WEDNESDAY, 01 FEBRUARY 2012 10:15 BY CAROLE KIAMAH
I once attended a class on developing curriculum. The teacher made an interesting comment that learning takes place via connections. We all have a frame of reference to which we attach any new data coming in through our senses. That meant that the more exposed a person is, the more likely they were to do well in school because they had a greater reference from where to draw from. The news was mind boggling for me, with my children still fairly young it meant that I could increase their capacity to learn by exposing them to more things that could increase their frame of reference.
I began to be quite intentional in exposing them to as much information as they could take in the different spheres of their learning. For geography, we began travelling and where we could not go physically, we travelled through the wonderful world of books. We visited various parts of the country where they learnt about different people, groups and cultures. They learnt about the density of water when we visited Mombasa and Lake Bogoria, saw the hot springs, the different animals in the parks and the famous pink flamingoes in Lake Nakuru and became exposed to the various facets of our country and people.
Helping them with their English was a little trickier. I tried to make them discover the beautiful world of books as opposed to watching it through a movie. It was not an easy buy, both wondered, why read a 20-page rendition of Aladdin when you can always watch a movie? I tried to make them see that a movie was someone else’s interpretation of a good story and that by reading the book, they could create their own interpretation. Let us say, it is an ongoing struggle.
Some of the books had no cultural relevance, what was with the short plump man with a long beard who went down people’s chimneys and gave them toys at Christmas? What happened to the poor child in Africa who had neither chimney nor snow for the sleigh? And what are fairies anyway? I think little sparkly ladies who brandish sticks and have wings are spooky and so are little short ugly men with big hats (goblins). A good witch, a cow that jumps over the moon, and a moon made out of cheese? What exactly are we teaching our children? And what is this entire rave about witches and wizards anyway. Why would I want TJ or Toriah’s hero to be a little boy who is studying to be a wizard, or a grown man who spends his day in a pajama outfit and a mask climbing walls like a spider?
One of my favourite stories when I was young was the little matchstick girl, a story of a little poor girl who had nothing to eat and kept looking at the sumptuous feasts in other people’s homes by peeping through the windows. She finally starves to death and is carried off to heaven. I don’t know why I liked it but when I read it to the boys they made me see it in a whole new perspective. “But why did they not invite her to their homes?” Easy enough “They did not see her”. “Okay, but why did she not just knock and say she needed some food?” Good point. I wonder why the author did not think of it. Come to think of it, what exactly was the moral of the story?
The more I look at what is available for children to read the more I wonder what happened to some of the good old books that were available when we were younger. The How stories; the Where stories; and the When stories. What happened to legends like Luanda Magere and Mzee Kiundu (remember the greedy dude who missed out on food by trying to be in two places at the same time?). What happened to the crafty tortoise that won the race or the greedy hyena? Those were great books that were relevant to us and our culture. Suffice to say, Grace Odhiambo and others like her are needed back to their computers.
Our children are in dire need for more of Africa. They need to know about the hare and the tortoise. They need to learn our own folk lores. I must admit that I loved the books that Kenya Institute of Education released years back, comics with our own traditional stories. I cannot wait to introduce my children to Wangu wa Makeri (the ultra feminist), Luanda Magere (our equivalent of Incredible hulk) and Ole-Kuiyot. Perhaps in the quest for entertainment they will also learn a little more of this wonderful continent and its rich culture.
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