This week I realized that kids are kids no matter where you are in the world. AND, whether you are in Egypt, Mexico, Canada or United States, kids all behave the same too. Sure, there are cultural differences along the way, but in the end, kids want to be loved, cared for and nurtured...AND KEEP SECRETS!
Day One of teaching and 4 rulers were snapped by the grade 9's! I did not know what to think...my first thought was, HOW DARE THEY! Which quickly shifted to, why didn't they tell me. After that quick and fleeting thought I came to the conclusion that because the school has such high standards for behaviour, they feared they would be sent to the office and being sent to the office simply would not look good on the first day. Should they be deceptive and lie?? I would like to think that I am an open person and that I would be fine if they told me, but would I still work through the same thought process...
THEN
I thought of Adam and Eve. When they did something they should not have, they ran and hid and tried to keep their deceit a secret from an omnipotent being! He already knew what they did and they still tried to hide it. I am just a teacher...I did not find out about the cracked, snapped and completely useless rulers until the end of class and yet it seems to be in our beings to be devious and hide the truth when it may be potentially harmful to ourselves...the immediate pleasure of the deceit is great, but quickly turns to poison in our souls. Now, the whole ruler situation is very minor compared to the fall of mankind, but still...it is where my mind wandered.
I had heard before we left that Egyptian kids in school can be a handful because they LOVE to talk. Those that know me well know that I fall into this category as well. I was prepared for the amount of talking...or so I thought! Take a typical North American classroom and amplify that by at least 20 times. And they can be loud! It was so incredibly crucial to lay the law of the land quickly in regards to the talking otherwise the rest of the year would be a nightmare...this landed 3 kids in the hall on the first day. Hall time is not a logical consequence in my mind yet it is a school policy in the discipline procedure so it had to be done.
Don't get me wrong I am LOVING the students that I have been blessed to teach. They are all so beautiful and have amazing personalities, but as I watch them interact with each other it reinstated that these Egyptian kids are exactly like kids in Canada. There are the popular kids, the smart kids, and the jocks. You can see who have been teacher's pets in the past and there are those that carry the mantle of the "bully", the tough guy and the class clown. But oh are these kids ever funny. I just cannot wait to spend the rest of the year with them. I am sure they will drive me nuts sometimes, and I am sure that I will drive them nuts sometimes. But deep down they want to be loved on and cared for by their teacher. They want a classroom that is full of respect and learning and they want to succeed. You can see it in their eyes even when they look at you like you are on a different planet.
The first few days of my first official teaching job have been a success in my eyes. I was told that I have a lot of MOXIE for a first year teacher...I knew that it was a compliment but I still looked it up just to be sure, there were many positive things, INITIATIVE, GUTSY, GREAT SKILL/KNOW HOW, certainly makes the new teacher feel good about the work they are doing, especially since just before that I got a surprise evaluation from the Vice-Principal. The students are all sitting where they need to be and they are doing the work they are asked. There are naturally more challenges teaching Manitoba curriculum in an EAL (English as an Additional Language) setting because the students just do not have the language abilities that a student in Manitoba would or should have. For example, trying to teach the Divisibility Rules to the grade 7's required extensive definitions and examples because the vocabulary is far more challenging for these students. But, the extra work in explaining the task has led to some excellent marks because the amount of time on a topic is almost double that of a class in Manitoba.
Will I get through the curriculum this year? Probably not. The teacher last year never got to the last two units because they ran out of time. I am aiming for completion and it is good to have goals. Are my goals realistic? Probably not, but if you do not aim for the stars you will not reach the moon and getting to the moon is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself.
So, I will finish where I began, kids are kids no matter where you are. It is refreshing to see young faces excited to learn and as usual the challenging students seem to be my favorite. I have never understood why the difficult students, the more time consuming students and the students that are the most likely to cause problems in class are my favorite to work with. They require so much more energy than the smart kid in the corner that finishes their work quickly. I guess that is why the Lord has blessed me with the abundance of energy that I have because without it I would be exhausted by lunch!
