The Importance of Kindergarten

Just a quick observation as I'm annoyed by a store clerk calling me a muzungu, a boda driver saying "we go" as I walk by, and a woman in the Ugandan equivalent of a Kinkos telling me that the virus ridden computer that takes 10 minutes to start up has "refused your frash." (flash)

Ugandan children don't have Kidnergarten. They play in the dirt with balls, empty basins, and old tires, but they don't have coloring books, blocks, clay, or as I always enjoyed, magnets.

All these things allow a child to discover, express themselves, learn fundamentals of problem solving, and learn how things work through experimentation.

Ugandan children, however, start school at about the same age reciting whatever ridiculous curriculum is being spewed out by the ministry of education at the time. Thinking for yourselves is discouraged, regardless of whether the instructor says 2+2=5.

When I did my lifeskills 3 day workshop in February I put up a timeline of my life on the board as a demonstration and then asked the children to draw the timeline of their life. They copied my life, including going to Clemson, quitting my job, and joining the Peace Corps. This is one of the biggest frustrations because I believe that the only development is education, everything else is just aid.