Questions, questions questions.
What sort of questions do you ask yourself during the day? What sort of questions did you wonder about when you were a kid? Have the questions you ask changed as you've grown?
Did/do you wonder why certain things look the way they do, work the way they do? How do things work?
What if this happened? What does this mean?
Rosita and I were talking about asking questions, as part of fun library programming, and Miranda mentions a question she's wondered: Do ants have their own language? Do they talk to each other? What would they say? They look so organized, walking in a line, she says, carrying things so heavy! One must be the boss man, shouting "Walk faster! Straighten up!" Other ants carrying food must think "Ooooh, this is heavy." Such an inquisitive and creative mind.
Have YOU ever stared at an anthill and wondered about them? What other questions might you think of after looking at an anthill? What would you want kids to wonder about ants, as they are newly discovering the world?
Matt and Jeff are trying to get our library to formulate a research question with our local pit traps. (Pit traps are buckets put into the ground with mesh walls around them. Small animals fall into the buckets, they are observed by CH staff and then released). They are challenging the kids to pose a question about the animals in the environment that get caught in the pit traps. What comparisons or contrasts could be made? What predictions can you make? What do you think???
We were wondering aloud about formulating questions. Would kids be able to come up with a research question? Sometimes, for some people, it can be hard to find a spark of curiosity within them. There is so much you don't know you don't know! You know?
We have books in the library with questions written right there in the title. A nice series of youth science books written by Chris Arvetis that has titles like What is a Volcano? Why does it Snow? and Why do Birds Fly South? We thought these books could be a good exposure to creating their own questions. One other of those books, Why Does a Bird Sing? reminded me first of Maya Angelou's poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," and then of a song my friend Chase shared with me, that includes some of life's questions in it, titled "Louder than Words." It's from a musical, Tick Tick BOOM. Chase's favourite question in the song is: “Cages or wings, which do you prefer? Ask the birds."
There are so many Why's and How’s out in the world, so many little mysteries of life that can be unveiled or simply pondered. Some questions have no answers, or lessons, but the mere asking of them indicates a healthy zest for mental activity, it colours the world more intensely around us. Cages are stability, but wings are variability. Cages are protection, but wings are freedom. Knowledge is another form of freedom.
Matt's most recent article in Guyana Times featured the Divine Lizard, but really was a medium for encouraging scientific exploration and inquiry. He leads the reader into a scenario, where you are the one observing, hearing, wondering and remembering. He concludes with:
"... in the end, it is not just what you saw that contributes to your overall satisfaction, but also the feeling that were an active participant in the experience. You feel like a scientist because you acted as one. You actively observed the world around you and you leave with the confidence gained from answering your own questions out in the environment. The more you seek to observe, the more you will see. The more questions that you ask, the more you will learn. Nature is full of amazing and miraculous behaviours, traits and events, but the only catch is that you have to be out there to experience them."
Inquisitive young minds are something that seems to be only recently revealing itself here in Yups, Aunty Maisie says. I’ve seen it for myself, as well. For example, little Nicole, Felix's daughter, asked me the other day, "How do you make popcorn?" I went through the process and explained about what’s inside the kernels and she listened to it all, intently. Maisie said kids never used to ask questions like that. What an encouraging change!
It seems like that might be the necessary first step - to get people to ask questions, the kind of questions that will lead to the answers (and actions, hopefully) you are already hoping for - to make a true change.
What questions can you ask today, to brighten your environment?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
4th of July
The morning started out with breakfast burritos. Handmade tortillas, scrambled eggs, seasoned soy chunks with sauteed onions, cheese and salsa. SALSA.
We attempted for a post-food coma, but we were quickly visited by a half dozen kids, wanting to see Jeff, who's come back for another three months of volunteering, and wanting to return library books. Jeff taught some how to play proper chess, some of us played UNO, some played dominoes.
Howard had been popping in and out all morning, reporting that he was unable to obtain a pig to roast, but we could get some mutton. We bought a whole sheep and later, Howard delivered the whole, skinned, animal and layed it on our counter. He chopped it into pieces as I grated 2 cloves of garlic and two small onions to season it.
