The Ogongo Press: Baboon Sighting Lowers Test Scores

Yesterday a wild baboon made its way into the small village of Ogongo. While often spotted in other parts of the country, baboons are apparently a rarity here. I discovered this quickly when I was leaving the office to attend my math period and a herd of teacher quickly ran past me. When I asked where they were going so fast, I got a couple brief but excited responses, “Baboon, hurry!” “It is at the clinic!” “Rachel, let's go!” I contemplated joining the wild baboon chase, but turned them down to go teach my math class. Half of the teachers jumped in the back of a turquoise pick up and raced off towards the clinic. I walked into grade 6 to find all of the learners with their heads out the windows, standing on chairs and desks fighting to get a glimpse of the rumored intruder. Shortly entire classrooms of learners, in the absence of a teacher, are running outside yelling “Baboon!” I attempted to start my math lesson, but was interrupted every few minutes by learners jumping out of their seats claiming they saw the baboon out the window. I taught for about 15 minutes and decided it was a lost cause; the baboon sighting was obviously more important than conquering fractions. I ended the period by yelling “Baboon!” and pointing out the window. All 25 learners jumped out of their seats with excitement to find only a few goats grazing outside their classroom. I can safely conclude that very little learning occurred during that eventful day in Ogongo. The next time I hear complaints about learners' low test scores I am blaming it on the baboon.