Saturday, February 2nd:
Woke up to no city power! It was FREEZING! After my morning devotions, I took the laptop to my bed and worked from under the blankets. I wasn't quite as productive as I'd hoped since my hands were so cold. City finally came on in the afternoon and I was able to finish writing out my lesson plans and typing in the grades. The afternoon was sunny and bright which was a nice change from the rainy cold of the past few days.
Sunday, February 3rd:
Today was "Simon Says" Sunday. In 5B I told them to bring something that started with S. Some of them just brought lists of words, but it got them thinking about something different and made the day a little more interesting. I explained Super Bowl Sunday in America (I'm disappointed to miss it for the second year in a row, but not as disappointed as I'd be if I liked the teams more.) During the lesson, I would pause and call on the quietest row to play Simon Says. They really enjoyed it and I had fun trying to trip them up on a command.
5A enjoyed Simon Says as well. I'm not doing the themed days in all the classes this week (just 5B), but I am going to try to bring a game to each class, just to liven things up.
In 6B, however, we didn't play any games. I began the class by reading portions of their Q&A aloud. Most of the responses were unenthusiastic or shifted the blame to the teachers or the other students. However, I marked four papers as "3 Stars" - they showed a glimmer of what I hope they will learn through this process.
Q: Why isn't your class trying their best?
A: "We just don't care about our lessons. Some of us just come to play and talk with our friends."
Q: What does it mean to be teachable?
A: "Teachable means quick to learn and good listening."
Q:How are you going to be teachable?
A: "I am going to break down the wall that tells me this is impossible."
For the remainder of the period, they taught themselves the lesson and had to turn in the practice problems before the end of class. I wrote down the names of the students who spoke or disturbed the other students. At the end, half of the class was on the board - I showed them that this is the struggle I face every day - trying to teach over the voices of so many students. I come into the class excited about the lesson, but quickly, their attitudes and disrespectful behavior drown out the lesson. "What is attitude, Miss?" I explained that it is what comes from their heart. Borrowing the metaphor from Facing the Giants, I told them that their attitudes stink, which shows me that their hearts are rotten. "And what happens when you walk into a room that smells bad?" They all wrinkled their noses. "Exactly! This is how my heart feels when I walk into your classroom and you begin complaining about our project (which was meant to be fun) or you start talking with your friends instead of listening to the lesson." The room was silent as I explained ... and I realized that perhaps the reason for all of this (my hair turning white, a heavy heart each day, and a migraine) might be to help them learn something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. On the outside they may be fine - they may wear the right clothes, smile sweetly at the teacher - but eventually the state of their heart is going to show. And the smell it emanates will reveal who they really are inside.
6A is better than 6B, but we tend to deal with things much faster in that class. I don't know that they think about things as deeply though ... they just come back to it again and again. It is interesting how each class takes on a personality. 5A and 6B are very similar in their resistance to change, deep thoughts, and slow processes. While 5B and 6A adapt quickly, look for the more efficient way to get something done, grasp concepts much faster, but don't always retain them as long. It keeps my job challenging!
After school, I taxied home alone. (Sarah stayed late to meet with the students during the class to recap their trip to Sulymania.) While at home, I cleaned the kitchen, did a load of laundry, and caught up on some emails. I subscribe to a classroom management website and got an email from them this afternoon - "Are you boring your students to death?" (or something along those lines) ... it was a good reminder to dedicate time to lesson planning. I can get burned out with grading and forget to look forward to the next day. Simon Says went surprisingly well today and that was an encouragement to keep "mixing things up" during the day.
I took a nap for about an hour ... it's been taking me a long time to fall asleep lately, so it was good to catch up on some sleep. In the evening, I Skyped with my family. I got passed around to everyone. Eithen was in a playful mood and pretended to make a stuffed animal talk to me on the computer (it was actually the bear I had as a baby that I gave to him before I left). I will miss watching the Super Bowl today, but glad I can still connect with family.
