My School and My Village
Primary 3 · Social and Religious Studies
My School and My Village
Lesson 1 of 3
12 min
Keza walks to school every morning. Today she decided to count the people who were already working before her.
The guard was pulling open the school gate. A woman was sweeping in front of her small shop. A man on a moto was carrying a big sack of potatoes up the hill.
Keza thought: all of these people are working, and all of their work helps me. Who are the people who help you?
A school is not only classrooms and desks. A school is a group of people, and each person has their own work to do.
| Person | The work they do |
|---|---|
| The head teacher | Leads the whole school, helps the teachers, and talks with parents. |
| Your teacher | Teaches the lessons, marks your book, and helps you when you are stuck. |
| The school cook | Cooks the porridge and the beans, so you can learn without being hungry. |
| The cleaner | Keeps the classrooms and the toilets clean, so that nobody falls sick. |
| The guard | Watches the gate and keeps the school and the learners safe. |
| The school nurse | Cleans a wound and helps a learner who suddenly feels ill. |
Every one of these people serves the school. To serve means to do work that helps other people, not only yourself.
Now step outside the school gate. Your village is full of workers too, and each one is trained for a different kind of need.
| Person | The work they do |
|---|---|
| The nurse at the health centre | Checks sick people, gives medicine, and helps babies stay well. |
| The farmer | Grows the beans, bananas and potatoes that your family eats. |
| The shopkeeper | Sells soap, salt, sugar and other things people need every day. |
| The tailor | Sews and mends clothes with cloth, needle and thread. |
| The carpenter | Works with wood: makes and mends desks, doors and chairs. |
| The mason | Builds walls with bricks and cement. |
| The moto driver | Carries people and their loads from place to place. |
| The police officer | Keeps people safe and helps when someone breaks the law. |
| The village leader (umukuru w'umudugudu) | Calls the neighbours to meetings and to umuganda, and listens to problems. |
Some of these workers you see every day. Some you only need once in a long while. All of them matter.
Problem: Mugisha's desk at school has a broken leg. Who should mend it?
Step 1 — Name the need. The desk is made of wood, and the wood is broken. So the need is: fix a piece of wood.
Step 2 — Ask who is trained for that need. Who works with wood every day? The carpenter cuts wood, joins wood and mends wood.
Step 3 — Check the wrong answers. Could the cook mend it? She is trained to cook food, not to work with wood. Could the nurse? She is trained to treat people, not desks.
Answer: the carpenter.
Problem: Umutoni's baby brother is hot with fever and cries all night.
Step 1 — the need: a sick baby must be checked, and he needs medicine.
Step 2 — who is trained: the nurse at the health centre is trained to check sick people and give medicine.
Step 3 — check the wrong answers: the shopkeeper sells things, the tailor sews cloth. Neither one is trained for a fever.
Answer: the nurse at the health centre.
Now the rule, which you have just watched work twice: to find the right helper, first name the need, then name the person who is trained for that need.
Tip
Two questions, every single time
1. What is the need?
2. Who is trained for it?
Answer those two and you will always find the right helper. And remember: no work is small. The cleaner who scrubs your school toilet is stopping you from getting sick today.
For each one, say the need out loud first and say who helps, then tap Show answer to check.
Byiringiro's school shirt is torn at the shoulder. Who can mend it?
Answer: The tailor. The need is sewing cloth, and the tailor is trained to sew.
A new classroom needs walls of brick. Who builds them?
Answer: The mason. The need is building with bricks and cement, and that is the mason's trained work.
At break, Uwase falls on the stones and her knee bleeds. Who helps her first?
Answer: The school nurse, or the teacher who keeps the first-aid box. The need is a wound to be cleaned and covered.
Two boys are quarrelling loudly and will not stop. Who at school helps them settle it?
Answer: Their teacher first, and if it still does not stop, the head teacher. The need is a quarrel that must be settled fairly.
The beans on your family's plate started as seeds in the soil. Who grew them?
Answer: The farmer. Most families in Rwanda farm, so the farmer might be your own mother or father. Say thank you tonight!
What you learned today
Quick check
Match each worker to their work.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
