A student played the violin and recited a poem, followed by a poet performing in Shona. Opening remarks and 3 artistic performers lasted for 1 hour. Sponsors thanked included the Cultural Fund which is supported by the EU, Sweden and Denmark. Tea break! Tables offered teas from different regions.
Sat next to a white woman who cataloged books at the National Gallery. She is writing a book on an Englishman who donated a lot of artwork to various institutions in Zim and S.A. She lives in a nice neighborhood, but residents stopped paying their taxes because they weren't getting city services. As a result, water is not available and goes untreated. As a group they buy water which is delivered to their tank. No water from a tap. They recycle bath water to flush their toilets. They've been doing this for 3 years.
At tea break met a Ndeble writer wearing a stunning traditional hat and dress. I am curious how many Ndeble writers there are, how many books are published and on what subjects. She said she has 7 novels waiting to be published, but the publishers are asking her for money in order to publish her works. She said she would give me the name of her tailor!
Chatted with a man that started a school in a slum. The people were forced to move so he started another school. I told him about the British Council who gives free books to libraries. He also wanted to start mobile libraries in rural areas so I connected him with the Rural Libraries Project.
The Tanzanian keynote stated that governments slap a high VAT tax on local and imported books (not textbooks.) He was disrupted in the middle of this talk by the announcement that the Minister was here. Everyone stands and waits in silence. He is then instructed that he can continue. A few minutes
later the minister enters, keynote speaker finishes and the ministers talks about the revised curriculum.
They want schools closer to the people. Plan to build 2000 schools, looking for partnerships. (Everyone agrees this is pure rubbish because the govt is broke.) The country was just founded in 1980. Curriculum emphasizes building the culture and nation. Heritage Studies is a new subject- want to instill in learners a "consciousness of what we value" - be proud of their heritage, language, natural resources, historic sites, etc. Curriculum based on principles including: inclusivity, gender sensitivity (aka - don't leave out the girls), embrace diversity and transparency.
Infant schools- up to about 4th grade- indigenous language will be medium of instruction. He said their challenge is to convince the parents that this is a good idea because parents think if English is not taught, then it's not a good school. He mentioned that there is a new family structure - due to AIDS crisis, many children are brought up by grandparents. With a population of around 12M (no accurate statistics) I was thinking it didn't make a lot of sense to be teaching 15 languages - need teachers, authors, publishers, etc. When I mentioned this to Gladys (Humphrey Fellow) she was quite insulted that years ago she was forced to learn Shona in school, even though this was not her native language. She said there are 3 dialects of Shona, one being the predominant one. If that one is taught, it is as if the others are considered less important languages. She said the language represents the culture. I would love to have more discussions on this issue.
Secondary schools should teach Drivers Ed - now they need to take private lessons. Will teach French, Swahili, Chinese and Portuguese. [a later speaker criticized this idea- just one African language included. He said Portuguese is non-relevant in the globalized world. Africans should be learning their neighbors' languages.] National pledge will honor those who lost their lives in Chimurenga/Umvukela - the independence wars. Also included, "We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and culture.
Curriculum will not teach a particular religion, but will teach the moral values of religion. The school pledge includes "Almighty God....."
Sometimes people asked questions in Shona. Questioner commented that "our struggle" was omitted from the pledge- he was referring to the massacre of 20,000 Ndebele people by M in the 1980s. The ministers replied that the committee will determine the final language
Most heated discussions were around copyright and textbooks. Publishers and govt agencies told about catching the violaters and jailing them- including school principals. Other speakers said parents cannot afford the books. There are many copy centers who copy the books. Trich- the white woman sitting next to me- sent me a long email after the conference. She said sometimes circumstances demand that the law be broken. The Ministry determines what textbooks are used. They charge exhoribant prices. That's all people have here is education. They talked about the Kenyan model where there are authorized copy centers and the publishers/authors get a cut.
At lunch I asked about the market for textbooks- asked if they use books from other countries.
The professors said no- context is different. I replied- Math is Math. The retort was Zambia is in a different place (maybe stage of development) than us. But people were talking about regional issues - a woman teaching disability studies at the Open University is doing her PhD in Botswana, remotely.
Interesting session on developing a reading culture. Zim is a very literate society, but students study for the test. Very few read for leisure. Presenter said that a Westerner once said, "If you want to hide something from an African, put it in a book."
A Dr. talked about his Shona Medical Dictionary. He got tired translating for all his relatives. Indigenous languages are not well developed in STEM. Some said this will be irrelevant in a few years because the younger gen knows English. His motivation - language is the basis of self-esteem. Language transmits knowledge and information, as well as values, beliefs and traditions. People have the impression that the white man is smart because we are learning in his language. NUST lecturer did a study in a rural area. Children never owned a book. The teacher was the one with the book, reading in class. No funding for libraries, books were old. Her final comment:"Donate a Book and Make a Difference."
Second day more talk on piracy and the rights of the authors to make a decent living. Poet performed by whitseling what sounded like a folk song - a woman tgot up to dance and then another one came up to dance and sing a song. Poet commented afterward that is was a magical, unexpected moment. Organizer asked for a volunteer to close the conference with a prayer.
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