Today one hears harrowing stories in Uganda about how hard it has become for rural families to get their children and especially daughters, through the primary school years successfully. It would appear that there are enormous difficulties in getting children to master the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, let alone to learn and apply the basics of personal hygiene, an acceptable work ethic and respect for individuals and institutions.

In a spirit of wishing to demonstrate how some rural parents used to pursue and accomplish successfully an education for their children, this book tells the story of how Ntaanya negotiated her 12-year passage through various home and modern schools in a rural village in 1950s.

All the stories in this short book are based on actual events spanning a twelve year period generally corresponding to the period when I was growing up in a rural village. The book attempts to show that perhaps the modern school is paying far too much attention to the mechanics of school learning and in the processes it is eroding the complementary work of a variety of traditional learning agencies that in the past, not only provided a child with their first mental and practical curriculum but also greatly supported and consolidated the skills taught in the modern school.

While the book does not deal directly with the curriculum of the modern school, it pays a great deal of attention to describing what a young girl learned from the cultural and home environment right from very early childhood.

Starting with the processes of naming a girl child, the foundational lessons for a child�s identity were laid. Sometimes the lessons were accidental as when Muzeeyi and Mugabi�s baby daughter ends up receiving a name Ntaanya meaning �trouble - when the woman from whom she must inherit the name is already in trouble and has been ostracized by her family, and therefore can never be a positive role model for Ntaanya. Muzeeyi is made aware of this when she introduces Ntaanya to Nasedde, Muzeeyi�s father-in-law.

At other times the lessons are subtle and not actually meant for the child. For example, weaning a toddler would seem like a simple and straightforward matter but it is not so for Muzeeyi who had previously suffered nine miscarriages before Ntaanya came along. The village matriarch and respected traditional birth attendant Zakuzza sees clearly a future problem� a child that gets spoilt by an over protective mother and her foster children that are eager to please.

Zakuzza speaks her mind and Muzeeyi and Mugabi must obey a village elder. They take action immediately by removing Ntaanya from their home to her maternal grandmother�s residence � located some fifteen miles away, where a well functioning weaning school has been operating for many years.

The wisdom and psychology of weaning away from home is amply demonstrated by Digonda�s handling of Ntaanya. Digonda knows that the first step of removing the breast as the focal locus of getting a child spoilt has been achieved by distance. Therefore, Digonda continues to provide Ntaanya with all the other elements of any child�s expectations as the center of attention. Yet during this period, Digonda ensures that Ntaanya starts on her learning to shape her character, to consolidate her identity and to learn to participate in all the chores and activities that support a thriving household and its industry, including learning to fetch water and preparing herbal medicines, which is Digonda�s specialization.

Importantly Ntaanya�s need to play is neither ignored nor taken for granted. As a matter of fact it is emphasized but in a very practical way where Ntaanya learns how to make her own dolls and play cows with the assistance of Digonda and older children in the household. In addition, Ntaanya goes out exploring with the other older children including participating in the harvesting termites, grasshoppers and mushrooms that sprout during the day.

The final step in the weaning process is implemented when Ntaanya�s cousin Simon arrives for his own weaning without Ntaanya being warned. Ntaanya, who we might think has not been well prepared for this step, is actually prepared because when she is threatened with caning she knows better than to go on displaying publically her jealousy towards Simon. However, it is evident that she has begun to grapple with what it means to be abandoned and to become a subject of betrayal by Digonda and the other children in the household. But, at the end of her participation in the termite harvesting adventure, which presents a number of challenges, Ntaanya appreciates that her grandmother, in previously refusing her to go with the other children, had all along been protecting her.

Ntaanya�s reunion after three months of separation with her mother is full of ambivalence. On one hand Ntaanya is dying to hug her mother. Yet she also wants to pretend that she has not recognized the mother especially since she is not sure whether or not the mother has come for her. In the end Ntaanya�s desire to make her grandmother feel abandoned by Ntaanya, overrides her resentment towards her mother.

Ntaanya�s skilling up in the chores and tasks of a woman in a household is ratcheted to a new level when she returns to her home after three months at the weaning school. Ntaanya�s mother apprentices her in all the tasks that a rural woman has to do on a daily basis � cultivating and planting and harvesting crops, preparing, cooking and presenting different types of foods and sauces, washing up and fetching water and firewood. Interestingly both Mugabi and Muzeeyi handle the personal hygiene issues each from their roles as constructed by society.

