Hi again!!!!
So my first week as a teacher was so much fun. My ninth grade class seems to be really quite, but that might change with time. I’m excited to see how they do this year. The first day I asked them to write down a little information about themselves; I was surprised to see that some of the know as many as six languages and many of them want to be doctors and even Japanese movie stars =). My sophomore English class is my literature class. This class is going to be the hardest for me, simply because it’s lit. Honestly I have no idea what to teach them. So far I have decided to focus on the different styles of writing that I want them to know and found stories and section that cover those styles. If anyone has any advice or ideas I am very open. My Junior class is going to be my favorite; if I picked favorites, that is. They are so filled with life and have so much humor packed into one class. I have enjoyed our few classes together. This is also the class that goes out of their way to say hello to me. Like one student came back by my classroom after school on Friday just to wish me a good weekend. Another Junior told me he would be looking for me at church and sure enough Sabbath morning there he was. Unfortunately some of the junior thought it was a good idea to “cat call” me at lunch one day. I nipped it in the bud right away so hopefully it wont continue. This past week in prayer meeting Chaplin Tim talked to us about correcting in love and being redemptive; this is how I’m striving to be with my students. Wither it “cat calling”, cheating or, not putting the right heading on their papers I want to them to know that I care about them and am willing to forgive. I just hope that this forgiveness isn’t seen as weakness.
I know it’s only been half a week of school but already I’ve learned so much. I’ve seen that I can’t pack too much into one lesson because they aren’t college students they’re in high school. Notice that I didn’t say that they are in a third world high school. That’s something else that I’ve learned this week. If I think or allow the kid to think that they don’t have to work as hard because they are poor underprivileged third world country students they will never reach their full potential. These students have been spoiled their whole lives, but it’s not their fault it’s the way of the island. Think about it, if no one was there to push you would you push yourself? If every aspect of your life was encouraged with laziness wouldn’t you bring that mentality with you to school? I was talking to a local on Friday night and she said that when she left the island to go to Southern( yay) she didn’t know how to participate in classroom discussions because no one had ever pushed her to think critically. This is what these kids are up against. They are living on an island where no one thinks critically, where no one practices discernment. They have so many different things coming onto their island through TV and radio and if no one teaches them to discern what is good and bad or what’s wrong and right. Or if no one teaches them to decide for themselves or how to express and stand up for those decisions; what a poor poor future Pohnpei will have, what a poor poor future these students will have. I don’t want that for my students. I can’t just let them walk into that kind of future.
These reasons are why I will walk into that classroom every day. It’s no longer just English class. I want my students to know that they can use their brains to be more, that they can enjoy learning and searching and digging. I want them to know that there is more to life than simply what’s been told to them and even more than what they’ve read in text books. Most importantly I want them to know that God is real and that they can experience Him.
=) It’s good to wake up with purpose.
Lol ok, I’ll get off my soap box now =) Please pray for all of us teacher .
I love you all =)
Love,
Nikkie
No comments:
Post a Comment