The children won’t read, said two wizened teachers over coffee. They’re not the problem, I offered, repeating that old Jansen mantra. Kids are the dependent variable. What they do is a consequence of what we do, simply put. Show us. So yesterday I showed up at Harmony Primary and taught reading to a small group of grade 6s and 7s.
I chose as book, The Elephant Whisperer. After briefly outlining what the book was about, the action began. Move away the desks. I need 8 angry elephants (you don’t look angry!). I need a matriarch, the leader of the herd. Who is the one who sold them, the one who bought them. Roles assigned, we role-played this inspiring story. I read the text, they acted out spontaneously the different parts. Oh my word. What incredible fun reading. Then, out came by bag of chocolates. Right answer to the quiz questions, based on the ‘play’, you get a chocolate (I am an unrehabilitated Skinnerian).
Come back again pls, says one boy. The children asked a lot of questions. Some wanted me to know that I teach their family members at Crestway High across the road. ‘You fixed her teeth!’ said a little girl about her aunt in grade 12 for whom we arranged braces. Now they will read the first 4 chapters of the book. Report back on Wednesday. What an absolute joy to teach other people’s children. It was like watching a ballet performance, said one of the teachers who invited me. The problem is never the children.
