Let our stories be told

Nobel Laureate (1992) and St Lucian poet Derek Walcott once stated, “The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination.” Is it not the imagination that has brought us the developments the world now enjoys? Buildings that tower, bridges that span vast distances, medical advances that have people now walking when paralysed, science launching into the realms of the previously impossible. These all existed in the mind(s) of those that imagined beyond the here and now. And how is this imagination developed? Not by fingers scrolling through mindless reels on a cellphone, nor spending hours vegetating in front of a television. Reading and losing oneself in the world thus created is where the imagination runs riot. Where colours are most vibrant, where the world of anything is possible exists.

Professor Dorian Haarhoff, South African-Namibian writer, poet and a storyteller par excellence, reminds us that each of us has a story to tell but few actually are given the space to tell.  Years ago I shared “The Stolen Child”, a poem written by William Butler Yeats way back in 1886, when he was 21 years old. It is a reverie of his homeland Ireland, written almost as a fairytale. I remember wondering if the young people would get the gist of the story- they more than did so! One student, a girl born and raised in the then Northern Congo wept as she recounted part of her childhood and how she missed that world filled with the simplicity and wonder of nature she had been surrounded with.  I cannot remember her exact words but I do remember that she hoped that one day her dreams would come true and if so that the world she lived in would always be radiant and never be dim with prejudice. Powerful thoughts!

We need to give space for the imagination that lies within each one. How wonderful would it be if a young person, immersed in the Shakespearean world of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, sat down and penned a rewrite of one of these immortal works in her/his own milieu, with characters drawn from the village of her ancestors. This is where the imagination can take us. And our young people are not going to get there, nor understand the beauty of our different cultures and backgrounds unless we grow our youth together and more than that, we read…and read.

Allow me to end here with the words of Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, words he quoted from one of his books “Indaba My Children” as I sat at his feet in the 1980’s and listened to his story : “My child never must you doubt for one single moment that there is a God, because to deny or doubt the existence of God is the greatest form of madness there can be”… God is more in you and is more part of you than you are in any part of yourself. Your soul is immortal because God is immortal”

 Let us allow space for our stories to be told.

 

 

 

Environmental Nutrients

 

We previously mentioned “Interventions” and suggested one of the most important early interventions in the life of the human child is that of attending a good Preschool. This needs emphasising! This is where our authorities need to focus! Personal experience in various countries underlines this need. One of the challenges countries face in education is the need to understand cultural diversity. Many refuse to accept this challenge and create Preschool environments consisting of a particular “culture”. It is my contention that the preservation of a “culture” lies in ensuring the home environment is solid and exposing the growing child to a Preschool which celebrates different cultures.

But enough! I am sure you get the picture.

Interventions later on in the development of the child are equally important. Read to your child- often! This is an early intervention. Each time you read to your child you are investing in their future and opening a world of opportunity which may only become apparent in later life, but apparent they will become.  (it is both exciting and amazing how quickly your child will want take the book from your hand and read her/himself.)

In my last article I suggested removing the cellphone and placing a book in your child’s hands. I am not telling the world that the 5^th Industrial revolution should be negated and we should go back to using a coal stove- not at all! We need to develop, to grow, to understand and to have young people (and older ones) who never stop learning and finding new ways/better ways of doing things, but to get there we need to grasp the basics of life and AI (Artificial Intelligence) cannot replace the reality of being truly human. Children (and adults?) scrolling through mindless reels on Facebook or the like I posit has NO VALUE at all except to waste the wonderful time that allows the mind to experience words in a book, or the smell of the flowers in the garden, the sound of the sea crashing against the shore and yes, even being stung by a bee!

Interventions which some call “remedial actions” have a place in our world and I believe AI will ultimately assist in this at various levels but in this article allow me to finish by suggesting that the best intervention is to build a relationship with the malleable, growing child. I was delighted to hear a grade 3 teacher frequently praising various individuals in her class during a Mathematics lesson. “Well done!” she said many times and I am confident there are going to be many confident young Mathematicians emerging from her class.  Kids need environmental nutrients. If they get these environmental nutrients perhaps no intervention will be necessary.

 

 

Interventions

 

Interventions!

With the dropout ratio (young people leaving school before matriculating) in South Africa exceeding 40%, Education (Capital “E”) may well be deemed to be in a crisis. Are we alone in this? Certainly not, many developed countries cry out for interventions that will alleviate the problem.  (The USA for example quoted some years back figures of 30% not completing high school and some 40% + of 8^th graders not being able to read!)  Quoting figures of other countries though does not solve our problem (although detractors will use said figures as an excuse for us not to worry of course)

So where to now? As the title above suggests “Interventions” holds part, if not all the keys to solving the challenges. After some 48 years in Education in countries across the globe that word “Interventions” which often strikes fear into the average parent, remains key for me!

Interventions are a normal part of life in a lifetime of learning! When are they most effective?

·         Preschool: Invest in genuine, positive Preschools! Not backyard creches! Years ago in conversation with a Federal Reserve Chair in the USA, he suggested Preschools to be the “ one cure for inequality”- and I agree with him! Make sure you send your little one to the best Preschool you can afford! It is an investment in her/his matric. Health and social skills are improved and entering Junior or Elementary school becomes far easier. (Education Departments should apportion the biggest part of their funding in this area)

·         Is your child lost if the early years have been fraught with problems (for whatever reason)?  Not necessarily. Early intervention is possible and good at any age. Human development is a long and continuous process. Age appropriate interventions are needed. The child who struggles with reading and is in Grade 8 or above… DOES NOT want to be assisted at elementary school level- her/his world is different.

·         A word to end: Take away the cellphone- give her/him a book. The sooner the better. More on the topic of Interventions next week.