A great deal of time is spent learning weaving baskets and mats and the importance of producing these items is demonstrated daily not only in their uses but also by the constant reference to the characters of those individuals who own or do not such objects.

An important aspect of the home curriculum is to teach a child that there is a big world of people and events beyond the household and the village. Thus the emphasis in Mugabi�s household on learning and practicing religion, the telling and critiquing of folktales, idioms and proverbs and the teaching and practicing of literacy development.

Two events are interposed between Ntaanya�s completion of the basic elements of the cultural and home school and beginning the modern school, namely attending a funeral of a close relative and getting a first hair cut. At a funeral Ntaanya meets one of her aunts who, insists that Ntaanya should have her hair locks shaved off as demanded by tradition after a relative�s death. Ntaanya�s aunt has no idea of the importance of the hair locks to Ntaanya�s notion of beauty as espoused by Digonda.

Ntaanya refuses to have her hair locks cut and exhibits one of the more violent acts in her life so far, biting her aunt and leaving on the hands a set of wounds. Ntaanya�s father Mugabi is correct is asserting that Ntaanya does not yet understand why she should lose her hair locks which she regards as a sign of beauty. In other words the incentive of simply obeying tradition is not yet concrete enough for Ntaanya to act on when something of importance to her is involved.

However, losing the hair locks is destined to become an important ritual for Ntaanya as she transits from one type of institution to the other. Back home Ntaanya receives several school uniforms, a book bag and pencils all items that fascinate her and which her mother says she will need in order to start at the modern school. When confronted by the requirement to have her hair locks cut off since the institution of school does not allow hair locks, Ntaanya finally and miserably surrenders not because she wants to go to school but because she has clearly understood the incentive - she will lose the uniforms to the shopkeeper if she does not relinquish the hair locks.

The humor that runs through all the stories demonstrates the various ways in which rural children and adults created etiquette, firm relationships and fun for themselves from what might have appeared to outsiders to be a humdrum existence. For instance the descriptions of the residents and activities in the four houses on the way to school, Koreta the woman bicycle rider, Lukuye the man who ladles sauce in his household, Kintu who owns a starved dog and Kawule the organizer of a near fatal termite eating competition � all give a glimpse of these experiences. Yet there are extremes and dangers as descriptions of the alcohol making enterprises reveal.

When Ntaanya finally enters the modern school she engages with the usual routines of school assemblies and classes presided over by a cast of characters that Ntaanya has to elucidate in order to find her niche in the school. The school curriculum opens her eyes to new types of knowledge in nature study, arithmetic, history, geography, Luganda � the local language - and a bit of English. All instruction is conducted in Luganda and not surprisingly some of the new content for example, that in a nature study lesson about the digestive system is in sharp contradiction to what is espoused by her greatest teacher Muzeeyi. Similarly, the classroom study of the ant lion illuminates the partial knowledge that had been provided by a relative of Lukeria and as a result brings back to reasonableness the two girls� aspirations for their bodies� development. The teaching of the English language by a teacher who claims to speak Queen�s English is both hilarious and amazingly innovative for its time.

One of the unfortunate links between the home and modern school graphically described in the book was the delivery of punishment using the technique of caning. While Digonda had used a gentler type of cane, a small portion of the midriff of a banana leaf, the school uses a big stick. Children�s fear and powerlessness toward the cane was demonstrated by the various devious ways that they were forced to invent in order to circumvent corporal punishment. Equally palpable was the contempt children held for the head teacher who delivered corporal punishment as vividly demonstrated when the whole school got a rare opportunity to taunt and ridicule his ego.

The simultaneous teaching and learning in the two types of schools is described throughout the book. And it is clear that the cultural and traditional component of such an education was as important as that offered by the modern school. But it is also evident that while the home respected very much the modern school, activities and attitudes at the modern school were already starting to erode such respect and trust as described in the chapter on innovations in school. It is clear that the modern school tended to use discipline to stifle the innovations that would have improved the learning experiences of students. Yet when teachers were aware of some discrepancy in the characters of non-school adults, they hesitated to use the same disciplinary measure against the children so as to protect the reputation of the non school adults as amply demonstrated in the story about the cannibals on church hill.

