The next decade....what's in store?
Musings of a yamfooted traveller still trying to shake off those last 20 pounds as she treks across the Caribbean
After I dropped the first three boys yesterday, Mr T was next, before Mr Prime Minister. By the time I dropped off Mr PM and reached down the bottom of his hill, there was Mr T waiting for me, changed out of his long pants and into knee length shorts, and no shoes!
I asked him why he ran back to meet me. He said he was going to the beach to meet his "brothers and dem" and wanted a ride. They were on the beach cooking "Lambie Waters." That's Conch broth. "Where's your shoes?" I asked him. None!
Then this morning, in the pouring rain, I spot Mr KF standing on the side of the road....no shoes! At first I didn't make him out, but he was standing on a corner so I had to slow down. I peered at this person who was wearing a bumpy head hairstyle. He smiled at me and waved.....in the rain.....barefooted.
Wondrous oblivion. My kids.
I don't know why I was making an issue out of Mr D being upset if the 5th Kid came. After Mr D got over the shock of seeing him, they were best of friends today as they sat beside each other.
Here's how Session 2 of Summer School went. But first, this is how the 5th Kid came into the picture....
Last week when I went for Mr T at school to take him back to Summer School, the 5th kid came up to the car to say "miss, ah don't find the number". I told him it was in the telephone directory so he should look it up and call me. I wanted to put the onus on him, to see if he really really really wanted to come.
Well, about two days later I am at work and get a phone call. "Hello, this is the 5th Kid's mother. He asked me every night if I call you yet" Ok, so I guess he really wanted to come. My boss suggested that I bring him in on his own before today. So I told the mother to let him come at 11:30am Monday. Well, at about 10:40am I get a call to say he is there. Talk about Eager Beaver!
I made him do the same written assessment I had given the other four last week, as well as draw his interpretation of his family. He entitled it "My Happy Family". Then we had lunch together, picked up almonds on the beach and then I dropped him home.
Today, it was a 10:30 start. The 5th Kid was again early....the first to arrive. I fetched him from the lobby and on the way to the "classroom", Mr D walked in. Mouth wide open, he immediately asked "what you doing here?" He wasn't upset at all though. The rest of boys came before 10:30, except Mr KF who arrived 20 minutes late! I had called his mother at 9:13am to remind her what time he should be there, and pleaded with her for him not to be late. Later in the afternoon, I caller her again to suggest he leave home at a different time.
From the assessment, I saw that none of them knew about pounds and ounces. I brought a scale for them to weigh themselves, and also two kitchen scales and some fruits and vegetables. So we did that for a bit until today's visitor came. She's a Counsellor who works with abused kids.
When I went out to get her and came back, my colleagues who were having a short daily meeting just outside the "classroom" told me the kids were heard barking like dogs and mewing like cats! Anyway, I left them with the Counsellor for about 45 minutes on their own. They were as quiet as a mouse. When I walked in about 10 minutes before the end, I noticed that anytime any of them spoke, they were almost whispering! She's good! At the end, they all thanked her for various things which she had shared with them, including having them say "I am good even if other people tell me I am bad." I had bought them double lined exercise books to practise their handwriting, so I made them write that several times on one page.
After she was finished and I was walking her out, she confirmed what I had seen. Mr T has some serious anger issues indicative that the problem goes deeper than the surface and she is recommending counselling sessions for the whole family. She said that it is evident that all of them live in disfunctional families. The government has counsellors employed to the Ministry of Education. But the teachers had told me that whatever they were doing didn't seem to be helping. I told her I didn't want to be politically incorrect and interfere, so I will include that in the report the Principal asked me to give her at the end of Summer School.
Next it was lunch. Curry chicken, macaroni, lettuce and tomato for them....a salad with boiled egg for me. The kids got served first. Mr T started eating before my salad came. Mr KF piped up "Miss said you're not to start eating until everybody is served." I had forgotten I had told them that last week! They all wanted a piece of my boiled egg, all except the 5th Kid, who said when he eats boiled eggs, he throws up. I had to send for another egg. Later in the meal, the 5th Kid asked to taste it. I reminded him what he said about throwing up, so, no.
I told them that if they master eating with a knife and fork, I MIGHT take them out to a restaurant. Well, every kid took up their knife and fork and began eating. It wasn't perfect, but they tried.
They have this fascination with the salt shaker and pepper mill. Mr T put a whole heapa salt on his macaroni, then said "lawd" when he tasted it. I told him I was not going to ask them to change it, so he'd have to eat what he had done. He ate all. Then drank lots of water. Instead of juice, I made them have water. Apparently that is a foreign concept to kids. Must have sweet drink with meals.
The conversation was interesting as usual. I can't remember everything, but Mr Prime Minister had me in stitches.
