Not all talk, but not all that great at doin' what needs to be done

I have been a frustrated literacy specialist for about 15 years. I'll just admit it. I haven't ever taught anyone to read. I never have claimed to teach, but to train trainers and develop materials and to research how two very different languages can be used in education of some very special people in a very difficult situation.

Now that it is out in the open, I can get on with it. I believe that my impact on a community can only make a difference if I can replicate my initiatives. I talk a lot about literacy and materials in Nyungwe and about using Nyungwe to teach reading. I believe that we only learn well when we can relate new information to something we already know. Theories sometimes describe these as hooks or scaffolding to connect new info with our own experiences.

On Monday, I stepped into a Mozambican classroom in a Mozambican school with Mozambican students for the first time. I am grateful for a school director and a district administration that trust me with a few of their most challenged kids. I feel pretty special. I requested permission to do a pilot program with 20 kids who are older than 9, in 3rd or 4th grade and cannot read. I was given a long list of names and they showed up... well about 50 of them did anyway. I needed to get down to 20... or even 30. You can't just send people home. It doesn't work; I tried!


Today is the 4th day of class and I'm finally down to about 30 faithful kids. About 5 of them are actually pretty good at letters and even reading. I have no idea why they are on the list unless the teachers just decided they would make good helpers. I need them whether I knew it or not.

The thing is, I have been reading and hearing so much about problems with schools in low income, developing areas. I know these schools, but I don't really know the kids. We all have opinions about how things should be different and how teachers should teach differently. We all know what isn't working. We can all point our fingers at the difficulties and hardships. We can all make excuses. We can't all step in and try something different.

BUT I CAN.

Gulp.

With my background and my position and my connections and my experience of 15 years in this challenging town on the Zambezi River, I can take a step. I can take a chance. I can try something different. I can do SOMETHING.

It might not work.
It might not change the world.
I might make a fool of myself.

I will learn a lot. 30 kids will know that someone cares that they learn. A few teachers and volunteers will see that there are some possibilities we didn't think of before. A few parents will be thankful that their kids got another chance.

God is good... after day 5 of class, the director told me he'd spoken to a couple of parents. "It seems my kid finally has a notion of what is going on with reading. If we did this at the beginning of the year, or at the end of each term, maybe kids would learn better."