Allah Tanto
Allah Tanto means to a certain extent "praise God." It is the first word I learned in Kuronko. One of the guards at the house we are staying at has insisted that I learn Kuronko. I told him that I must learn Krio first but he doesn't seam to listen. Whenever someone asks how you are doing, how you slept, how your work is, you reply with this phrase. No matter how hard the school day was, or how tired I was, or how frustrating the students were, you simply praise God. What an amazing way to look at life.
Tuesday was the first day of school. A day I had anticipated for a long time but had no idea what to expect. I am teaching class three (3rd grade), full of 39 energetic Salone students. I think one more is coming on Monday so I should have an even number of 40. For those teachers out there, an even number is always better. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to show yet because I do not dare take out my camera. I will lose complete control of the class if I did that.
For one lesson in spelling, I had the students write their four spelling words and then draw a picture next to the word. The instant I said that they could use crayons, which were in a pile on my desk, one child got out of their seat and grabbed a box. Immediately, half the class rushed to the desk to grab a box. Two students got in a fist fight over a box and put the other student in a headlock. I grabbed them both by the arm and separated them. I decided to go get the class four teacher to see what we should do with them. She took them to her class and physically punished them. They both returned with tears running down their face. This is an every day occurrence because the teachers find it to be the only effective punishment.
Aside from forms of punishment, another challenge is the language barrier. The students have a hard time understanding me and I have a hard time understanding them. Because of this barrier, classroom management is automatically a challenge because of miscommunication. The students sit in rows, so one way in which I have tried to manage is by having each row compete against the other. The row with the most points gets bubble gum on Friday. This is a huge deal to them because by nature, they are competitive. When I am waiting to start a lesson, I go to the board and give the rows points who are ready to learn. Generally, the students will run to their seats and make sure they are ready to go because they want the point. But they have most definitely tested this tactic already.
Another challenge is structure. There is no such things as form a line, or one at a time. When the students were fighting over the crayons, I got so angry, I took all the crayons away and told them they could only use pencil if they could not share. Today, they were much better at sharing the crayons. I think they learned their lesson.
When I want them to hand in a paper that they have completed, all the students will get out of their seat and run up to me. There is no concept of sit and I will come around and collect your paper. I tried having a student collect the textbooks for science on the first day and it turned into half the class arguing and fighting about who was taking care of the books.
Every day, I repeat myself over and over and make sure that my expectations are clear. These routines that are very different then what they are used to will come with time. Structure will take time and it will most definitely take practice. The difference in the language barrier will also come with time. But it has definitely proved to be a challenge.
Aside from the challenges of teaching in a new culture and language, there have been many joys. Every morning at the end of devotions, I have the students share what they are thankful for and we write the words on the board. Here people say "What can we appreciate God for?" instead of "what are you thankful for?" Today, several of the students said they were thankful for their teacher, Miss. K. That just warmed my heart.
Every day we walk to school and back which is about 40 min one way. There have been many times where I have seen my students walking or see them at their home and they yell Miss. K! I still don't know half their names but I just yell back and say hi.
It has also been wonderful to see what teaching methods have really worked. These students are in class three and they do not know the sounds of the letters in the alphabet. We have begun doing a chant every day which begins with "a, a, apple. b, b, bicycle. c, c, car. d, d, dog. e, e, elephant...etc.) The students have come up with the words to say with each letter sound. This has proved to work really well so far and my goal is for them to learn the sound each letter makes so they can sound out words when reading. Their ability to decode words is close to zero.
Storytelling is a huge part of the culture here and it has been so incredible to see this play out in the classroom. Every morning, I have told a bible story with several different methods and they are all completely engaged. They absolutely love it. Every day after lunch, we also have 30 min to do a read aloud. I can usually read about two or three picture books and they love it!
