- I had a double period of 5D math, which I was quite nervous about after yesterday. However, apparently the last talk stuck, at least for now, and they lined up perfectly and quickly got right to work. That being said, we got through more material than I thought we would during our periods which was awesome. For the first time ever I had the opportunity to work with learners one on one when they didn't understand and the rest of the class was actually on task...what a concept! They definitely lost it about 5 minutes before the period ended, but a near hour and a half of great instruction and activity time was worth the last 5 minutes. Several of the learners also came up to me at the end of the lesson and thanked me for 'learning them'. They really are a sweet group of kids, they just need boundaries and love.
- A few of the learners came in to retake their math test from last week the other day, and I corrected them today. out of the 9 who retook the test, they all passed after retaking it and two of them got 100%. I was pretty excited, and so were they. For both of these learners this was the first test they have ever received an A on in their lives. Their smiles were priceless. I made sure they knew that they had earned that grade through their choices and hard work and it had nothing to do with me. The smiles then extended ear to ear as they went out clenching their tests to their chests to take home and share with their families.
- I got to teach for brief moments during my two periods of grade 7 English today, but observed a lot of it as well. Correcting homework took up about 75% of both periods, which includes making learners answer even if they don't know the answer or were wrong. We literally sit there and wait until they guess the right answer. Also, although I see the need for proper spelling among these learners, forcing them to do so and then allowing the class to laugh when they are wrong breaks my heart. I talked with the teacher during break about the class and my thoughts so far, and I told her about my literacy tool box. I will be bringing in my flashdrive for her to dowload my various strategies off of tomorrow. Although this won't necessarily change how things are done, I am hoping it will give her different ways to approach the reading passages instead of simply read and answer.
- I had 2 break periods, which then became a periods of Social Studies with Meme and a period of advising University of Namibia student teahcers. Meme had approached me earlier about helping her write her final register as it needed to be neat and readable, so I went in during my break. Janelle came with and we talked with the learners for a while before I began writing her register. Janelle then taught them a fun hand game before heading to PT. I then had a bit of time alone with Meme, since she dismissed her learners early, just because she felt like it. So for the following 10 minutes, Meme told me about her life and how she was in exile growing up. She was in the group of Namibians that was in Angola and Zambia who fought for Namibian independence. She returned to Namibia in 1989 to vote, and then left again to finish her secondary schooling before moving home to her country in 1991. It was great to hear parts of her life story, what her family was like, why she taught and her thoughts about education. It was definitely an interaction I will never forget.
- My second free period was student teacher after student teacher from the UNam asking me advice about lessons. Apparetly they are all being observed during the rest of this week and wanted to know different openers, strategies and lesson ideas. From science, english, math, arts, and even Afrikaans, I brainstormed with them about different lesson plans and activities they could do. I sort of felt like I was back at Casa planning with my group, however I had to go into much more detail what and how it worked. For example, the first time I said, "let them work in groups", I had to discuss what they actually meant and looked like. It was fun planning with them all. One of them then wanted to me observe her teach the start of her next class to give her feedback, and being that 7E English was next, being late was not a big deal (all I missed was the first 3 problems they corrected as a class). To be honest, I felt sort of odd observing her teach. I felt underqualified to take on such a task. However, it definitely made me think about my own teaching and reflect on why we actually use various strategies, both in management and in conveying information. All in all, the free periods were enjoyable today.
- I then got to meet with my 6A authors for last period. It was slightly chaotic as I wanted to check their summaries before they got homework stickers on the certificates and they wrote them on their book covers. I came to the conclusion that trying to read 4-5 sentence book summaries of 46 learners is not an easy task. However, it was completed and successful. Granted, I did have two fights break out during class, which meant two conversations with the gentlemen involved, and 4 grade six learners crying. They thought I wasn;t going to let them be authors anymore as they quickly made the connection that authors don't fight with each other. That being said, the rest of the period the four of them were my hardest workers.
- As I left the classroom, I was malled by my 5D learners hugging me. I had to at one point sternly tell them to all get off and explain that I loved them very much but this was not how they can act. They stopped and took turns giving me an appropriate hug. I then met them in the math class for some extra rounding help, as I told the class that I would stay for 20 minutes after school everyday to help them if they needed it. Many of them caught onto rounding quickly and it was easy for them, but some were still struggling. Almost everyone of my learners, those needing extra support or not, came in after school to do more math. Although this may have been due to the intense rain outside that they were probably avoiding, it was great to see so many of my learners participating in an after school, optional lesson. :) I left school a very happy Miss Jessica.
- I then went to the orphanage with Veronica today. Being that I was totally exhausted, this meant a 20 minute nap at the beginning during the rest time. I then was awoken by Cynthia leaping on me, and tutoring began. Many of them didn't have homework today, or not very much, so after about 30-45 minutes it was just socializing and games. This lead to funny faces, conversations about my family, and some read alouds. Bianca then handed me a book in Damarra. I chuckled and she said, "well just try for fun." I began reading it, and the whole room went into hysterics. Elsie, the house mom, came in to see what was going on. About three words in, she collapsed to the ground and began crying from laughing so hard. She then muttered out the words 'video...record...'. I pulled out my flip camera and let Gavin record my lovely reading. It is pretty hilarious. I will try to attach the video, but being that it is pretty long I am not sure if they internet will take it.
Morning hugs...a great start to the school day
What I read aloud to the group....I am just that good.
Silly faces, take 1
Silly Faces, take 2!
You are amazing...but remember you need to take care of yourself.
ReplyDeleteTotally burning the candle at both ends, but that is typical. I hope the Swakopmund trip goes well. You can let everyone know there is (or at least was in July) a good market there, so people that still want some bargains and choice like in Okahanja, they can find it there. In July, I went near the end of the day when they were closing up and got some good deals.
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