Wednesday, September 19th:
I compiled the Multiple Intelligences scores into an Excel spreadsheet (I can't help it, my dad is an accountant). The results were revealing. The majority in each class are musical and kinetic learners. The next highest is linguistic, which makes sense considering they all know several languages in a setting where storytelling and verbal communication are very important to their culture. The scores are much lower for spatial learning, which correlates with the low emphasis placed on art. Lastly, most of my students are very interpersonal, but not necessarily intrapersonal. While all of this ties to their cultural setting, I am realizing that it will not be an easy task to apply the information to my teaching style (or Saxon's). Praying for guidance as I strive to become a better teacher and for the strength to take up this challenge.
I had a quiet day with the kids. We actually worked through the entire lesson. I found myself using normal teacher methods to manage the classroom - calling on kids who were talking to answer the question, asking if their name was "Roj" when someone other than "Roj" answered the question ... all those things we remember our teachers doing to us (and being annoyed by).
After school, we took a taxi home. Sarah was kind enough to suggest it since I wasn't feeling well. I ate a bag of nuts at the break and immediately afterwards, my throat got really tight, and I felt tired and yucky. My last class was a little harder because I wasn't feeling well, but we made it through. The walk would have probably worn me out, but the taxi ride provided a little bit of rest. I took some vitamins and allergy medicine, then graded papers for awhile. Later, I looked up some math quotes for ideas to direct classroom discussion.
"Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas." Albert Einstein
"To all of us who hold the Christian belief that God is truth, anything that is true is a fact about God, and mathematics is a branch of theology." Hilda Phoebe Hudson
"Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting." Gottfried Leibniz
At 4:30, John, Mary, Henry, Sarah, and I left for Andy and Lisa's. We picked up some ice cream on the way for dessert. Lisa made Mexican, which made me VERY happy! We had Mexican chicken wraps with rice and beans on the side. For dessert, Sarah and I whipped up our own concoction - a combination of sopapillas and a dessert I've had at a Mexican restaurant. We put a scoop of ice cream in a piece of Lebanese flat bread, rolled it up, and drizzled honey and cinnamon on the top. It was actually really good!
After our Skype call, I wasn't feeling very well and neither was Mary (she is still fighting off the bug that has been going around their house.) We shared prayer requests and prayed with each other, then took a taxi home. I was in bed by 8:30pm, but had a hard time falling asleep...
Thursday, September 20th:
The Internet is finally working again! I had to uninstall everything and then we had to stop and buy another recharge card (5 days early) but everything seems to be working fine now. It is a blessing to have had Internet so consistently up until now. Last year it was more irregular. I definitely did not take it for granted the way I have this year.
During my break at school, it was confirmed - I made it on the Assyrian channel last night at 8pm. Some of the teachers told me this morning and reassured me that it would be repeated later :P
Despite my new-found celebrity status (I don't think my kids actually know), my classes went well. I gave them a quiz at the beginning of class. In my sixth grade classes, I read the questions aloud and told them I would only repeat each one three times. Thankfully, the kids were very attentive and I didn't have to stretch it to four. I really enjoyed my time in the classroom. Even though I still had to be firm, I realized their need to make noise and hum while they were working and didn't get as frustrated. The first class is doing a little better with being respectful and I've realized that pulling one boy out from the long break is more effective than a group of them. I had a good conversation with one boy today (the one who got in trouble two days ago) and hope to build individual relationships that will lead to better and better behavior (*etc.) While I was talking to him, one of my sixth graders (the one who was watching me so attentively and was a nightmare in all of his classes last year) came up to the student and said, "Why are you so bad for her when she is the best teacher?! How can you do that?!" I just stood there quietly and thanked the Lord for such a turnaround in this student. Everyone was warning me about him (and I had seen his disobedience at the soccer clinic). I prayed for him a lot before he was finally put in my class. I was concerned that he would be disgruntled after not passing the re-take (and he really did try his best on it), but God has blessed in ways I didn't expect. The younger students imitated his rebelliousness last year, so I am hopeful that he will have a positive influence with them this year.
Sarah and I stayed late to grade papers. I got to talk to some of my students as they waited for their drivers. We got home about 3pm. During our team debrief last night, I realized that the last few weeks have flown by. Without time to process recent events and a constant struggle to keep up with the needs of my students, I've been feeling behind and discouraged. After team meeting and again during devotions, I asked the Lord to help me make my time purposeful. This afternoon, He answered prayer. I was able to grade all of the quizzes and homework papers while listening to a lecture, write a couple emails, then spend time in prayer and afterwards journal for a little bit. The lecture looked at God as our intimate friend and challenged me to go to God expectantly. I was able to drop my feelings of inadequacy and felt much more refreshed and thankful after time with Him.
We have discovered Tangerine Fanta here and it actually tastes a lot different than Orange Fanta. It was a fun treat to have this afternoon.
At 7pm, Sarah and I met some of the other teachers at Zeri Park. My bershe (Helen) is leaving for Turkey at the end of the month, so I wanted to say goodbye to her before she left. She teared up when we greeted each other and there were some sad moments throughout the evening. I am thankful to know that we will meet again in eternity if not on this earth. At the park, we rode on a flight simulator, which looked like an airplane on the outside, but a roller coaster on the screen. It was a pretty bumpy ride! Afterwards, we ate some ice cream, walked around, and talked until about 8pm. All six of us piled into a taxi and went to the Assyrian hall for Dumballah! I came close to winning :) but in the end, just enjoyed being with friends. They tried to show me how to snap my index fingers together (it is something I've only seen here), and I learned some new Assyrian words. By 11pm, I thought I'd made it through the evening without drawing extra attention to myself. Then, I caught part of an announcement just as everyone at our table started squeezing my arm and giggling, "They are talking about you." I caught enough to know that they were introducing me as the Japanese girl from America whose cousin is Jackie Chan. Besides the announcement at the end, our time together was refreshing and encouraging. God has been good to provide friends who belong to a part of this culture and are willing to take me into their lives.
