Our man from Kenya

When we were labeling continents on a world map, E drew in his home country of Kenya.  He told us about Lake Victoria and how it was the source of the Nile.  He found Madagascar off the coast of Kenya.  The students asked him what it was like there.  "Were the homes like ours?" they wondered.  He told them the cities looked like ours, but the villages had mud homes.  I asked him if he had any photos to bring us.

The following day he wore a shirt covered with many colorful animals.  He showed us several carvings of animals, including a pair of giraffes and a zebra.  He opened a large cloth also covered with animal drawings in black and white.  He told us about the acacia tree pictured with the animals and how its gum could be used for toothaches.  He had some beaded jewelry which impressed the young ladies.

I had brought in some New York Times today to do a lesson on finding places in the news and labeling their latitude and longitude.  E asked me if he could have our used New York Times because he missed being able to hear news about Africa since our local newspaper has gone really local and rarely has any national, let alone international news.  It will be a pleasure to recycle our newspaper in that way!

By poler?

A new student in class wrote on his registration form that he was "by poler".  He is definitely unusual and his skills are quite uneven.  He certainly doesn't spell very well. 

My problem student and her friends

On Thursday, B once again asked one of her questions:  "How come you put the board where I can't see it?"   I suggested she move to a different chair and then asked "How come you ask so many questions?" Her friend A got on me and told me I was rude and if I didn't want students to ask questions, I shouldn't be a teacher and should find another profession.  Wow!  I decided to let it all go and not respond in kind! 

That was the right thing to do.  Later in the hour, she referred to her sister as retarded for not knowing something.  I said that was hurtful even when kidding and that she had hurt my feelings earlier.  She actually apologized and all was well. 

I do think I will talk about what kind of questions are always appropriate and what kinds are not.

And one more thing I have to do today before tomorrow's class is to call B and tell her to dress appropriately for class.  No more cleavage.  No more breasts bulging out of tight tank tops.  She won't like it but it needs to be done!

Who is that fellow reading magazines during class?

Last week Monday I assisted two new teachers at a site across town.  I did a group lesson on large numbers asking the students to estimate the population of their city, state, country--and then the earth.  I tried to get one older fellow sitting at a table all by himself involved, but he said that he was just there waiting for someone.  As the lesson progressed, he got involved in spite of himself because he had an idea for the population of earth and no one else was eager to guess.  I sent him to the board and he correctly wrote his 6.9 billion. 

Later, I learned that he was a police officer there to guard one of the young men in the class!  I have been amused all week that he became a part of the class even if he was just there to wait for someone!

Two weeks feels good

We've had six sessions in each class.  I have a total of 12 students but I am not enrolling two of them until I see them show up a few more times.  I am physically tired at the end of six hours of contact time (lunch time disappears quickly with early arrivals), but I think I can learn to manage that better if I change the configuration of the classroom.  I need to sit more for my sake and also for a calmer atmosphere in which students come up to me for help--or I call them up to me for help. 

My morning class is easier and more varied than the afternoon class.  C is a 16 year old mother of a 1 1/2 year old child who lives in foster care.  E is a 68 year old immigrant from Kenya.  He is proud that of his ten children, eight are college graduates and says now it is his turn to get an education.  In Kenya he was a primary school teacher.  His mother, at age 98, is still running a curio shop in Nairobi--so he thinks he has many years ahead of him as well!  I think that four of the five students have jobs which is amazing to me. 

The afternoon class is all young women including my problem child B!  I hope I can keep a sense of humor in dealing with her.  Yesterday, after going over three definitions contributed by the class, she asked when we were going to tell her what those words on the board meant.  Where was she?  Physically present, but obviously not mentally there.  She is often physically absent as well--many trips to the bathroom--for phone calls?  Maybe.  She calls me Miss and sometimes Miss Sally (her teacher last year) while E, our gentleman from Kenya, calls me Madam. 

I wonder if better students pick a morning class and those who can't get up early choose the afternoon.  In that way there is self-selection going on.  I am learning that I can't keep the classes together in the skills I teach.  My plan book is now split down the middle! 

There are rewards!

HEY MARY,

YOU KNOW I HAVE TO CHECK IN WITH YOU EVERY NOW AND THEN. JUST WANTING TO KNOW HOW THINGS ARE GOING FOR YOU NOW DAYS.

MY SON CAMERON AND I ARE DOING WELL. HE STARTED FIRST GRADE THIS YEAR AND LOVES IT! I'M DOING A LOT IN MY CHURCH AS WELL AS WORKING FOR OUR CHURCH DAYCARE.

ALSO I'LL BE MARRIED 3 YEARS IN OCTOBER!! THAT'S EXCITING! MY HUSBAND AND I ARE DOING WELL. I FOUND ME A GOOD MAN AND I THANK GOD FOR HIM.

WELL I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON,  D

This was an email I received earlier this week.  Wonderful to hear good news like this.  

I want to show this to my parole office

L was in the Family Literacy class last year.  He was always very open about having spent time in prison. I wanted him to take the GED exam in June, but he lost his nerve and is back in class.  When he saw the two or more years of improvement in his math score, he said he believed me that he could take the GED exam.    He asked me to copy his test scores to show his parole officer.  I forgot but he reminded me before he left class yesterday.  It was definitely important to him!

 Testing is a good thing when it shows gains (and even when it doesn't because then we need to rethink our procedures!).  I can tell a student he or she is doing well but it is so good to see the numbers!

How come you didn't bring gum today?

B asks "how come you didn't...." questions several times each day. " How come you didn't bring gum today?"  "How come there are different people here each day?" And then there are questions like "When is break?"  and "Can you give me a ride home?"  Sometimes the complaints are phrased more directly using "you" language.  "You didn't put the pencils out."  "You didn't give me a purple folder."

B is 17 and dropped out of school when she got pregnant but lost her baby.    She is heavy and wears tight clothes that do not cover her ample bosom.  She made several calls to the Juvenile Justice Center when she first arrived on Tuesday.  I think she is in class because she has to be in class!  She needs reminders to take notes during group time and today her testing went better when I gave her feedback after each row of questions.  Her attention span is not long!

Shortly before leaving today, I chuckled and said she sure gave me a hard time with all her questions.  She had the grace to smile back.  Maybe when I was first teaching, her attitude might have made me defensive.  Now it just amuses me--and it didn't become an issue.  If she keeps it up however, it might get to me!