The first floor of the seamstress shop was a religious school. It was only enclosed on three sides with pillars being the only structure in the interior. There were students of a mix of ages represented and some of them were particularly talkative. "What's your name?" and "Where are you from?" appear to be some of the most commonly taught English questions. We didn't manage a full conversation by any means, although Mom had some luck with both french and English. We mostly spoke to the two gentlemen in the foreground, the lad in white hopes to be a journalist and the one in red a doctor. Near as we could tell both were pro-revolutionary, but that isn't a surprise really.. Our guide had mentioned that some English training is on the curriculum in the public schools, although special language schools are popular and offer an immersive approach.
The religious part of the education involved memorizing passages from the Quran. Homework involved taking home a slate with verses etched upon it, which actually reminds me of stories I've heard about the education of Abraham Lincoln. I think the poetic nature of the language helps the students. I suspect that despite the archaic language the King James version of the Bible might be easier to commit to memory than the New Revised Standard Version. One girl gave a lovely recital of some of the text she'd memorized. I did go through Sunday school, although there wasn't that much memorization involved and I'm glad of that. However, I suspect that it is a pedagogical technique that's fairly easy to deploy in places where educational resources are comparatively scarce.
Recent Comments