In the chapter on the banana grove, it is interesting that Ntaanya is invited back to Digonda�s weaning school but this time to learn to do one of the most important jobs of a woman in those days to plant and care for a respectable banana plantation. Digonda tells the Ntanya and her cousins that she is not going to wait until they get married in order to teach them the development of a thriving household. The cooperative nature of such an endeavor are amply demonstrated where teenagers, women, neighbors and workmen play their part in establishing a modern banana plantation.

In the last chapter Ntaanya�s maternal grandmother and mentor Digonda dies. This event exposes Ntaanya to a new set of important traditional rituals to which she has initial apprehension. However, a trusted relative gives her an explanation regarding the purpose of the rituals. This not only greatly eases her sorrow over the departure of her grandmother but also enables her to look forward to participating in these rituals as the most respectful and loving manner in which to put her grandmother to final rest.

Finally the wholesomeness of the schooling that Ntaanya and her classmates had received is underscored because the school makes no special preparations for Ntaanya and her classmates to sit the national primary leaving examination. Unlike today when there is a whole huge industry on examination preparation which nevertheless, leaves more than sixty percent of candidates as failures, Ntaanya and her twenty four classmates all passed the examination. Ntaanya has no particular emotions when saying farewell to her classmates because she has already learned that nothing is permanent except her grandmother�s grave.

Today one hears harrowing stories in Uganda about how hard it has become for rural families to get their children and especially daughters, through the primary school years successfully. It would appear that there are enormous difficulties in getting children to master the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, let alone to learn and apply the basics of personal hygiene, an acceptable work ethic and respect for individuals and institutions.

In a spirit of wishing to demonstrate how some rural parents used to pursue and accomplish successfully an education for their children, this book tells the story of how Ntaanya negotiated her 12-year passage through various home and modern schools in a rural village in 1950s.

All the stories in this short book are based on actual events spanning a twelve year period generally corresponding to the period when I was growing up in a rural village. The book attempts to show that perhaps the modern school is paying far too much attention to the mechanics of school learning and in the processes it is eroding the complementary work of a variety of traditional learning agencies that in the past, not only provided a child with their first mental and practical curriculum but also greatly supported and consolidated the skills taught in the modern school.

While the book does not deal directly with the curriculum of the modern school, it pays a great deal of attention to describing what a young girl learned from the cultural and home environment right from very early childhood.

Starting with the processes of naming a girl child, the foundational lessons for a child�s identity were laid. Sometimes the lessons were accidental as when Muzeeyi and Mugabi�s baby daughter ends up receiving a name Ntaanya meaning �trouble - when the woman from whom she must inherit the name is already in trouble and has been ostracized by her family, and therefore can never be a positive role model for Ntaanya. Muzeeyi is made aware of this when she introduces Ntaanya to Nasedde, Muzeeyi�s father-in-law.

At other times the lessons are subtle and not actually meant for the child. For example, weaning a toddler would seem like a simple and straightforward matter but it is not so for Muzeeyi who had previously suffered nine miscarriages before Ntaanya came along. The village matriarch and respected traditional birth attendant Zakuzza sees clearly a future problem� a child that gets spoilt by an over protective mother and her foster children that are eager to please.

Zakuzza speaks her mind and Muzeeyi and Mugabi must obey a village elder. They take action immediately by removing Ntaanya from their home to her maternal grandmother�s residence � located some fifteen miles away, where a well functioning weaning school has been operating for many years.

The wisdom and psychology of weaning away from home is amply demonstrated by Digonda�s handling of Ntaanya. Digonda knows that the first step of removing the breast as the focal locus of getting a child spoilt has been achieved by distance. Therefore, Digonda continues to provide Ntaanya with all the other elements of any child�s expectations as the center of attention. Yet during this period, Digonda ensures that Ntaanya starts on her learning to shape her character, to consolidate her identity and to learn to participate in all the chores and activities that support a thriving household and its industry, including learning to fetch water and preparing herbal medicines, which is Digonda�s specialization.