Every day we have closing time for fifteen minutes so the first day one of the boys asked if we could do storytelling. I agreed so he came up to the front and said the word "in" and the class responded "out." This means that the story teller is the only one talking, and everyone else is listening. It gets their attention. He began to tell a story in Krio. Every day since then, the students have been fighting to see who gets to tell a story at the end of the day.
Every morning we have assembly, some days in class and some days on the grounds. I had no idea what I was supposed to do for assembly in class so the other teacher told me to pick two students and they would know what to do. They went to the front and began clapping and leading praise songs. I just stood there amazed! Children in the U.S would never do this. The students were dancing, raising their hands in the air, and clapping, all in perfect unison. I will have to take a video sometime to show you what it is like.
Aside from the Joys, there have also been many surprises. The second day of school, after lunch, all the teachers brought the students outside to pick up trash. The whole primary school ran around picking up trash and singing a song about how we keep the school clean. The students then proceeded to the back of the school where there are tall grasses and bushes. When one of the teachers said throw, the students threw all of their trash into the bushes. I was quite shocked. There is absolutely no system of trash or recycling here . The students just throw their garbage out the window in the classroom. That is perfectly normal here.
It is going to be a school year full of challenges and full of joy! I can tell already. I am thankful for the experiences I have had in Grand Rapids working with Urban Youth because there are definitely some similar challenges. This has already proved to be a learning experience and I know there is much more to come! Allah tanto.
Tuesday was the first day of school. A day I had anticipated for a long time but had no idea what to expect. I am teaching class three (3rd grade), full of 39 energetic Salone students. I think one more is coming on Monday so I should have an even number of 40. For those teachers out there, an even number is always better. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to show yet because I do not dare take out my camera. I will lose complete control of the class if I did that.
For one lesson in spelling, I had the students write their four spelling words and then draw a picture next to the word. The instant I said that they could use crayons, which were in a pile on my desk, one child got out of their seat and grabbed a box. Immediately, half the class rushed to the desk to grab a box. Two students got in a fist fight over a box and put the other student in a headlock. I grabbed them both by the arm and separated them. I decided to go get the class four teacher to see what we should do with them. She took them to her class and physically punished them. They both returned with tears running down their face. This is an every day occurrence because the teachers find it to be the only effective punishment.
Aside from forms of punishment, another challenge is the language barrier. The students have a hard time understanding me and I have a hard time understanding them. Because of this barrier, classroom management is automatically a challenge because of miscommunication. The students sit in rows, so one way in which I have tried to manage is by having each row compete against the other. The row with the most points gets bubble gum on Friday. This is a huge deal to them because by nature, they are competitive. When I am waiting to start a lesson, I go to the board and give the rows points who are ready to learn. Generally, the students will run to their seats and make sure they are ready to go because they want the point. But they have most definitely tested this tactic already.
Another challenge is structure. There is no such things as form a line, or one at a time. When the students were fighting over the crayons, I got so angry, I took all the crayons away and told them they could only use pencil if they could not share. Today, they were much better at sharing the crayons. I think they learned their lesson.
When I want them to hand in a paper that they have completed, all the students will get out of their seat and run up to me. There is no concept of sit and I will come around and collect your paper. I tried having a student collect the textbooks for science on the first day and it turned into half the class arguing and fighting about who was taking care of the books.
Every day, I repeat myself over and over and make sure that my expectations are clear. These routines that are very different then what they are used to will come with time. Structure will take time and it will most definitely take practice. The difference in the language barrier will also come with time. But it has definitely proved to be a challenge.
Aside from the challenges of teaching in a new culture and language, there have been many joys. Every morning at the end of devotions, I have the students share what they are thankful for and we write the words on the board. Here people say "What can we appreciate God for?" instead of "what are you thankful for?" Today, several of the students said they were thankful for their teacher, Miss. K. That just warmed my heart.
Every day we walk to school and back which is about 40 min one way. There have been many times where I have seen my students walking or see them at their home and they yell Miss. K! I still don't know half their names but I just yell back and say hi.