Day One of teaching and 4 rulers were snapped by the grade 9's! I did not know what to think...my first thought was, HOW DARE THEY! Which quickly shifted to, why didn't they tell me. After that quick and fleeting thought I came to the conclusion that because the school has such high standards for behaviour, they feared they would be sent to the office and being sent to the office simply would not look good on the first day. Should they be deceptive and lie?? I would like to think that I am an open person and that I would be fine if they told me, but would I still work through the same thought process...
THEN
I thought of Adam and Eve. When they did something they should not have, they ran and hid and tried to keep their deceit a secret from an omnipotent being! He already knew what they did and they still tried to hide it. I am just a teacher...I did not find out about the cracked, snapped and completely useless rulers until the end of class and yet it seems to be in our beings to be devious and hide the truth when it may be potentially harmful to ourselves...the immediate pleasure of the deceit is great, but quickly turns to poison in our souls. Now, the whole ruler situation is very minor compared to the fall of mankind, but still...it is where my mind wandered.
I had heard before we left that Egyptian kids in school can be a handful because they LOVE to talk. Those that know me well know that I fall into this category as well. I was prepared for the amount of talking...or so I thought! Take a typical North American classroom and amplify that by at least 20 times. And they can be loud! It was so incredibly crucial to lay the law of the land quickly in regards to the talking otherwise the rest of the year would be a nightmare...this landed 3 kids in the hall on the first day. Hall time is not a logical consequence in my mind yet it is a school policy in the discipline procedure so it had to be done.
Don't get me wrong I am LOVING the students that I have been blessed to teach. They are all so beautiful and have amazing personalities, but as I watch them interact with each other it reinstated that these Egyptian kids are exactly like kids in Canada. There are the popular kids, the smart kids, and the jocks. You can see who have been teacher's pets in the past and there are those that carry the mantle of the "bully", the tough guy and the class clown. But oh are these kids ever funny. I just cannot wait to spend the rest of the year with them. I am sure they will drive me nuts sometimes, and I am sure that I will drive them nuts sometimes. But deep down they want to be loved on and cared for by their teacher. They want a classroom that is full of respect and learning and they want to succeed. You can see it in their eyes even when they look at you like you are on a different planet.
The first few days of my first official teaching job have been a success in my eyes. I was told that I have a lot of MOXIE for a first year teacher...I knew that it was a compliment but I still looked it up just to be sure, there were many positive things, INITIATIVE, GUTSY, GREAT SKILL/KNOW HOW, certainly makes the new teacher feel good about the work they are doing, especially since just before that I got a surprise evaluation from the Vice-Principal. The students are all sitting where they need to be and they are doing the work they are asked. There are naturally more challenges teaching Manitoba curriculum in an EAL (English as an Additional Language) setting because the students just do not have the language abilities that a student in Manitoba would or should have. For example, trying to teach the Divisibility Rules to the grade 7's required extensive definitions and examples because the vocabulary is far more challenging for these students. But, the extra work in explaining the task has led to some excellent marks because the amount of time on a topic is almost double that of a class in Manitoba.
Will I get through the curriculum this year? Probably not. The teacher last year never got to the last two units because they ran out of time. I am aiming for completion and it is good to have goals. Are my goals realistic? Probably not, but if you do not aim for the stars you will not reach the moon and getting to the moon is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself.
So, I will finish where I began, kids are kids no matter where you are. It is refreshing to see young faces excited to learn and as usual the challenging students seem to be my favorite. I have never understood why the difficult students, the more time consuming students and the students that are the most likely to cause problems in class are my favorite to work with. They require so much more energy than the smart kid in the corner that finishes their work quickly. I guess that is why the Lord has blessed me with the abundance of energy that I have because without it I would be exhausted by lunch!
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