When I saw that they were not eating their veggies, I told them that if they don't, then we wouldn't be going to the restaurant. Mr Prime Minister asked me if we could make a deal. Could he only eat the lettuce? Sure. He was satisfied with that. Everyone except Mr D doesn't like tomatoes. Mr KF said the only way he would eat it is if it was in a sauce with macaroni.
Like he did last week, Mr T went around and folded everyone's napkins properly after they had left the table. I don't know what the fascination with the cloth napkins is.
Now remember the "bags I the front?" Well, Mr T was quick on the draw today, so he got the front seat. No child lock on front door, but he didn't need it because he was occupied with the radio. I had a CD playing...a compilation by Elan Parle (out of Trinidad) called Kindred Spirits. He kept turning up the music loud loud, and I kept turning it back down. He said he liked the music.
I made them decide who would get dropped home first. Mr KF, then the 5th Kid, then Mr D, then Mr T, then Mr Prime Minister. Democracy at work here. Because I didn't drop the first three at their gates, when I did that for Mr T, Mr Prime Minister told him to make sure and not tell the others that I dropped them up the hill. But I can't drop the other three at their gate because the car cannot drive close to where they live.
Next week, I will continue with the pounds and ounces lesson (which today made me find out they didn't understand the concept of units, tens and hundreds so I have to spend a little time on that). Then, I have another visitor lined up who will rap with them about whatever he feels like. He is into nutrition and wellness. I bought a food chart showing carbs, proteins, fats/oils, minerals and vitamins. At lunch, I told them that if they ate their vegetables, they wouldn't get sick, to which Mr D piped up and said "that's why I hardly get sick." He is the only one who willingly eats all of his vegetables.
So another week of Summer School is done. Instead of the two hours I had planned to spend with them, including dropping home time, we spent 3.5 hours together. As always though, it was very uplifting for me.
I have my coffee beside me, cause I need some caffeine to spike my brain. Because after yesterday's first day of Summer School, I was zonked! I slept straight for almost 9 hours Tuesday night.
We were to have started at 11:45am. I had asked the mothers to please ensure the kids were there at least 10 minutes before that. So at 11:35am, I went outside to look up the road and see if any of them was coming. Mr D was walking slowly up the road. When he reached to the gate, I saw that he was biting his fingernails and looking very fearful and anxious. Hmmmmm.
This is a boy who is sometimes very insolent and rude. Sometimes in class when I or the teachers speak to him, it is as if you are speaking to a brick! Anyway, I congratulated him on being ontime and took him into the offfice which I had converted into a classroom.
Went back out to look for Mr Prime Minister and Mr KF. No sight of either. So I called both parents. One was just getting on the bus with his mother, and the other was on his way walking. Mr T was at school because he was attending an art and craft workshop. So I jumped in the car and drove up the road.
Spotted Mr KF about to go into the wrong hotel! He had forgot where our hotel was. Next we drove up to the round about. I had asked him to look out for Mr Prime Minister and he spotted him. I met the mother, who had a young baby in her hand (she has several other children and only works sometimes.....*sigh*)
I dropped them back at the hotel, gave them their written assessment to do, and went for Mr T, who was playing marbles in the school yard.
To develop the written assessment, I had borrowed the learning outcomes guide for Grade 5 from the Principal. So I had questions about time, weight, shapes, pie chart, percentages, opposite words, words which sound the same but are spelt differently, and calculations (add, subtract, multiply divide). Mr T is very quick, so he finished before some of the others.
I see that I will have to do pounds and ounces, inches and feet, fractions, division (none could do the divisions I gave them) and some spelling with them. But the Summer School is less about lessons, and more about life lessons.
After the assessment, I asked all of them how they were feeling. "Excited!" "Happy!". Great. I asked them how many kids were in the two Grade 4's. 41. I asked them how many of them were at the hotel. 4. I asked them what did that mean? "That we're special!" Right. Then Mr KF added "we're VERY special!"
Next was lunch. Sometimes we will eat in the canteen with other employees, but for week 1 and 2, I am letting them eat in the restaurant (where no one else is at that time), so we can develop the knife and fork skills. Before we were served food (from the canteen....pelau, veg and mashed potato), I asked them to tell me what each setting was. They didnt know the butter knife and side plate. For the side plate, I explained that if we were having rolls, it would go there, but if not, it can be used to put the chicken bones in.
Well, the side plates became receptacles for the vegetables for two of them. Mr D was the only one who ate his veggies. And besides my pleadings for them to use the knives and forks, Mr T just dived in with his fingers and took out all his veggies and discarded them. I guess they don't eat veggies at home. Must speak with the parents.
Lunch was great. There was conversation throughout, but with Mr D reminding everyone "don't talk with food in your mouth!" One of the things I told them was that we would be speaking proper English. So when one of them said they wanted water in their dialect, I asked him to correct it. "Excuse me waiter, may I have some water please?" adding some twang in there. He lives near the Golf Course, and sometimes does caddy duties to earn money. He calls the tourists who come there "white people". I asked them to please use "tourists" or "caucasians". I told him not to change his accent, just because he is speaking proper English.