Importantly Ntaanya�s need to play is neither ignored nor taken for granted. As a matter of fact it is emphasized but in a very practical way where Ntaanya learns how to make her own dolls and play cows with the assistance of Digonda and older children in the household. In addition, Ntaanya goes out exploring with the other older children including participating in the harvesting termites, grasshoppers and mushrooms that sprout during the day.

The final step in the weaning process is implemented when Ntaanya�s cousin Simon arrives for his own weaning without Ntaanya being warned. Ntaanya, who we might think has not been well prepared for this step, is actually prepared because when she is threatened with caning she knows better than to go on displaying publically her jealousy towards Simon. However, it is evident that she has begun to grapple with what it means to be abandoned and to become a subject of betrayal by Digonda and the other children in the household. But, at the end of her participation in the termite harvesting adventure, which presents a number of challenges, Ntaanya appreciates that her grandmother, in previously refusing her to go with the other children, had all along been protecting her.

Ntaanya�s reunion after three months of separation with her mother is full of ambivalence. On one hand Ntaanya is dying to hug her mother. Yet she also wants to pretend that she has not recognized the mother especially since she is not sure whether or not the mother has come for her. In the end Ntaanya�s desire to make her grandmother feel abandoned by Ntaanya, overrides her resentment towards her mother.

Ntaanya�s skilling up in the chores and tasks of a woman in a household is ratcheted to a new level when she returns to her home after three months at the weaning school. Ntaanya�s mother apprentices her in all the tasks that a rural woman has to do on a daily basis � cultivating and planting and harvesting crops, preparing, cooking and presenting different types of foods and sauces, washing up and fetching water and firewood. Interestingly both Mugabi and Muzeeyi handle the personal hygiene issues each from their roles as constructed by society.

A great deal of time is spent learning weaving baskets and mats and the importance of producing these items is demonstrated daily not only in their uses but also by the constant reference to the characters of those individuals who own or do not such objects.

An important aspect of the home curriculum is to teach a child that there is a big world of people and events beyond the household and the village. Thus the emphasis in Mugabi�s household on learning and practicing religion, the telling and critiquing of folktales, idioms and proverbs and the teaching and practicing of literacy development.

Two events are interposed between Ntaanya�s completion of the basic elements of the cultural and home school and beginning the modern school, namely attending a funeral of a close relative and getting a first hair cut. At a funeral Ntaanya meets one of her aunts who, insists that Ntaanya should have her hair locks shaved off as demanded by tradition after a relative�s death. Ntaanya�s aunt has no idea of the importance of the hair locks to Ntaanya�s notion of beauty as espoused by Digonda.

Ntaanya refuses to have her hair locks cut and exhibits one of the more violent acts in her life so far, biting her aunt and leaving on the hands a set of wounds. Ntaanya�s father Mugabi is correct is asserting that Ntaanya does not yet understand why she should lose her hair locks which she regards as a sign of beauty. In other words the incentive of simply obeying tradition is not yet concrete enough for Ntaanya to act on when something of importance to her is involved.

However, losing the hair locks is destined to become an important ritual for Ntaanya as she transits from one type of institution to the other. Back home Ntaanya receives several school uniforms, a book bag and pencils all items that fascinate her and which her mother says she will need in order to start at the modern school. When confronted by the requirement to have her hair locks cut off since the institution of school does not allow hair locks, Ntaanya finally and miserably surrenders not because she wants to go to school but because she has clearly understood the incentive - she will lose the uniforms to the shopkeeper if she does not relinquish the hair locks.

The humor that runs through all the stories demonstrates the various ways in which rural children and adults created etiquette, firm relationships and fun for themselves from what might have appeared to outsiders to be a humdrum existence. For instance the descriptions of the residents and activities in the four houses on the way to school, Koreta the woman bicycle rider, Lukuye the man who ladles sauce in his household, Kintu who owns a starved dog and Kawule the organizer of a near fatal termite eating competition � all give a glimpse of these experiences. Yet there are extremes and dangers as descriptions of the alcohol making enterprises reveal.

