Thursday, and the Breadfruit Tree

August 7, 2008 — Uncategorized

I have asked to teach the higher forms (or grades in the U.S.) so they give me forms 5,6, and 7 today. The age groups will be 16, 17 and 18, so I bring out the big ammunition- namely my argument and debate materials.

I have five scientific articles concerning global warming. Three have a bias toward the theory that indeed global warming is upon us, with mankind being the cause. The other two also have scientific information, but suggest that global warming is not occurring- and that in fact the earth may be getting colder. There is enough fodder for even the least argumentative souls to at minimum deliberate amicably. This is what I’m banking on, but we know what they say about the best laid plans….

The problem is, Fijians don’t argue.

At least my Fijian students didn’t seem to, so I start to do an act of teacher desperation- something which goes against everything I stand for; I start to answer my own questions.

It begins to look something like this…..”OK group one, what does your article say about the internal memo from Exxon?”

Group one looks at each other, They look at me, then back at each other. They nudge one another whispering….”You go first…” Then silence.

I wait the allotted time any enlightened, sensitive, modern, U.S. politically-correct teacher is trained to wait. Then I give it a few more beats. Then I answer myself…..

“It says how much money they have paid organizations to have the idea of global warming remain in question……am I right, group one?” Does any group have information to add?”

Then I mention the information in group three’s article. This goes on until I get a few responses. Probably either out of politeness or pity for me.

I actually do this in one more class, until I ask the assistant principal, Mrs Tawake if it is OK for me do poetry with the next few classes. She says yes, and it goes much better the rest of my day.

We do whole class poems based on the “Where I’m From” poem. I hear beautiful imagery from them as we play “pass the chalk” and they write the lines, each in turn.

I find out that they are from….”The Breadfruit and the Mango Tree…….the, ‘Don’t let anyone spoonfeed you’…. the ‘Roqo Roqo’, and the place where the world starts its day”

Advertisement