Like he did on the field trip, Mr KF ate a huge amount of food. And he's tiny, so I was expecting him to keel over at any moment or start to throw up. He took Mr D's extra rice, and Mr Prime Minister's mash potato. Hmmmmm. Is that because there is not so much food at home?
One of them had not had any breakfast, so his stomach started to hurt him. And next, I learnt the kid word for a # 2....cause three of them needed to go right after lunch.
These kids are very smart. Case in point. While we were at lunch, the owner's wife came over to say hello. After she left, I told them that the owner was away. After lunch, while Mr Prime Minister was waiting in the corridor of the office building to go and "poom" (there was only one toilet), he was talking loudly right outside the owner's office, I told him to speak softer, because he would be disturbing the owner. Hear him nuh...."is a good thing him not here!" LOL.
After the toilet break, they had to draw the people in their family. Everyone except Mr D did it completely. Mr T drew stick drawings of his mother, father, sisters and brother, and then he said "oh, and Miss Yamfoot....how you spell your name?" Aw gee. He considers me part of his family. How can you not love them, or how can you beat them and inflict pain?
Next week, the Counsellor is coming to spend a whole hour with them. It will just be a talking session. Maybe I will give them some easy Suduko puzzles and a spelling test before she comes.
When I was about to drop them home, Mr Prime Minister said "I want to sit in the front." Mr D said he too wanted to sit in the front. I told them that Mr Prime Minister asked first so he gets the front. I then told them that when we were kids, Sis, Bro and I would also fight over the front. So we devised a system where whoever said "bags I the front" first, would get the front. Mr Prime Minister repeated that and sought clarification. But as he got the front this time, he couldn't get it next week.
Something said to me "put on the child lock on the back door." Good thing, cause Mr D, who was protesting that he wasn't ready to go home yet, was threatening to open the door by the mall. Mr T, who is extremely observant, had seen me change the setting on the door, so was looking to change it when I dropped him off.
When I told them the next session was next week Tuesday, Mr T said "I want to come every day!" I wish...but I have lots of work to do. He was boasting to the others that he had come to my office already.
So it was a very rewarding and uplifting day.....tiring, but fun.
I thought that with two months holiday, some of the special boys needed some focus, so I decided to do a Summer School project which got the blessing of my boss. There was no way I was going to allow them to languish in their communities, being idle and getting up to mischief.
So along with Mr T, I selected Mr K (the one who could be Prime Minister cause he love to talk), Mr D (the insolent one) and Mr KF (the one to whom I gave my apple the second class). I suppose there are other boys I could have selected, but I don't think I can manage more than four of them.
A few classes before the last class of term, I went to each of them quietly and asked for their parent's number. Now somehow, word got around and Mr J, who is one of my little helpers, asked me if he could come too. Mr D overheard him asking and asked me if it wasn't just four coming. I said yes, but maybe Mr J could come too? Nooooooooooooooo. Mr D was insistent that it was just to be the four of them. Mr J didnt know his parent's number, so I told him to look up my work number and call me. He hasn't called yet, but he had said earlier he was going to Trinidad.
We start next Tuesday, and the emphasis is not going to be on the sums and grammar that we will do. It will be to teach them good habits, such as going somewhere on time, doing homework, and also writing their thoughts and feelings in a journal. We will also do some dining etiquette too, so that they become more comfortable using a knife and fork. We will also do reading, do puzzles like simple Suduko and that sort of thing.
I will do it once per week (have too much other work to do) for six weeks. I have asked three persons to come and do rap sessions with them. One will be my boss talking about the world of work, the other will be a police officer on how to become good law abiding citizens (Mr T is heading to jail for sure without an intervention) and a counsellor talking about how to cope with life in general.
Now when the counsellor comes, I will need her to work more deeply with the students and their families, to help bring them back on track.
I'll try and update the blog every week. But I not promising, ok?
On the second to last day of term, the groups had to do a 3-minute presentation on the career they had chosen. Some presenters were more confident than others. I video taped them all and gave the Principal. NPH judged the presentations and decided on a winner.
So on the last day of term, I went to announce the winner and carry treats for them. That's when Mr T and Mr L got into a fight.....
I have no idea what Mr T did to Mr L. My "son" was sitting behind Mr L. I was in the back of the classroom when all I saw was Mr L get up, turn towards Mr T and start to blow hard....with a screw face. Now these are 9 and 10 year olds, so I thought he was acting. The next thing was blows start to rain from Mr L, and of course, Mr T "gave him his busines" as they say here. The teachers quickly sent them to opposite sides of the classroom.
Crickey! There was no injury to either boy, and later, for the group picture, everyone was all smiles.
Gee gosh....that's why some of them are coming to Summer School at the hotel. Read the next entry above.