Well in the mornings I will be teaching a little boy called Ira following the government correspondence course. Unfortunately his parents only got the syllabus from the ministry this morning so for the last few hours post teaching Runbo, I've been frantically reading everything and then getting objects together for counting and cutting out pictures of Janet and John and sticking them on cardboard, along with cutting out word flashcards. It's a lot of work and I am plunging in the deep end. Glad I just have one student and don't have to do this for over 20. I learned to read with Janet and John and Dick and Sally so it is a memory jerker of a bygone time. It is a bit ironic that they still use these characters as in the blurb to the teachers the ministry belabours the point that the correspondence school was once only for whites but now is for everyone. Perhaps Chido and Rudo might be a more modern take.
Along with reading and writing, I also have to do environmental science, social studies, religious education and home economics. I had thought I was just doing reading and writing but the other units aren't too long and sort of tie in with learning reading and writing. I'm afraid I am not volunteering to teach Shona. Sadly after learning it for 9 years at school I can't understand the basic instructions for the teacher. I think it would be better if Ira's parents could take that on.
I am now being paid in bond notes for some of my teaching which I am not that happy about. You can at least buy most things with them but it is a problem for my medication which the pharmacy will only accept US dollars in cash for - not even the option of paying by card. It also makes it difficult if you want to go out of the country. Some imported products are beginning to disappear from supermarket shelves. Feels like over Christmas we all forgot about it and were merry but now with January we feel the bite again.
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