STORY CORNER : The fun of learning

My name is Amani. I’m a skinny tall boy of 12 years, and my mother calls me her defender and guard. I always wonder about that because I am sure I can’t even guard my little ball from the big tall boys at school. I think my childhood is slipping away from me, the only misfortune that has not yet happened is growing a beard but it soon will. I feel like it was just yesterday when my mother brought me to Nyamata Primary School. I remember that day as if it was yesterday; I was a little chubby boy with short spiky hair. The matron at the school told mother to have it cut shorter because it was the school’s policy. Mother took me to “Kinyozi” who used an old rusty scissor to make my hair more presentable. I can’t say I looked good, I’m sure I looked like a scare crow with all those patches on my head. It’s good we have machines these days, they can give you a very smart hair cut. I remember my first lesson in this school, I can still hear teacher Peace encouraging me to change my piece of chalk from the left hand to the right hand. She said the right hand was to be used for writing and in those good old days writing lessons used to start on a piece of black square board. Each of the children in my class had a board and a piece of colored chalk. There were all kinds of shapes, sizes and colors of chalk. Learning was so much fun. It was a combination of play and play and play. Even scratching those letters on that black board was a game to me. I loved school. Teacher peace was such a wonderful woman. She was forever smiling except this one time when the hot-headed Peter Ndoli annoyed her. She simply gave Peter a good spanking on his bottom and it didn’t hurt at all. I got my share of scolding from her but never a spanking. I always felt that it was a grave sin to annoy teacher Peace. I try to avoid causing troubles. I still say that learning was much more fun in those days. I miss those good old days when learning was fun. I don’t remember doing any exams but I have a report card. Mother keeps all my report cards. She says I should keep them so that I can show them to my children one day. I think I don’t remember doing those exams because they must have been fun too. All I remember is fun reloaded each beautiful sunny day. These days fun is rationed to me on tea spoons because all I do is study. I can’t wait for the holidays because I will have so much fun. dusabe21@yahoo.com