
Originally Posted by
Robin Banks
I can tell you one thing, the kid that I tutored for a few months last year, Javano, is far from slow. In fact he is one of the brightest, most vibrant and creative children I have ever met. He is a math wizard, the best in his class. He just struggles with reading, and part of the reason for that is because no one speaks English to him in the home or at school and therefore he does not speak any English, only Patoi. The school books are in English. So because of the nature of the Patoi language, connecting the pronunciation of words with the written word is sometimes very confusing. For example, the "h"s and the "th's present a problem. And quite often in Patoi, one puts an "h" in front of a word that starts with a vowel. An egg becomes a hegg, and so on... So I urged his mom to speak as much English to him as possible to get him more familiar with the English that the school books are written in.
E as a ouse in Anover.
Or, He has a house in Hanover.
Nonetheless, tutoring young Javano is one of the really rewarding things that I do in Negril. I urge others to tutor the kids too... someone gave us a shot. Now it's time to give others a shot at life too...
One Love!
Robin
Robin