This school year is flying by. We have completed 7 weeks of school and they have been great. I have learned many new things as a teacher, what works, what doesn't work, what kids can handle at what age levels. It has been very eye opening so far. But, the thing that I have learned the most is that there is so much that is going on outside the classroom and it is a teachers duty to make that relationship with the student as strong as you can in an eight hour day.
I have found that in different cultures and different places in the world people might not be growing up in christian homes or even a household with parents that live with them. It has been very intriguing to me to hear about the different places and different cultures that these students come from. I have learned that some students come hear strictly to learn english and it has very hard to understand this concept. Some students come to Saipan while their parents are still back in Korea, China, Japan, ext...... just to learn english. So I have found it hard to grasp how a student can find support outside the classroom.
I am looking forward to getting to know the different cultures and learning about the students and developing the different relationships that I may face in the coming year.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
School
So I know I have been very bad at writing in my blog and keeping those of you actually reading this updated on the things going on in my life. For those of you who know me fairly well I like to be as busy as possible so I don't have to sit by myself in my apt.
School has been going great!!!! We have completed 4 weeks of school already and the time is flying by!!! I really don't know if that is a good thing or not but i have really enjoyed learning about the different cultures and different teaching styles toward students of different races and ethnicities. The biggest difficulty that I tend to face is the kindergarten and 1st grades because some of the students don't speak english all to well yet. So I find myself using more cues and hand motions to get the students attention and to help them understand the task that they may be trying to accomplish for the day.
I really do enjoy the younger grades very much so and it is so interesting to see how they react to me as a teacher. Some of the students are so amused with my hairy arms and legs(they call this my white FUR! I have kids come up to me in class and just start rubbing my arms or trying to touch my legs if I am standing there, they really haven't seen it before in the culture that they are from so they are so amazed that I can have so much hair on my arm. They also are very intrigued by my blue eyes. I had a student ask me the other day how my eyes got this way! They thought that everyone had dark eyes and that it was very interesting that a person could have bright blue eyes. It has been very interesting to see the tendencies and the curiosity of the younger students when they are experiencing something new. I find myself learning more and more about there cultures everyday understanding where they come from, things they stand for and the different backgrounds that these students are being brought up in. Looking back to one of my education classes I compare this experience to a melting pot of students and teachers working together to form a unified bond between education and our service to the Lord.
I have been coaching the coed volleyball team for my school and let me tell you it has been interesting! Coming from watching my sister playing volleyball I really thought that volleyball couldn't be that tough but let me tell you it's tougher than it looks....... Right now we are focusing on getting some serves over the net(this has taught me some patience, because I am told that I am a little competitive sometimes or so I am told )!!!! This is a little different volleyball in NW Iowa where they start playing in 4th or 5th grade. For some of the kids this is the first time they have picked up a volleyball and have learned how to bump it over or even return a serve. So we have started with the basics and we hope to gradually get better and learn each and every day.
I will hope to update soon about more of my experiences in Saipan. My challenge to you today is to meet someone new. Someone of a different ethnicity or different culture. You will realize that you will probably have more in common with that person than what you think......
School has been going great!!!! We have completed 4 weeks of school already and the time is flying by!!! I really don't know if that is a good thing or not but i have really enjoyed learning about the different cultures and different teaching styles toward students of different races and ethnicities. The biggest difficulty that I tend to face is the kindergarten and 1st grades because some of the students don't speak english all to well yet. So I find myself using more cues and hand motions to get the students attention and to help them understand the task that they may be trying to accomplish for the day.
I really do enjoy the younger grades very much so and it is so interesting to see how they react to me as a teacher. Some of the students are so amused with my hairy arms and legs(they call this my white FUR! I have kids come up to me in class and just start rubbing my arms or trying to touch my legs if I am standing there, they really haven't seen it before in the culture that they are from so they are so amazed that I can have so much hair on my arm. They also are very intrigued by my blue eyes. I had a student ask me the other day how my eyes got this way! They thought that everyone had dark eyes and that it was very interesting that a person could have bright blue eyes. It has been very interesting to see the tendencies and the curiosity of the younger students when they are experiencing something new. I find myself learning more and more about there cultures everyday understanding where they come from, things they stand for and the different backgrounds that these students are being brought up in. Looking back to one of my education classes I compare this experience to a melting pot of students and teachers working together to form a unified bond between education and our service to the Lord.
I have been coaching the coed volleyball team for my school and let me tell you it has been interesting! Coming from watching my sister playing volleyball I really thought that volleyball couldn't be that tough but let me tell you it's tougher than it looks....... Right now we are focusing on getting some serves over the net(this has taught me some patience, because I am told that I am a little competitive sometimes or so I am told )!!!! This is a little different volleyball in NW Iowa where they start playing in 4th or 5th grade. For some of the kids this is the first time they have picked up a volleyball and have learned how to bump it over or even return a serve. So we have started with the basics and we hope to gradually get better and learn each and every day.
I will hope to update soon about more of my experiences in Saipan. My challenge to you today is to meet someone new. Someone of a different ethnicity or different culture. You will realize that you will probably have more in common with that person than what you think......
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