A day late

Yesterday was rough, and I had a sticky keyboard at the internet cafe, so I didn't update. My apologies.

In WordWorks, we worked on verbs and adjectives. It's amazing how rote memorization trains the brain. We said, "who knows what a verb is?" Everyone replied, "A verb is a doing word." Whoa. So we tried to make sure they actually knew WHAT A VERB IS, not what they've been told to check on a standardized exam. Reminds me a bit of No Child Left Behind, no? We also worked on adjectives. So, we did things like describing something and they would have to name the noun (like "I Spy") and verb charades, where they acted out a verb and everyone guessed it, etc. We ended by reading a news article together. Then we split the group into three teams: one each in charge of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and asked them to list examples of those parts of speech that they found in the article. To my semi-surprise, almost no one could do it--even the best students. I really believe that school is way more helpful if material can be used in real life, and it was too bad that they couldn't translate their grammar knowledge to a real text. More work to be done! There's also one boy who just doesn't understand a word, I don't think. I'm not sure how to help him without singling him out...

This morning, our "father" the kgosi gave a (rather long) lecture on the history of Botswana, Molepolole, and our tribe, the Bakwena, to a large group from Kaeleboga seventh graders. I couldn't understand most of it, as it was in Setswana, but the kids behaved, at least. I was delighted that the staff pulled together to set up for the event and even managed to get a couple dozen chairs from the community center at the last minute. Mazunga had been disappointed yesterday when those tasks hadn't been done. Afterward, the staff shared tea and biscuits--I guess to celebrate a job (well) done. One staff member, who shall remain nameless, said that a lot of what the kgosi said was incorrect. I believe it. He told all the kids, for instance, that "Ottoman" is spelled "O-T-T-O-R-M-A-N." But the staff member immediately said, "I can't say he's wrong. He's my chief." That scared me. To me, one of the most important things in an operational democracy is speaking truth to power. If the kgosi is incorrect or is doing something wrong, his people should be able to speak up, or no one will be able to advance. This was especially troubling given the current political climate in the nation as a whole, which I don't completely understand, but is a bit volatile at the moment and features a bit of an autocratic, royal-born president.

This afternoon, our WordWorks group didn't show up. Curses! I was disappointed. They have a lot to learn, and it makes me feel like I've done something worthwhile.

Almost Friday!