Christian Nanuku, most high school students either go to faroff Christian boarding schools or drop out of school altogether. However, for less strictly religious families like my own, there are nearby options for Hindu and Muslim day schools. From my sisters, 16-year-old Miri and 18-year-old Onni, I’ve learned so much about Fijian high school and how it compares to life at Lakeside. 

The basic schedule is similar: Students in grades 9 and 10 all take the same seven classes. In grade 11 students choose between two tracks, art and science. Each track has unique elective choices, from which students choose five based on their goals. A student like Miri, who wants to be flight attendant, could choose the art track and take geography, while aspiring pilots take physics on the science track. In total, each grade is about the same size as at Lakeside, but students on different tracks don’t have classes together. There are also gender-specific classes, like Home Economics for girls, focused on cooking and sewing, and DD for boys, where they learn basic automechanics. 

One of the biggest surprises for me was a privilege I never knew I had: My native language. At every school in Fiji, no matter what career a student dreams of, fluency in English is a must. English must be spoken at all times, so even chatting in Fijian is against the rules. At the end of grade 12 all students have to take an exam to continue to year 13, which is the last year of high school. Classes study several English stories and during exam week, a random story is selected as the topic of an essay. Not only must the essay be written in perfect English, students aren’t given so much as a couple of quotes for reference, but instead must memorize details and literary themes prior to the exam. It doesn’t matter if a student passes all other subjects with flying colors, failing English means failing the entire school year. Each year, many students have to retake grade 12 due to poor exam scores, even if English was their only area of weakness. Students are so immersed that those who live in cities often grow up learning English more fluently than their mother tongue. 

Another difference is the freedom we’re given at Lakeside. My host family was so surprised that Lakeside not only has no uniform, but also lets me wear my hair however I’d like. Miri is required to wear two French braids each day, while Onni is allowed to wear braids or tie it into a ponytail. Dating is completely banned in both of their schools. In Onni’s school, boys and girls must never sit together. Even if the class is going on a field trip, the genders will have separate transport arranged. The school uses a three-strike policy – if you are suspected of dating twice, you’ll be let off with a warning, but the third time you’ll be asked to break up or find a different school. 

I was really surprised by how different high school life is in Fiji. The emphasis on memorization and conformity so starkly contrast the hands-on learning at Lakeside and the freedom of expression in American schools. I remember all the times I’ve arrived five minutes late to math class thanks to a Starbucks run, while at a prestigious high school in Ba students who arrive even a minute late are turned around and marked absent. My sisters leave at 5:00 AM for school and don’t get home until around dinner time. They spend the majority of their time memorizing facts in a language that isn’t their own. The emphasis on learning English not only shows the Western influence on Fiji but also the cultural insecurity being passed on through schools by teaching Fijian children that their dreams live in Australia, New Zealand, and the US. My sisters and I have so much in common, but the things we’ll achieve later in life are governed in a large part by the opportunities we are being given now, through our education, language, and nationality.