Redemption

Teaching teenagers can be challenging, as you may imagine (or in my case, remember what a nightmare I personally was at school!). There are the academics and the non-academics. I categorise myself in the latter, so have sympathy for the vocational training girls who were a little raucous in class and were asked to think about their actions. Fair enough, study sucks in my eyes too, but I didn’t come to Madagascar to raise my voice at children. Eight very solemn girls waited in the evening for me to finish teaching guitar to the boys and upon my exit, grabbed my attention to read out an apology, so thoughtful, sweet and genuine I almost cried. “Dear Denise, we are terribly sorry for being wrong in class. We wont do it again and we are very sorry Denise. The CAMS girls.” There was a sincerity I have never seen before. Needless to say, they were most obliging when I taught them guitar today, all very patient and helping each other with learning chords and strumming. And they made some beautiful pressed flower paper for me. A mutual respect seems to have developed – now that’s what I call redemption..