It has also been wonderful to see what teaching methods have really worked. These students are in class three and they do not know the sounds of the letters in the alphabet. We have begun doing a chant every day which begins with "a, a, apple. b, b, bicycle. c, c, car. d, d, dog. e, e, elephant...etc.) The students have come up with the words to say with each letter sound. This has proved to work really well so far and my goal is for them to learn the sound each letter makes so they can sound out words when reading. Their ability to decode words is close to zero.
Storytelling is a huge part of the culture here and it has been so incredible to see this play out in the classroom. Every morning, I have told a bible story with several different methods and they are all completely engaged. They absolutely love it. Every day after lunch, we also have 30 min to do a read aloud. I can usually read about two or three picture books and they love it!
Every day we have closing time for fifteen minutes so the first day one of the boys asked if we could do storytelling. I agreed so he came up to the front and said the word "in" and the class responded "out." This means that the story teller is the only one talking, and everyone else is listening. It gets their attention. He began to tell a story in Krio. Every day since then, the students have been fighting to see who gets to tell a story at the end of the day.
Every morning we have assembly, some days in class and some days on the grounds. I had no idea what I was supposed to do for assembly in class so the other teacher told me to pick two students and they would know what to do. They went to the front and began clapping and leading praise songs. I just stood there amazed! Children in the U.S would never do this. The students were dancing, raising their hands in the air, and clapping, all in perfect unison. I will have to take a video sometime to show you what it is like.
Aside from the Joys, there have also been many surprises. The second day of school, after lunch, all the teachers brought the students outside to pick up trash. The whole primary school ran around picking up trash and singing a song about how we keep the school clean. The students then proceeded to the back of the school where there are tall grasses and bushes. When one of the teachers said throw, the students threw all of their trash into the bushes. I was quite shocked. There is absolutely no system of trash or recycling here . The students just throw their garbage out the window in the classroom. That is perfectly normal here.
It is going to be a school year full of challenges and full of joy! I can tell already. I am thankful for the experiences I have had in Grand Rapids working with Urban Youth because there are definitely some similar challenges. This has already proved to be a learning experience and I know there is much more to come! Allah tanto.
Hi Sarah!!
ReplyDeleteSo good to 'hear' your voice. God is certainly One to be praised on your journey...on all our journeys. So proud of you that you are really putting one foot in front of the other. Or should I say, one prayer in front of the other. I am loving 'hearing' your heart!! Hugs and prayers for your continued adventures. Your Sister At Heart, Kinita
Sarah, I love the long post...It gives me a great picture of what you are doing. So cool to get such a close-up look of what is happening there and the joys and challenges of your days. So amazing to think of all of the little and big things that you are doing to impact these children and their ability to increase their reading skills, learn to get along and reinforce their knowledge about Jesus.Even more amazing to think of what being in this culture will do to impact you and me as you share what they are teaching you. Two take aways for me...to try to spend a day responding "Praise God" for each and every question of how my day was and is...and asking "What can I appreciate God for?"...just puts a bit different perspective on the usual question. Thanks for the prompts! Praying for you tonight as the day winds down. Love you! Mrs. Manni
ReplyDeleteWow, Sarah- Thanks for giving a verbal snapshot of what you are up to! Your picture is on our refrigerator, so I see you often. I will endeavor to pray for quick understanding of language and customs, and for insight as to which techniques will work the best for learning and for classroom management. Look how much you have learned in just one week! Those beautiful kids obviously love you already!
ReplyDeleteThe question "What can I appreciate God for?" prompts a deeper answer in me than my list of things to be "thankful" for does.
You are an adventurous, strong, and creative woman, Sarah! God is using you and will give you the right combination of tools for what these children need to learn.
I don't know why, but I can hear in my mind Jerry Jacobi at SBC singing "Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid! For the Lord your God is with you- He will never leave you nor forsake you!- Deuteronomy 31:6! HUHH!!" May you and all of your students know this truth. Love and hugs- Mrs. Grimes