It is hard to believe that we just finished our first week of school. It was full of many mixed emotions. I was so excited to finally have students, exhausted from all the work I have put into my lesson plans, and frustrated that I have not been able to overcome some of the challenges. This summer, as I was making plans for this school year, I began to develop a lot of expectations. I am going to be honest... I think I had actually convinced myself that teaching at Rick's Institute was going to be easier than teaching in Alabama. After completing this week, I have no idea how I ever came to that conclusion. This experience has already become one of the most challenging experiences of my life, and I am just getting started!
Part of the challenge comes from the language barrier. Surprisingly enough, I feel like I have been a fairly quick learner, although I still have a long way to go. It has taken me all week to learn the names of the students in my class, and I am still working on pronunciations. I have also realized that it is just as hard for the children to understand me, as it is for me to understand them. I try to be very intentional about talking slowly, because that really seems to help. I struggled giving assessments this week, because I couldn't figure out if the students didn't know the material or simply couldn't understand what I was asking. It took several attempts and rewording questions, but finally the connection was made. I knew the assessment was important, because I really wanted to see the individual academic levels. This is a very new concept at the school. Currently teachers teach toward a standardized test, and expect all students to be on the same level. However, Olu (the principal) has done a very good job of encouraging teachers to look at the "whole child." I am glad this first obstacle is accomplished, and now it is time to meet each child on his or her level for the rest of the year.
Another challenge is the age gap. I have students ranging from 6 to 13 years old in my second grade class. This is also a result of the testing. Each student tests into a specific grade level when applying to Rick's. Although that puts them on a similar academic level, there is still the social and physical development that tends to get overlooked. I am trying really hard to empower some of my older students to be leaders, both in the classroom and out. We have talked a lot about our class being like a family. I want every student to recognize their gifts and use then in a variety of ways in the classroom. The students do a very good job of helping one another to accomplish tasks and assignment. Then we face the issue of cheating (or spying, as they call it here), which is a serious offense that can eventually lead to expulsion if caught during a test. It is a tough balance, especially with second graders.
My toughest challenge so far has been discipline. The students respect me, but it is taking me time to realize how they show it. Here is another moment of honesty... I think I had this thought that the students would be so grateful to be in school, and to have a teacher from the US, that they would sit like stone statues and listen attentively to everything I said. HAHA! Yeah, you are probably laughing at me right now, and I am somewhat embarrassed to have had that mindset. But this experience has been all about learning, and I am definitely learning! I learned that kids are kids no matter where in the world they are from. I walk into the room and they want to hug me and cling to my side, but when I tell them to be quiet or stop doing something, they don't. This was very frustrating. If a Liberian teacher walks into a room, they are frozen and don't make a sound. I had a very hard time understanding this. I even tried yelling, which I don't normally do. I am really just searching for a balance, and had a hard time finding one this week. Part of this also has to do with corporate punishment. I knew going into this experience that Rick's uses corporate punishment, and I was really worried about how that would play out for me. I felt relieved when Olu told us that only the administration can administer it, but realized this week that is not always the case. I have learned a lot of things about this culture, and one is that they are very disciplined. But it is all in love! The faculty loves what they do, and they love the children. The students have a tremendous amount of respect for the teachers. I have just had a hard time finding my place in the mix. Thursday afternoon I was almost in tears. I had a very hard time falling asleep last night because I wanted to figure this out. At about 1:00am it clicked. I thought about what would happen if a teacher from Liberia came and taught in Birmingham, AL. I thought about how different and difficult it would be for that teacher to learn how school was operated. And then I thought about how the students would react with that teacher in their classroom. It all started to make sense to me. I decided that I was going to go in this morning with a positive attitude, and just be myself. I did not yell one time. I talked to them about what my expectations were, and told them I needed them to help me so that we could learn and have fun this year. We played games, read books, solved math problems, sang songs, etc. The kids were learning! I was happy and they were happy! We accomplished so much! Today I did what I love with no reservations, and I was loved in return. The challenges are beginning to turn into possibilities!
