Africa in Transition Workshop

Martha Green on Nigeria and Chinua Achebe

My introduction to the conflict that currently plagues Nigeria was through the pages of Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart which I read with my AP English class at Anderson-Shiro High School. I was shocked by the brutality and corruption that Achebe described and yet drawn to the author’s use of Igbo language and Nigerian folk tales used to illustrate social issues. Workshop speaker Paul Obiazi, a Nigerian native, assured me that Achebe’s view of Nigeria continues to be accurate in spite of the fact that the book was written in 1959. The book’s title comes from a poem, "The Second Coming," by William Butler Yeats and is eerily prophetic today.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

Speaking out about the 1983 election in The Trouble with Nigeria, Chinua Achebe wrote, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else.”

In his presentation, Paul stated Nigeria’s future is bright and emphasized that hope for the future lies in strong civilian leadership and unity.

Sometime things just don’t work out like you planned. I designed a digital version of the Nigerian folk tale, The Tortoise and the Birds, with the text taken from chapter 11 of Things Fall Apart to share with workshop participants, but there was not time to show the video. Watch to see if you can identify the social issues that Achebe illustrates in the tale.

Linda Edwards visits with Dr. Mary Ghong

I am struck by how little most of us know about Africa and actually about many countries on this continent. Africa holds a wealth of mystery that textbooks just don’t cover. This past week the Texas A&M World Room programs hosted a K-12 teacher workshop on Africa in Transition. Dr. Mary Ghong provided insight into the tiny country of Cameroon and cultural challenges that Cameroonian children who migrate to the U.S face. Dr. Ghong introduced Texas teachers to the taste of baked plantains, and taught them how to dance the Makossa. According to Mary, there is no stress in Cameroon because everyone loves to dance.

Cameroon is a country that I knew existed but really had no real knowledge of. Interestingly, the very next day after the workshop, I heard a news story on television about Cameroon. I paid attention. I’m not sure I would have listened before hearing Dr. Ghong speak on the Impact of Socio-cultural Differences: The case of Cameroonian children in the U.S. Listen to her podcast and see if you begin to hear the name of the country of Cameroon again as I did.

Linda Edwards talks with Dr. Darryl de Ruiter

Whether you believe in evolution or the divine creation of man, the discovery of bones that are thousands of years old is interesting. The mind takes flight as you imagine how these people lived and where they traveled. Research that is conducted in South Africa opens up some of the mysteries of modern man, how he looked, what he ate, and where he may have migrated. During a teacher’s workshop on May 4 on Africa in Transition, Dr. Darryl de Ruiter, professor of Anthropology at Texas A&M gave a presentation on The Pre-History of Africa: Searching for the Origins of Modern Humans in South Africa. I had an opportunity to talk with Dr. De Ruiter about his research on human origins following the presentation. Listen to Dr. deRuiter discuss: Evolutionary Principles and Changes in Climate and Geology, Early Hominid Fossils in Africa, and the Development of Modern Humans and Surviving Global Warming.

Martha Green with Danielle Bolks

I have to admit that English is my “only” language in spite of classes in both Spanish and French. I cannot imagine how frightening it must be to arrive in a new country where you do not know that language. Coming to the United States offers great hope to refugees who have been caught in political conflict in Africa, but I was struck by the challenges of relocation as I visited with Danielle Bolks, Supervisor of the Refugee Resettlement Program for Catholic Charities in Houston. Listen to the podcast to hear Ms. Bolks talk about how teachers can help students from another culture adjust in the classroom.

Great classroom writing project on Africa
Take a look and send a message of support to the teacher and students

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Merry Merryfield through the Global Studies list serve at the Ohio State University about an innovative classroom project on Africa: (world727@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu)

Mrs. Mead's 4th grade class at Pecan Creek Elementary in Denton, Texas, is writing, publishing and selling a book titled "More Than Just A Mvule Tree" for $5 per copy. All monies will be used to purchase Mvule trees to be planted in Uganda and maintained by Ugandan children to fund education through the Kibo Group http://www.kibogroup.org.

The press release stated, "We are having our book release event on Friday, May 11th in the Pecan Creek Elementary Cafeteria from 2:00-2:30 p.m.” You can reach teacher Natalie Mead at nmead@dentonisd.org.

Take a look at Mrs. Mead's Fourth Grade web page and at the Kibo Group's description of the Mvule project. Visit http://www.dentonisd.org/nmead and http://www.kibogroup.org.