10/05/10

This morning during my first period class I, in frustration, asked my class if they were still sleeping. Six of them responded “yes, teacher” without even registering what I had asked. Nice.
Today I had a double-hour of “life group” with my homeroom. We just had a study period for the first hour and I put the world map up on the board if anyone wanted to look at, which many students did. The second hour I told the kids that I had an optional activity, so the kids could decide whether or not they wanted to do the activity, or continue to study and talk amongst themselves. I also told them that the first 5 people to complete the activity perfectly would win a brightly colored click-pen. I have been told by other volunteers not to underestimate the power of free things here, but I definitely did not anticipate the frenzy by the entire class (literally all 45 students) that ensued. They had to answer a number of questions, some they had already written in previous “life group” periods and some they needed the map for (such as “which continent is an island?” or “name 5 countries in the African continent”). Nobody got it right on the first try, but eventually all 5 pens had been given out. What surprised me was that even after there was no prize left to be won (and I was clear about telling them this) about 10 students still wanted me to read and check their answers. I have no idea why, perhaps they actually enjoyed the things they were learning?
Two of the girls-in-training here at the mission are studying for their equivalent of the GED, so I have been assigned the task of tutoring them in English and math. So I now move straight from homework help sessions with the girls, to these study sessions every afternoon.