Straggle
/'strag(ə)l/
verb: to move along slowly so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front
noun: an untidy or irregularly arranged mass or group
Fraggle
/'frag(ə)l/
noun: a small anthropomorphic creature, about 22 inches tall that comes in a wide variety of colors and has a tail bearing a tuft of fur on the end; lives a very carefree life, spending most of its time playing, exploring, and generally enjoying itself
####
It is with nothing but absolute affection and steadfast devotion that I title this week's blog entry "Straggle Rock," both as an homage to to the 2014 class of Standard One students at Msaranga Primary School as well as to the famed Jim Henson puppet production. And I think it can be noted that the two groups kind of have a lot in common....tuft-bearing tails aside....
This one is hard to hear because they are both soft-spoken, but Yacinta is teaching Irene her numbers using a Standard Two math book. Irene is still "straggling," but her mama is very engaged with the program and has attended several Weeks of Therapy at Gabriella to understand more about Irene's learning difficulties and ways of coping as well as bonding with other mamas and forming their own little support group.
The last time I went to Arusha, I stopped at a toy store which happened to have this bowling set and I thought it might be a good addition to the Toa Nafasi toy chest. After all, bowling challenges hand-eye coordination and the kids have to play against each other which encourages a certain amount of healthy competition, not to mention the whole "sharing is caring" aspect of playing together. But still, this lesson needs to be refined: one of my pet peeves in Tanzania (okay people, this is one of those hated generalizations but, fact is, it does hold true collectively for the culture) is that folks - young and old, rich and poor, men and women - do not take turns!! The idea of waiting in line until it's your turn is just not a part of life here and it's something that I firmly believe in as a stepping stone to development. Otherwise....chaos! So, you'll pardon the little grunt of consternation I let out toward the end of the video when Geoffrey and Godlisten fail to successfully wait out each others' turns. Drives me nuts....
verb: to move along slowly so as to remain some distance behind the person or people in front
noun: an untidy or irregularly arranged mass or group
Fraggle
/'frag(ə)l/
noun: a small anthropomorphic creature, about 22 inches tall that comes in a wide variety of colors and has a tail bearing a tuft of fur on the end; lives a very carefree life, spending most of its time playing, exploring, and generally enjoying itself
####
It is with nothing but absolute affection and steadfast devotion that I title this week's blog entry "Straggle Rock," both as an homage to to the 2014 class of Standard One students at Msaranga Primary School as well as to the famed Jim Henson puppet production. And I think it can be noted that the two groups kind of have a lot in common....tuft-bearing tails aside....
So, I've been back at school for nearly three
weeks now, and Vumi and I have started working in earnest with this year's Straggle of Fraggles while Yacinta continues with last year's kids. We are following
the same M.O. that we did last year, but Vumi and Yacinta have worked out a new
system of tutoring literacy and numeracy whereby they teach both lessons to the
kids every day rather than one week letters and one week numbers. The
Friday play-day still stands and we have assembled a selection of fun games that test motor skills as
well as other activities that help with cognition and critical thinking.
As one would think, starting with the new class has been a bit daunting, but while I whimper with fear and worry (Can we do this? Is it too much? Will we fail? Will these kids end up any better off than they started?), Vumi approaches the work as a challenge (What am I afraid of? Nothing!! Shrug, shrug, shrug....she is so nonchalant!!), so the two of us plod on together, sitting with the newbies and evaluating their capabilities.
Out of 131 students, we have now identified 23 children whom we know for sure need an intervention of some sort, 25 who would benefit from tuition from the Standard One teacher but who do not require special one-on-one attention, and 18 who fall in the middle somewhere. This data is all based on our own findings because we have yet to receive Angi's thoughts on the assessment results. Once she sends us her information, we can cross-check the two and make the necessary adjustments. In addition, we can then start to plan the referral appointments during which we will take children for vision testing, hearing testing, speech therapy, and pediatric care, and to Gabriella for those with more severe intellectual impairments or behavioral issues.
So far, there have been no big surprises. Most of the kids seem like they are simply "slow learners," meaning that for whatever reason, they are not catching on in the regular classroom and we hope that by working in small groups with Vumi and Yacinta, we can get them up-to-speed. I do not think any of these kids has a quantifiable LD though, of course, I am still just a layman in these parts. When Angi and the rest of the SPED people come in July, we will know more. Sure, some of the children do display signs of dyslexia or dyscalculia, others show hints of ADHD or hyperactivity, and still others present further issues (we have discovered another little girl who has been the victim of repeated sexual abuse at least partially due to her intellectual impairment), but for the most part, these children are just a Straggle of Straggling Fraggles (if you will!).
Now, a peek back at the Fraggle Stragglers of 2013.
