The Water Cycle
When I first arrived as a primary school teacher in New Guinea I was handed the NSW syllabus. It was a heavy volume that stated precisely what must be taught for the 3 school terms of each year. I thought this would be immensely valuable to me as the curriculum varied considerably from that covered in my State of Victoria. On closer examination, I found that it was a most baffling read. Standard 3: Term 2: Week 13: New Math: Teach double declension. I looked back to Standard 1 — maybe there would be a clue in ‘single declension’? But, no — I had no dictionary, no internet, no reference material, but I did have faint recall that declension belonged to grammar. There is no surer way to strip away confidence than the knowledge that the District Inspector (1) visited every term, (2) disliked Mission teachers, (3) had the power to withdraw Government funding and send me home leaving the children without an education. Somehow I managed to work out what I was meant to teach most of the time. It turned out that declension in New Math in 1967 referred to single digit addition 1+3=5, double digit addition 11+13=24, triple digit addition etc.
Term 2: Week 13: Social Studies: Teach the Water Cycle. I was stuck. Was this about a Water Wheel that powered the Ancient’s mills? It was Friday of Week 13 and Mr Pitt, the DI, was coming this afternoon. I asked the children to take out their Social Studies exercise books and wrote in beautiful big letters on the blackboard “The Water Cycle”. I had no idea what I was going to do next. Lord, have mercy!
The skies opened and a deafening tropical storm pounded our thatched roof. At such times we had a Plan B established — when rain suspends class, take out your remedial work (reading, writing, sums) and practice it. I looked over the wall at the rain pounding the lap laps that the children had draped over the Cordyline plants to dry. They’re not going to dry anytime soon, I thought. Oh, Lord, have mercy! Then just as suddenly the rain stopped. “Put your work away children. Let’s get back to the Water Cycle” I said, still gazing over the wall. Lord, have mercy! The sun broke through and I heard the balus (MAF plane) circling to land. Mr Pitt would be on board. A deep breath – Lord, have mercy! Then the water that fell so rapidly began to rise almost as rapidly. The puddles began to shrink, steam rose from the lap laps and I knew the Water Cycle. Of course I knew the Water Cycle! “Children, God sent us a perfect lesson today. Look out this side.” They scrambled out of their seats to lean over the wall on my side. I was beside myself with excitement. ”Now look out the other side to Mount Turu” — they ran to the other side to see the mist rapidly rising over the airstrip and up to the mountain still shrouded in heavy cloud. I love to draw and I had a good supply of coloured chalks. I began illustrating the Water Cycle as rapidly as I could, explaining, elaborating, calling for comment. The children were excited and fed back their observations which were added to the blackboard. They ran from side to side checking out the puddles and the clouds reforming over the mountain. Some came up and took chalks to add to the mural. I learnt what the flash floods from the headwaters were called in their local language: it would take about 2–3 hours for it to arrive but the deafening sound of rocks tumbling down the gorges, stripping trees and debris in its pathway would strike fear into the hearts of those who lived on the other side of the river. No-one noticed when Mr Pitt entered but if we had we wouldn’t have stopped. This lesson had a life of its own. Finally I asked the children to write and illustrate their understanding of the Water Cycle in their books. Mr Pitt made his way to the front of the class to speak privately with me. “That was the most exciting lesson I have ever witnessed. I will never forget it.” “It doesn’t matter if you do forget it Mr Pitt, as long as these children never forget the joy of shared learning”. I was never afraid of Mr Pitt’s visits again — or that blessed Curriculum volume.