Jeff had the kids help him to gather firewood and then I had some kids pick a medium sized bowl of limes from the tree behind the house and start squeezing. I pressured channa (chickpeas) to make hummus and made lime juice with the limes, plus seasoned the cut up meat. It marinaded for a few hours, in a big plastic basin big enough to hold a 20 pound sheep, minus some of the more boney parts, that Howard put aside and said to make a boil with.
I wanted to experiment, see what difference in flavor and tenderness cooking a boil there was when you sautee the onions, garlic and sweet pepper, then quickly fry the meat before adding the water, versus just putting it all in hot water and letting it boil for awhile. I added the same amount of seasoning, including casareep. (The sauteed seasonings and meat came out with more flavor, though I think the tenderness was about the same.)
Howard and others got the fire burning, the lime juice was served with rum, and Matt made a barbecue sauce of ketchup, honey, casareep, pepper sauce and onions, which we brushed over the lamb as it grilled. Jeff went out to get more black pepper and biscuits for the hummus, and to check on the fresh baked bread we were going to use as buns for the hot dogs I bought in Lethem last week.
The meat was barbecued, the boils were done, the farine was set out, the hot dogs started to grill and Anthony carried me to the baker's house to collect the bread; we got two fresh baked loaves and quickly put them on the towa to toast a bit so they'd hold up better with the hot dogs. Mike brought some mustard from C.H.
By then, we had more than 20 people at the house, and everyone started eating the bbq with farine soaked in boil broth, maybe a piece of the boiled meat, too. The Beatles played from my worn multi media player that takes 6 C batteries. Matt had done wash that morning and we noted his string of boxers on the line which, incidentally, were American Eagle, and three of them went in line as red, white a blue. We got a picture of him next to it, saluting.
We had around 30 people total in and out of the house, all eating to their hearts' content, as we had lime juice and rum, then Howard went for some kari. Cindy brought over a cucumber to add, and Vilma helped with the dishes. People came inside to play games and gaff, some guys sat in the front patio room, strumming a guitar with a mug of kari next to them...
El Dorado Rum and lime juice. Barbecue mutton. Barbecue sauce. Hummus and crackers. Farine. A cross cultural feast.
Three US Americans in K. House makes for a pretty good Independence Day shindig.
Matt Hallett, July 4, 2011. K. House volunteer, March - July 2011
God Bless Americas.
We attempted for a post-food coma, but we were quickly visited by a half dozen kids, wanting to see Jeff, who's come back for another three months of volunteering, and wanting to return library books. Jeff taught some how to play proper chess, some of us played UNO, some played dominoes.
Howard had been popping in and out all morning, reporting that he was unable to obtain a pig to roast, but we could get some mutton. We bought a whole sheep and later, Howard delivered the whole, skinned, animal and layed it on our counter. He chopped it into pieces as I grated 2 cloves of garlic and two small onions to season it.
Jeff had the kids help him to gather firewood and then I had some kids pick a medium sized bowl of limes from the tree behind the house and start squeezing. I pressured channa (chickpeas) to make hummus and made lime juice with the limes, plus seasoned the cut up meat. It marinaded for a few hours, in a big plastic basin big enough to hold a 20 pound sheep, minus some of the more boney parts, that Howard put aside and said to make a boil with.
I wanted to experiment, see what difference in flavor and tenderness cooking a boil there was when you sautee the onions, garlic and sweet pepper, then quickly fry the meat before adding the water, versus just putting it all in hot water and letting it boil for awhile. I added the same amount of seasoning, including casareep. (The sauteed seasonings and meat came out with more flavor, though I think the tenderness was about the same.)
Howard and others got the fire burning, the lime juice was served with rum, and Matt made a barbecue sauce of ketchup, honey, casareep, pepper sauce and onions, which we brushed over the lamb as it grilled. Jeff went out to get more black pepper and biscuits for the hummus, and to check on the fresh baked bread we were going to use as buns for the hot dogs I bought in Lethem last week.
