This nine-year-old, Phlumehlo, is my new best friend. I remember him from years past as a real trouble-maker, but this year he’s anything but trouble. Phlumehlo comes to visit me at my office everyday in the afternoon. He starts by looking into the outside window to see if I’m in, and then comes tearing down the hallway and announces first that he needs a hug. Once he gets his hug, he promptly sits down and fidgets while I write out a sheet of math problems.
It didn’t take long to figure out that Phlumehlo couldn’t tell the difference between the addition and subtraction symbols, so that became our first lesson. Once we graduated to the adding and taking away of fingers, we then started the lesson that we will always have 5 fingers on each hand, no need to count them each time.
With each day he gets a better grasp on things, and while I’m sure he appreciates the help, I imagine that the individual attention is what he’s really seeking each day.
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