When Ntaanya finally enters the modern school she engages with the usual routines of school assemblies and classes presided over by a cast of characters that Ntaanya has to elucidate in order to find her niche in the school. The school curriculum opens her eyes to new types of knowledge in nature study, arithmetic, history, geography, Luganda � the local language - and a bit of English. All instruction is conducted in Luganda and not surprisingly some of the new content for example, that in a nature study lesson about the digestive system is in sharp contradiction to what is espoused by her greatest teacher Muzeeyi. Similarly, the classroom study of the ant lion illuminates the partial knowledge that had been provided by a relative of Lukeria and as a result brings back to reasonableness the two girls� aspirations for their bodies� development. The teaching of the English language by a teacher who claims to speak Queen�s English is both hilarious and amazingly innovative for its time.

One of the unfortunate links between the home and modern school graphically described in the book was the delivery of punishment using the technique of caning. While Digonda had used a gentler type of cane, a small portion of the midriff of a banana leaf, the school uses a big stick. Children�s fear and powerlessness toward the cane was demonstrated by the various devious ways that they were forced to invent in order to circumvent corporal punishment. Equally palpable was the contempt children held for the head teacher who delivered corporal punishment as vividly demonstrated when the whole school got a rare opportunity to taunt and ridicule his ego.

The simultaneous teaching and learning in the two types of schools is described throughout the book. And it is clear that the cultural and traditional component of such an education was as important as that offered by the modern school. But it is also evident that while the home respected very much the modern school, activities and attitudes at the modern school were already starting to erode such respect and trust as described in the chapter on innovations in school. It is clear that the modern school tended to use discipline to stifle the innovations that would have improved the learning experiences of students. Yet when teachers were aware of some discrepancy in the characters of non-school adults, they hesitated to use the same disciplinary measure against the children so as to protect the reputation of the non school adults as amply demonstrated in the story about the cannibals on church hill.

In the chapter on the banana grove, it is interesting that Ntaanya is invited back to Digonda�s weaning school but this time to learn to do one of the most important jobs of a woman in those days to plant and care for a respectable banana plantation. Digonda tells the Ntanya and her cousins that she is not going to wait until they get married in order to teach them the development of a thriving household. The cooperative nature of such an endeavor are amply demonstrated where teenagers, women, neighbors and workmen play their part in establishing a modern banana plantation.

In the last chapter Ntaanya�s maternal grandmother and mentor Digonda dies. This event exposes Ntaanya to a new set of important traditional rituals to which she has initial apprehension. However, a trusted relative gives her an explanation regarding the purpose of the rituals. This not only greatly eases her sorrow over the departure of her grandmother but also enables her to look forward to participating in these rituals as the most respectful and loving manner in which to put her grandmother to final rest.

Finally the wholesomeness of the schooling that Ntaanya and her classmates had received is underscored because the school makes no special preparations for Ntaanya and her classmates to sit the national primary leaving examination. Unlike today when there is a whole huge industry on examination preparation which nevertheless, leaves more than sixty percent of candidates as failures, Ntaanya and her twenty four classmates all passed the examination. Ntaanya has no particular emotions when saying farewell to her classmates because she has already learned that nothing is permanent except her grandmother�s grave.

Today one hears harrowing stories in Uganda about how hard it has become for rural families to get their children and especially daughters, through the primary school years successfully. It would appear that there are enormous difficulties in getting children to master the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, let alone to learn and apply the basics of personal hygiene, an acceptable work ethic and respect for individuals and institutions.

In a spirit of wishing to demonstrate how some rural parents used to pursue and accomplish successfully an education for their children, this book tells the story of how Ntaanya negotiated her 12-year passage through various home and modern schools in a rural village in 1950s.

All the stories in this short book are based on actual events spanning a twelve year period generally corresponding to the period when I was growing up in a rural village. The book attempts to show that perhaps the modern school is paying far too much attention to the mechanics of school learning and in the processes it is eroding the complementary work of a variety of traditional learning agencies that in the past, not only provided a child with their first mental and practical curriculum but also greatly supported and consolidated the skills taught in the modern school.

While the book does not deal directly with the curriculum of the modern school, it pays a great deal of attention to describing what a young girl learned from the cultural and home environment right from very early childhood.

Starting with the processes of naming a girl child, the foundational lessons for a child�s identity were laid. Sometimes the lessons were accidental as when Muzeeyi and Mugabi�s baby daughter ends up receiving a name Ntaanya meaning �trouble - when the woman from whom she must inherit the name is already in trouble and has been ostracized by her family, and therefore can never be a positive role model for Ntaanya. Muzeeyi is made aware of this when she introduces Ntaanya to Nasedde, Muzeeyi�s father-in-law.

