Date: Fri 26-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

Schools-Africa-Batey

Full Text:

Food For Thought About Africa

(with cut)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

What does a teacher do when there is so much to teach and so little time?

Georgia Batey, sixth grade teacher at Newtown Middle School, had her students

delve into the everyday life and concerns of the people of Africa, ponder

their art, eat their food, and gain a level of respect and understanding that

is uncommon to attain in a 17-day project.

At a luncheon feast called the "Safari Through Africa Day," the students in

Mrs Batey's classes prepared, among other delicacies, Ethiopian beef stew in

red pepper sauce, West African banana fritters, and a yellow corn meal dish

called ugali from Kenya.

Chantal Huskins, a sixth grade student, handed out some very spicy traditional

foods from Benin, the country she studied with classmate Okasana Sokonob.

At the feast, some of the students compared what it would be like to live in

the various countries.

Chantal volunteered that "it would be cool to live there [Benin] because I

would be put to work, picking vegetables, helping out. Girls help their mother

cook and tend to the spice gardens and livestock.

"It's not poor and not old-fashioned there, but I don't like their religion.

It's only Catholic or Islam, and some African tribe religions, not Jewish."

She went on enthusiastically, "You've got to talk to Mrs Batey. She's been all

around the world, and tells us about everything, about things that happened to

her, and about issues, like Somalia."

Chantal then switched back to her reflection on life in Benin. "This is really

surprising. Benin is right on the ocean, but they don't fish! I figured that

they would, but, you see there is no beach, no easy way to get to the water,"

she said, pointing to a map and following the imaginary contours of the land

with her hand.

With a tone of slight disappointment in her voice, she said, "I was going to

dress up, but it was a copy, not authentic, so I didn't think it was good."

Mrs Batey is delighted with this sense of respect for other people that she

sees in Chantal and her classmates.

Mrs Batey recounted all the compliments her students had received while they

viewed the African Art Western Eyes exhibit at Yale University Art Gallery

earlier this fall.

She said that "these kids were as respectful of African Arts as an African is

of their arts. The kids were complimented by the curator and passers-by

alike."