Maybe culmination isn't a thing here...

As I was walking home from the high school today, I realized something; maybe culmination isn't a thing here.  I mean, first - there was no performance of my theatre group in Cocal.  Now, I don't think that my improv troupe will perform because the theatre keeps taking our dates and renting them out to paying shows.

But that's not all...

There's also not really a sense of culmination in the school system.  At least not the way I'm used to. 
The way it works is that there are three trimesters and each one has two exams.  The last trimester is just like any other.  The last exam is just over that material covered in the last part of the course. 

On top of that, if the student earned 90's in each trimester up to this point... they "eximir" the last exam, meaning they don't have to take it at all.  That would make sense to me if it was a cumulative final, but it isn't.  It's just another ordinary test that some people get to skip. 

Then, after all of this is over - the students who have below a 70 have to take a sort of cumulative final to prove that they can pass.  Then, there are more steps after that... which I still don't understand.... I think it involves taking another test in February to pass.  I'll let you know if I ever learn about this step.  I hope I don't have to.

Anyway, my point is that everything sort of just gradually or not so gradually ends.... but it doesn't seem to have a definitive end.  We still have a whole week of school after this one and I hear that kids just don't come anymore (like they gradually drop out). Even so, we are supposed to continue teaching.  That is so weird to me!  Why isn't there just a last day for everyone? 

It has been so deeply engrained in my teaching to have culminating projects where learners can use all that they have learned... or to have final exams that show the overall knowledge gained.  I wonder if that's just a different viewpoint than they have here.

How interesting, though, how this idea is reflected in so many different aspects of life.