At other times the lessons are subtle and not actually meant for the child. For example, weaning a toddler would seem like a simple and straightforward matter but it is not so for Muzeeyi who had previously suffered nine miscarriages before Ntaanya came along. The village matriarch and respected traditional birth attendant Zakuzza sees clearly a future problem� a child that gets spoilt by an over protective mother and her foster children that are eager to please.

Zakuzza speaks her mind and Muzeeyi and Mugabi must obey a village elder. They take action immediately by removing Ntaanya from their home to her maternal grandmother�s residence � located some fifteen miles away, where a well functioning weaning school has been operating for many years.

The wisdom and psychology of weaning away from home is amply demonstrated by Digonda�s handling of Ntaanya. Digonda knows that the first step of removing the breast as the focal locus of getting a child spoilt has been achieved by distance. Therefore, Digonda continues to provide Ntaanya with all the other elements of any child�s expectations as the center of attention. Yet during this period, Digonda ensures that Ntaanya starts on her learning to shape her character, to consolidate her identity and to learn to participate in all the chores and activities that support a thriving household and its industry, including learning to fetch water and preparing herbal medicines, which is Digonda�s specialization.

Importantly Ntaanya�s need to play is neither ignored nor taken for granted. As a matter of fact it is emphasized but in a very practical way where Ntaanya learns how to make her own dolls and play cows with the assistance of Digonda and older children in the household. In addition, Ntaanya goes out exploring with the other older children including participating in the harvesting termites, grasshoppers and mushrooms that sprout during the day.

The final step in the weaning process is implemented when Ntaanya�s cousin Simon arrives for his own weaning without Ntaanya being warned. Ntaanya, who we might think has not been well prepared for this step, is actually prepared because when she is threatened with caning she knows better than to go on displaying publically her jealousy towards Simon. However, it is evident that she has begun to grapple with what it means to be abandoned and to become a subject of betrayal by Digonda and the other children in the household. But, at the end of her participation in the termite harvesting adventure, which presents a number of challenges, Ntaanya appreciates that her grandmother, in previously refusing her to go with the other children, had all along been protecting her.

Ntaanya�s reunion after three months of separation with her mother is full of ambivalence. On one hand Ntaanya is dying to hug her mother. Yet she also wants to pretend that she has not recognized the mother especially since she is not sure whether or not the mother has come for her. In the end Ntaanya�s desire to make her grandmother feel abandoned by Ntaanya, overrides her resentment towards her mother.

Ntaanya�s skilling up in the chores and tasks of a woman in a household is ratcheted to a new level when she returns to her home after three months at the weaning school. Ntaanya�s mother apprentices her in all the tasks that a rural woman has to do on a daily basis � cultivating and planting and harvesting crops, preparing, cooking and presenting different types of foods and sauces, washing up and fetching water and firewood. Interestingly both Mugabi and Muzeeyi handle the personal hygiene issues each from their roles as constructed by society.

A great deal of time is spent learning weaving baskets and mats and the importance of producing these items is demonstrated daily not only in their uses but also by the constant reference to the characters of those individuals who own or do not such objects.

An important aspect of the home curriculum is to teach a child that there is a big world of people and events beyond the household and the village. Thus the emphasis in Mugabi�s household on learning and practicing religion, the telling and critiquing of folktales, idioms and proverbs and the teaching and practicing of literacy development.

Two events are interposed between Ntaanya�s completion of the basic elements of the cultural and home school and beginning the modern school, namely attending a funeral of a close relative and getting a first hair cut. At a funeral Ntaanya meets one of her aunts who, insists that Ntaanya should have her hair locks shaved off as demanded by tradition after a relative�s death. Ntaanya�s aunt has no idea of the importance of the hair locks to Ntaanya�s notion of beauty as espoused by Digonda.

Ntaanya refuses to have her hair locks cut and exhibits one of the more violent acts in her life so far, biting her aunt and leaving on the hands a set of wounds. Ntaanya�s father Mugabi is correct is asserting that Ntaanya does not yet understand why she should lose her hair locks which she regards as a sign of beauty. In other words the incentive of simply obeying tradition is not yet concrete enough for Ntaanya to act on when something of importance to her is involved.