The meat was barbecued, the boils were done, the farine was set out, the hot dogs started to grill and Anthony carried me to the baker's house to collect the bread; we got two fresh baked loaves and quickly put them on the towa to toast a bit so they'd hold up better with the hot dogs. Mike brought some mustard from C.H.
By then, we had more than 20 people at the house, and everyone started eating the bbq with farine soaked in boil broth, maybe a piece of the boiled meat, too. The Beatles played from my worn multi media player that takes 6 C batteries. Matt had done wash that morning and we noted his string of boxers on the line which, incidentally, were American Eagle, and three of them went in line as red, white a blue. We got a picture of him next to it, saluting.
We had around 30 people total in and out of the house, all eating to their hearts' content, as we had lime juice and rum, then Howard went for some kari. Cindy brought over a cucumber to add, and Vilma helped with the dishes. People came inside to play games and gaff, some guys sat in the front patio room, strumming a guitar with a mug of kari next to them...
El Dorado Rum and lime juice. Barbecue mutton. Barbecue sauce. Hummus and crackers. Farine. A cross cultural feast.
Three US Americans in K. House makes for a pretty good Independence Day shindig.
Matt Hallett, July 4, 2011. K. House volunteer, March - July 2011
God Bless Americas.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Fifteen out of 22 Grade 6 students passed the Common Entrance exam and are admitted into St. Ignatius Secondary School, only one of three accredited secondary schools in the region.
15/22. That means more than two thirds of the kids passed. The last two years, it was a stretch to get to half. We sent 8 kids last year, 7 the year before.
The jubilation, the pride, the satisfaction almost brought me to tears yesterday, when Mistress Li called me to the school, into her office, where her and the Grade 6 teacher, Miss Eleanor, were looking at the results.
These kids, who've had Maisie's attentive teaching and guidance for three years, who've had all the teachers tutoring them last term, who had Maisie and myself call them to come study at night during the week before the test. These kids, who've I've dedicated the year to, with reading level assessments, English language activities, comprehension passages, composition exercises, vocabulary worksheets sent home, after school tutoring sessions, in school lessons.... I expressed high expectations for them, and constantly reminded them about this test they were preparing for, and why they are being pushed so hard.
I studied these kids, I learned these kids, and I love these kids. Each grade 6 I've helped with, I've loved teaching them and came to feel attached to them, but these kids I've come to know as people outside of school, I know a lot of their families.
"It will give them a chance," Maisie said. Exactly. And, when "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose." - Dr. Seuss
It's now up to them to choose their direction, and who knows what direction that will be, but they have that opportunity, which is more than most in their village.
Here's the link to the album of the class of grade 6 this year:
Class of 2011 Grade 6 pictures
15/22. That means more than two thirds of the kids passed. The last two years, it was a stretch to get to half. We sent 8 kids last year, 7 the year before.
The jubilation, the pride, the satisfaction almost brought me to tears yesterday, when Mistress Li called me to the school, into her office, where her and the Grade 6 teacher, Miss Eleanor, were looking at the results.
These kids, who've had Maisie's attentive teaching and guidance for three years, who've had all the teachers tutoring them last term, who had Maisie and myself call them to come study at night during the week before the test. These kids, who've I've dedicated the year to, with reading level assessments, English language activities, comprehension passages, composition exercises, vocabulary worksheets sent home, after school tutoring sessions, in school lessons.... I expressed high expectations for them, and constantly reminded them about this test they were preparing for, and why they are being pushed so hard.
I studied these kids, I learned these kids, and I love these kids. Each grade 6 I've helped with, I've loved teaching them and came to feel attached to them, but these kids I've come to know as people outside of school, I know a lot of their families.
"It will give them a chance," Maisie said. Exactly. And, when "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose." - Dr. Seuss
It's now up to them to choose their direction, and who knows what direction that will be, but they have that opportunity, which is more than most in their village.
Here's the link to the album of the class of grade 6 this year:
Class of 2011 Grade 6 pictures
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