Kids say the darnest things. Here are a few of the sentences from my most recent English test that made me smile: (no particular order)
1. There are twelve maths in the year.
2. She drinks at you house.
3. My class is school.
4. The third month of the year is moth.
5. The student is his mother.
6. His is the third month of works.
7. When is f your class?
8. Salimata does in who.
9. Rakieta’s grandmother is the house.
10. There are in May thirsty days.
11. The teacher is water.
12. The Rakieta English is physical education.
13. Issouf is the friend in Rakieta.
14. The class is in the boy chair.
15. Fati is history every day.
Beyond the occasional feel-good sentence that comes along, grading is rough. There is so much hope, frustration, joy and guilt involved in correcting tests. You have hope and faith in your students and your ability to teach. You find frustration in their little mistakes and guilt in why you did not get the material across to them. When you come across those rare perfect gems you beam so bright; both for how brilliant a student they are and for your place in helping them reach that potential. It is just such a mixed bag and ultimately exhausting. Even if you somehow turn off all of those emotions and thoughts, it is a heavy amount of busy work. I’m not complaining by any means. I love being a teacher. It is just a reality of what that means.
Really, in the end, when I am grading test I am grading myself. It is a reminder of the challenge of teaching a class of 100 students each. I love that challenge. How do you keep interested those top performers while leaving no other kids outside of that understanding? How do you put aside your own emotions and concerns to be the example? It is so much to live up to. I sometimes ask why it is that I enjoy teaching so much more than other jobs I’ve held. It’s simple. Teaching pushes me to be the best version of myself, to see where I need to improve and to find new ways to communicate with those around me.
Plus, I’m just a big stupid kid. I like hanging out with kids. It’s fun.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Back to School
Personal:
My little brother was here throughout the Christmas break. Along with Molly, we celebrated Christmas with a neighbor's family, laughing and joking into the evening. The original plan was to dance but a baby in the compound had passed away. Thus, it turned into an intimate affair that sort of took that touch of Christmas with the family. Though, ulitmatley, both my brother and I missed our family horribly. We did however keep the Ellison traditions alive with our opening of a present on Christmas Eve, stockings and the typical Christmas run-around searching for clues.
After Christmas, we slowly, very slowly, made our way to Lome and the coast of Togo where we sat on the beach until just past New Year's. It was a vacation of horrific travel, grand adventure and final relaxation. I would not do it again to save my life but it sure did enrich it. Let us just say that next time, we will fly. No more slow crawling small ovens called mini-buses where eight people fill the space of three.
Work:
School has started again. Another semester equals another search for motivation, motivation for my students, motivation for the administration and even motivation for myself.
Keeping my students interested and on task is forever a game of one step forward, one step back. At the best of times you are maintaining the status quo which can be trying to your personal motivations. However, the wonderful thing about semesters ending is that there is a reward at the end of the rainbow. It just takes endurance on the teacher's part. Really though, I am thinking more and more about teaching in an American atmosphere where I do not struggle to speak a second language to a group listening in their second language. I want so badly to connect on more levels with my kids but it is difficult to cross that boundary when you are always the white foreigner. It would be nice to have a somewhat common culture and language from which to pull.
Computer Lab:
A local private school run by nuns has agreed to let me take a crack at fixing their computers in exchange for using them for a month or two (just until we can start collecting funds for a real computer lab). It is a temporary solution but a solution, none-the-less.
I have contacted various groups to find out prices and possibilities. An exciting idea is that there exists free software for Windows XP that allows to users to use the same computer simultaneously. Thus, one CPU can work as two computers with just another keyboard and screen. This means that more students can use the same number of computers which increases the lab's effectiveness. I have even been given company contacts to groups that can supply those computers, keyboards and screens. Now, we just need to find the funds to buy the refurbished computers. More to come on this.
My little brother was here throughout the Christmas break. Along with Molly, we celebrated Christmas with a neighbor's family, laughing and joking into the evening. The original plan was to dance but a baby in the compound had passed away. Thus, it turned into an intimate affair that sort of took that touch of Christmas with the family. Though, ulitmatley, both my brother and I missed our family horribly. We did however keep the Ellison traditions alive with our opening of a present on Christmas Eve, stockings and the typical Christmas run-around searching for clues.
After Christmas, we slowly, very slowly, made our way to Lome and the coast of Togo where we sat on the beach until just past New Year's. It was a vacation of horrific travel, grand adventure and final relaxation. I would not do it again to save my life but it sure did enrich it. Let us just say that next time, we will fly. No more slow crawling small ovens called mini-buses where eight people fill the space of three.
Work:
School has started again. Another semester equals another search for motivation, motivation for my students, motivation for the administration and even motivation for myself.
Keeping my students interested and on task is forever a game of one step forward, one step back. At the best of times you are maintaining the status quo which can be trying to your personal motivations. However, the wonderful thing about semesters ending is that there is a reward at the end of the rainbow. It just takes endurance on the teacher's part. Really though, I am thinking more and more about teaching in an American atmosphere where I do not struggle to speak a second language to a group listening in their second language. I want so badly to connect on more levels with my kids but it is difficult to cross that boundary when you are always the white foreigner. It would be nice to have a somewhat common culture and language from which to pull.
Computer Lab:
A local private school run by nuns has agreed to let me take a crack at fixing their computers in exchange for using them for a month or two (just until we can start collecting funds for a real computer lab). It is a temporary solution but a solution, none-the-less.
I have contacted various groups to find out prices and possibilities. An exciting idea is that there exists free software for Windows XP that allows to users to use the same computer simultaneously. Thus, one CPU can work as two computers with just another keyboard and screen. This means that more students can use the same number of computers which increases the lab's effectiveness. I have even been given company contacts to groups that can supply those computers, keyboards and screens. Now, we just need to find the funds to buy the refurbished computers. More to come on this.
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a little about burkina faso
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Current President Blaise COMPAORE came to power in a 1987 military coup and has won every election since then.
Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km
Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km