�2 continued from last week
In my continuing discussions with some primary school children from Lambeau Anglican Primary, Mrs Romeo, the school's principal, brings a little girl to me so that I can ask her what she thinks of the school's motto–"The Best Always.""I'm six, but I'm going to be seven on Sunday," the girl informs me. For her, being the best always means being kind, obeying her teacher and sharing.
"Sharing?" I ask.
"Yes. I share my snacks with my friends. Tortillaz."
I ask her what she wants to be when she grows up.
Girl: A doctor ... so if my mummy and daddy get sick, I can help them."
Me: I guess they help you too when you're sick.
Girl: Yes. They give me medication, water and take me to the doctor.
"And what's something else they give you that they don't have to buy?" I ask, thinking she might say something like "Love" ... but clearly she's not so clich�.
Girl: Fiddlewood!
Me: Fiddlewood?
The little girl laughs, as if I've just said I don't know what an avocado is.
Me: Am I supposed to know what it is?
Girl: Yes!
Me: Because everyone else knows?
Girl: Yes! (Still laughing)
Me: I know it must be some kind of bush, but I've never seen or tasted it.
Girl: It does taste bitter.
Me: They make tea for you with it?
Girl: Not tea! It's a bush! They boil it in the pot.
Me: You can make a tea by boiling bush in a pot.
Girl: It's fiddlewood! Daddy pick it in the bush.
Having had my herbal education, I move on to the next interviewee, an eight-year old boy who informs me that the thing he's best at is football and that the best thing about school is learning.
"And what's best about home?" I ask.
"It don't be hot. In the back have a gully. We have a big garden. Lots of trees and plenty things like snakes, owl and 'gouti. I catch a 'gouti before. It was jumping by the mango tree. I put a rope and a cage thing, stand up on the tree and let go it and wait 'til
it jump up and the bottom part close down."
He tells me that he still has the agouti, as a pet, but that it has no name.
Subsequent to my conversations with the Lambeau children, I called around to different primary schools to see what their mottos are. Interestingly, three other schools (L'Anse Fourmi Methodist Primary, Black Rock Government Primary, Bon Accord Government Primary) all have the same motto: "The Best Always."
May the following mottos be a list of inspiring guidelines for all of us in whatever we do–today and beyond:
"Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well." (Castara Government Primary School)
"Our best." (Charlotteville Methodist Primary School)
"Success comes to us by the will to rise whenever we fall." (Hope AC Primary School)
"Aim high reach for the sky." (Belle Garden AC Primary School)
"Unite to Excel." (Mason Hall Government Primary School)
Mrs Charles, Mason Hall's principal, tells me that every morning after they sing the national anthem, the children recite the school's pledge and motto. She reminds them to not just say it, but to give it meaning.
"Children must learn to come together for the best," she says. "When you pulling and tugging, things don't work well. If you have that motto in front of you all the time, and it's in your heart and not your head, it will move you to do the right thing."