School and the Handyman- Lockdown Lessons
Xaverian Primary School, Kisumu is the school my brother went to.
Kisumu is a small town , nestled on the Banks of the Lake Victoria. Source of the Nile and home to the LUO tribe.Obama for reference has Luo lineage.Obama is a common Luo surname. The Luo word Obam means "to lean or bend".
Transitioning from the school system in India to the Kenyan one for a pre-teen must have been gruelling.Seven AM to five PM was the school schedule with weekly tests.
But the part I want to highlight was that each child was taught home science, laundry,tailoring,basic agriculture and carpentry.
When the lockdown caught up I came to realise that I had no technical help to take care of minor electrical ,plumbing or carpentry issues at home , especially those of an urgent nature. I led a team of 800 such chaps but did not possess their skills.
In my previous role I knew the nuts and bolts of each gunners job, why the difference now. I realised that we have a school system that does not teach you practical aspects of life.
Knowledge of the basic handling of tools is a necessity and I advocate it.Lets use this isolation phase to learn & handle basic household maintenance.
I went on to make a wooden pot holder , my regret is that it took me three days.(Results too amateur to post).
7am - 5pm with weekly tests? must be draining..
Amen to that! I agree one needs those critical survival skills so to speak. It is also a thought process one needs to subscribe to and not the system itself.
So true! We learnt sewing, washing of clothes (including stain removal), cleaning/polishing of shoes, music (how to read and conduct), cooking, woodwork and many other life skills. Many of these things I still practice.