Jamal

Every Thursday around 6 pm, I take the metro from Metro Center and take the blue line toward Largo, and get off at Benning Road. From there, Denaka picks me up and we head to La Iglesia Luz where we and several other students from Howard University's School of Law participate in a tutoring program. Tonight, as I do every night, I worked with Jamal. An eighth grader from Maryland. He was just wrapping up inequalities in mathematics. The first time we worked together it was probabilities, and the week before that a review of long exponentials.

He finishes his homework quickly and often times, despite my reminders for the following Thursday, does not bring work from other subjects. One time in our conversation, I told him I had just reread _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_ over the Winter Break and asked him if he knew what grade Malcolm Little was when he stopped his education. He didn't know, and expressed his surprise when I revealed that Malcolm had only completed up to 10th grade. "For real man, but how he get so smart?" "I'll tell you why," I said. "You wanna know what he did while he was in prison? He read the dictionary, all the time man." That short convo started Jamal and I on a tradition of thumbing through the dictionary, him picking a word that he, or we both did not know, and us taking turns at guessing the meaning through context clues and in the most laughable sentences." Tonight's word was "muster" and last week, upon Jamal's request was "guillotine" (that one had a picture next to its definition, "Whatchu call those head choppers Amina? Like in the old days...?). The dialogue went something like this:

A: Alright here is the first sentence: "Gentleman! Go muster up all your men and march towards victory!"
J: Uh...pick up?
A: Nope. But not a bad try. Alright lemme think of another one: Hey Jamal, go muster up all this firewood and bring it back it back to the camp so we can keep warm."
J: Hmmm. CHOP!!
A: Hahaha! Okay remember, we are trying to use this word muster in all these sentences, so it has to mean the same or similar thing, right? And do you really mean in the first sentence, that you want to chop up all your men?
J: HAHA! NO man, alright give me another one.
A: Okay here: Jamal, I know you are facing a challenge in your life right now but you have to muster up all the courage you have and be strong!
J: FIND!!!! FIND your men, FIND the firewood, FIND my courage!!
A: Close! But not there yet, I bet on this one you will get it, ready?
J: Yeah I'm ready, do it already!
A: Jamal, I have all the twigs scattered throughout the forest floor. Will you please go muster it all together?
J: COLLECT, COLLECT, COLLECT!!!! Collect dem twigs man!
A: EXACTLY!

Man, it was a good word, and it had us laughing. He said it was the last sentence that made him guess it right. "The scattered part." It was a great night. I had a grilled hot dog, with chili, mustard, and coleslaw. I coulda been back at a picnic at Lake Accotink in the 80s it was so nostalgic.

As much as I tutor Jamal English through word games and American Heritage Dictionary perusals, he reteaches me the math and logic I have long ago forgotten and left to middle and high school excuses of being an honor's English student. Because of his prodding, I started one sudoku puzzle and under his tutelage, completed it. I am unwilling to go one night without finishing at least one puzzle requiring my readily developing 'medium' skills. I have yet to attack, successfully, a "hard" puzzle. And when I do, I humbly admit I will seek his affirmation by proudly marching into la Iglesia con gusto and with all the courage I can muster, smack the sheet (out) of (the) paper I dowloaded off of www.websudoku.com, and watch him nervously as he quickly checks my work with with rapid fire speed.

What will I learn next week? I wouldn't mind reviewing geometry. I've always liked finding the missing angle biz. Damn, I could use some review on long division too.