However, losing the hair locks is destined to become an important ritual for Ntaanya as she transits from one type of institution to the other. Back home Ntaanya receives several school uniforms, a book bag and pencils all items that fascinate her and which her mother says she will need in order to start at the modern school. When confronted by the requirement to have her hair locks cut off since the institution of school does not allow hair locks, Ntaanya finally and miserably surrenders not because she wants to go to school but because she has clearly understood the incentive - she will lose the uniforms to the shopkeeper if she does not relinquish the hair locks.

The humor that runs through all the stories demonstrates the various ways in which rural children and adults created etiquette, firm relationships and fun for themselves from what might have appeared to outsiders to be a humdrum existence. For instance the descriptions of the residents and activities in the four houses on the way to school, Koreta the woman bicycle rider, Lukuye the man who ladles sauce in his household, Kintu who owns a starved dog and Kawule the organizer of a near fatal termite eating competition � all give a glimpse of these experiences. Yet there are extremes and dangers as descriptions of the alcohol making enterprises reveal.

When Ntaanya finally enters the modern school she engages with the usual routines of school assemblies and classes presided over by a cast of characters that Ntaanya has to elucidate in order to find her niche in the school. The school curriculum opens her eyes to new types of knowledge in nature study, arithmetic, history, geography, Luganda � the local language - and a bit of English. All instruction is conducted in Luganda and not surprisingly some of the new content for example, that in a nature study lesson about the digestive system is in sharp contradiction to what is espoused by her greatest teacher Muzeeyi. Similarly, the classroom study of the ant lion illuminates the partial knowledge that had been provided by a relative of Lukeria and as a result brings back to reasonableness the two girls� aspirations for their bodies� development. The teaching of the English language by a teacher who claims to speak Queen�s English is both hilarious and amazingly innovative for its time.

One of the unfortunate links between the home and modern school graphically described in the book was the delivery of punishment using the technique of caning. While Digonda had used a gentler type of cane, a small portion of the midriff of a banana leaf, the school uses a big stick. Children�s fear and powerlessness toward the cane was demonstrated by the various devious ways that they were forced to invent in order to circumvent corporal punishment. Equally palpable was the contempt children held for the head teacher who delivered corporal punishment as vividly demonstrated when the whole school got a rare opportunity to taunt and ridicule his ego.

The simultaneous teaching and learning in the two types of schools is described throughout the book. And it is clear that the cultural and traditional component of such an education was as important as that offered by the modern school. But it is also evident that while the home respected very much the modern school, activities and attitudes at the modern school were already starting to erode such respect and trust as described in the chapter on innovations in school. It is clear that the modern school tended to use discipline to stifle the innovations that would have improved the learning experiences of students. Yet when teachers were aware of some discrepancy in the characters of non-school adults, they hesitated to use the same disciplinary measure against the children so as to protect the reputation of the non school adults as amply demonstrated in the story about the cannibals on church hill.

In the chapter on the banana grove, it is interesting that Ntaanya is invited back to Digonda�s weaning school but this time to learn to do one of the most important jobs of a woman in those days to plant and care for a respectable banana plantation. Digonda tells the Ntanya and her cousins that she is not going to wait until they get married in order to teach them the development of a thriving household. The cooperative nature of such an endeavor are amply demonstrated where teenagers, women, neighbors and workmen play their part in establishing a modern banana plantation.

In the last chapter Ntaanya�s maternal grandmother and mentor Digonda dies. This event exposes Ntaanya to a new set of important traditional rituals to which she has initial apprehension. However, a trusted relative gives her an explanation regarding the purpose of the rituals. This not only greatly eases her sorrow over the departure of her grandmother but also enables her to look forward to participating in these rituals as the most respectful and loving manner in which to put her grandmother to final rest.

Finally the wholesomeness of the schooling that Ntaanya and her classmates had received is underscored because the school makes no special preparations for Ntaanya and her classmates to sit the national primary leaving examination. Unlike today when there is a whole huge industry on examination preparation which nevertheless, leaves more than sixty percent of candidates as failures, Ntaanya and her twenty four classmates all passed the examination. Ntaanya has no particular emotions when saying farewell to her classmates because she has already learned that nothing is permanent except her grandmother�s grave.