Here's Vumi giving Godi a literacy lesson. Godi was one of those kids who was initially totally written off by the regular classroom teachers. Now, after a year of working with him, Vumi has him reading words with mwambatano syllables (those with more than one consonant sound like "sha," "mwa," and "tha") and even short sentences. Here, he masters the mwambatano "nya" by sounding out various simple words: nyeupe (black), nyumba (house), and nyoka (snake). At the end, he reads the sentence: Mama ameleta nyanya (Mama has brought tomatoes), but he mis-reads nyanya for nyasi (grass), eliciting a chuckle from Vumi and I. Nevertheless, he self-corrects and the former "lost cause" is found!
As one would think, starting with the new class has been a bit daunting, but while I whimper with fear and worry (Can we do this? Is it too much? Will we fail? Will these kids end up any better off than they started?), Vumi approaches the work as a challenge (What am I afraid of? Nothing!! Shrug, shrug, shrug....she is so nonchalant!!), so the two of us plod on together, sitting with the newbies and evaluating their capabilities.
Out of 131 students, we have now identified 23 children whom we know for sure need an intervention of some sort, 25 who would benefit from tuition from the Standard One teacher but who do not require special one-on-one attention, and 18 who fall in the middle somewhere. This data is all based on our own findings because we have yet to receive Angi's thoughts on the assessment results. Once she sends us her information, we can cross-check the two and make the necessary adjustments. In addition, we can then start to plan the referral appointments during which we will take children for vision testing, hearing testing, speech therapy, and pediatric care, and to Gabriella for those with more severe intellectual impairments or behavioral issues.
So far, there have been no big surprises. Most of the kids seem like they are simply "slow learners," meaning that for whatever reason, they are not catching on in the regular classroom and we hope that by working in small groups with Vumi and Yacinta, we can get them up-to-speed. I do not think any of these kids has a quantifiable LD though, of course, I am still just a layman in these parts. When Angi and the rest of the SPED people come in July, we will know more. Sure, some of the children do display signs of dyslexia or dyscalculia, others show hints of ADHD or hyperactivity, and still others present further issues (we have discovered another little girl who has been the victim of repeated sexual abuse at least partially due to her intellectual impairment), but for the most part, these children are just a Straggle of Straggling Fraggles (if you will!).
Now, a peek back at the Fraggle Stragglers of 2013.
Here's Vumi giving Godi a literacy lesson. Godi was one of those kids who was initially totally written off by the regular classroom teachers. Now, after a year of working with him, Vumi has him reading words with mwambatano syllables (those with more than one consonant sound like "sha," "mwa," and "tha") and even short sentences. Here, he masters the mwambatano "nya" by sounding out various simple words: nyeupe (black), nyumba (house), and nyoka (snake). At the end, he reads the sentence: Mama ameleta nyanya (Mama has brought tomatoes), but he mis-reads nyanya for nyasi (grass), eliciting a chuckle from Vumi and I. Nevertheless, he self-corrects and the former "lost cause" is found!
This one is hard to hear because they are both soft-spoken, but Yacinta is teaching Irene her numbers using a Standard Two math book. Irene is still "straggling," but her mama is very engaged with the program and has attended several Weeks of Therapy at Gabriella to understand more about Irene's learning difficulties and ways of coping as well as bonding with other mamas and forming their own little support group.
The last time I went to Arusha, I stopped at a toy store which happened to have this bowling set and I thought it might be a good addition to the Toa Nafasi toy chest. After all, bowling challenges hand-eye coordination and the kids have to play against each other which encourages a certain amount of healthy competition, not to mention the whole "sharing is caring" aspect of playing together. But still, this lesson needs to be refined: one of my pet peeves in Tanzania (okay people, this is one of those hated generalizations but, fact is, it does hold true collectively for the culture) is that folks - young and old, rich and poor, men and women - do not take turns!! The idea of waiting in line until it's your turn is just not a part of life here and it's something that I firmly believe in as a stepping stone to development. Otherwise....chaos! So, you'll pardon the little grunt of consternation I let out toward the end of the video when Geoffrey and Godlisten fail to successfully wait out each others' turns. Drives me nuts....
Julius is one of those kids who probably does not have a serious learning disability, but who forgets quickly, so that each day, teaching him is like working with a patient with memory loss. He must be reminded constantly. Luckily, Toa Nafasi teachers are patient, kind, and up to the challenge, and the Toa Nafasi treasure trove includes games like this one which tests children's memory using pairs of cards which are flipped IN TURN by two or more players in order to find their matches. This particular memory game is even more amazeballs because it features the faces of different children from around the world, so you've got your mzungu, your mmaasai, your mchina, etc. and the kids love to look at the different faces. Here, Vumi challenges Juli to use his kumbukumbu (memory) in order to beat her at the game. He didn't quite get there, but he did manage to draw!
I guess the moral of this week's story is that to be a Straggler isn't necessarily so bad. You can catch up if you try hard and if you are lucky enough to be provided a boost up. To be a Fraggle is also okay. You are only 22 inches tall but you live a life "generally enjoying yourself." To be a Straggle or part of a Straggle is not a travesty per se but, in my opinion, the least desirable of the three. And that's only because I disdain the untidy; an irregular Straggle is still acceptable.
Off for now, until next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment