Learning How to Teach

***
Examples of mixtures: sugar; sugar cane; rice; charcoal… (is this a list of things he found in his kitchen? I was really hoping to see mixures with at least two parts)
Examples of mixtures: wine and water; rum and coke; maheu; beer and water; juice and sugar (we got a drinker, four points)
Examples of mixtures: sugar water (one point), ocean water (one point), peepee and water (hmmm…okay guess that counts too, one point), blood and tears (…..ah….. what the….???sangue e lagrimas?!... who’s homework is this anyways).
***

::The Facilities::
It’s hard to explain teaching here at the secondary school, but it’s harder to explain why I like it or even why I like it more than teaching at the university. Frankly it probably sounds like a nightmare: classes of 40 students ranging from 10 to 27 years old (yes all crammed into the same room), some literate ….and some not so literate, curriculum that would be appropriate for an AP 12th grade class in the states but maybe not the best choice for 8th graders, very few textbooks/resources, etc. To be fair the school I’m teaching at is a dream compared to most schools here in moz, at least we have some textbooks, electricity, glass on the windows, classes are capped (compared to the 100+ student classes found elsewhere), flowering plants around the buildings, concrete floors, not corrupt administration….but it is still nothing compared to the education I was lucky enough to receive.


***
Examples of mixures: sardines (underline response… well, on second thought he probably means the canned sardines in tomato sauce you get at the market, rather than just plain fish… right?!… sardines plus tomatoes, whatever it’s two things I’ll give him a point).
“Professora, why didn’t you like my example of sardines?” I’m in the middle of lecture, the student is clearly distressed seeing the red mark by sardinhas.
***

::Technical Skills::
There are some definite perks to working at a technical school, and a technical school with resources at that. Students may choose from 8 concentrations: reception, table/bar, cooking, electrician, metal smith/mechanic, accounting, tailor, and carpentry. This means that once a week I spring $4 for a student cooked meal (their practical work) for lunch. Today I had chicken with creamy potato, mozarella-basil-tomato salad, and orange pudding for dessert (!)… yep, life is rough in Peace Corps.

There are some downsides though. A design oversight unfortunately resulted in a metalsmith workshop right next to a block of classrooms, as in feet away. And if you didn’t know already working with metal is loud. Really really loud. “A homogeneous mixture…..” * ping * ping * ping * zsheeeerooooooooooom zsheeeerooooooom * clank * clink * clonk * “A HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURE…”. It’s like this every day, me versus hammers and saws.


***
Where are the protons located in the atom: Maputo(…..well all things can be found in Maputo, he does have a point…)
Where are the electrons located in the atom: Gaza(….err…)
Where are neutron located in the atom: Lithosphere (…shit I don’t even know where the lithosphere is, atmosphere or perhaps the earth’s crust, maybe I should give credit for knowing a big new word)
***

::The Uniforms::
It is fun trying to guess the trends by what flair they’ve added to their school uniforms. All schools have uniforms but my school has very…unique…uniforms. All primary school uniforms are powder blue shirts with navy blue skirts or pants, secondary schools usually have white tops and black bottoms with ties though at Meagan’s school they upped the style a bit with the addition of a bow tie, personally I think it makes the students look like waiters. My school has the distinct vibrant green pants with highlighter yellow shirts (kind of like UO colors---woot woot); it is by far the most festive color scheme I have seen yet in terms of school uniforms.

The school is rather strict on the uniforms. Shirts must be tucked in. No entering the classroom without a tie. No hair extensions (so no long braids…though some girls who feel uncomfortable with their natural hair put on these rather heinous wigs). The girls add big earrings and big fashion belts (is that a cumberbund? asks Colin), or shiny plastic-y shoes made in china, sometimes the rich girls wear pumps. Both girls and boys stitch and write words or names into their ties or onto the pockets of their shirts. Boys add big 80s tennis shoes you can find in the market and tuck the bottoms of their pants in. Since zippers are crap here and break easily, half the time the uniform pants are haphazardly pinned together in the front.

When controlling a test last week a student tried to sneak a notebook in by tucking it under his pants and shirt, unfortunately the crotch of his uniform was falling apart so a corner of the notebook stuck out when he sat down. “Professora I don’t have anything!!!” ah…. “Well I’m not going to take your pants off….”


***
“Professora, he doesn’t have a tie!! He can’t come into the room!!!” …. I should care more about this whole tie thing but I’m just glad he is here on time.
***
“Professora, may I touch your hair?”
***
“Professora, do role call in English!!”
***
“Professora, do you know Obama?”
***


::The Calm Spot::
Every PCV deals with classroom management differently. I am not a disciplinarian but I am strict. No messing with me. I laugh and joke around with the turmas that can handle it and stay serious with others. What do I do when things get out of control? I just stop teaching. I could yell at them I guess… but it just seems so counterproductive. I choose to stand to the side and tell them that when they are ready to learn I will continue to teach. At first this creates more mayhem but after a minute of increased yelling, everyone trying to blame everyone else for being so naughty (“you made the Professora stop teaching” “Professora we are ready to learn but they aren’t” “you are so indisciplinado!!!” “Professora he stole my notebook”), it eventually dies down to complete silence and calm. If I’m calm, they are calm.

This calmness, this zen spot is the special spot I go to when they are naughty, or too boisterous, or for whatever reason things aren’t clicking. An Italian who has been tutoring at the school the last few months asked how we do it. She had spent a few hours explaining basic division to a 15-year-old (“Okay, we have 6 cakes and there are two of us, how many cakes would we each get?”); his homework was something far more advanced but since the System is the way it is him (and many others ) made it to 8th grade without knowing simple mathematics. “Okay 6 divided by 1 is 6; 8 divided by 1 is 8….so 4 divided by 1 is...?” long blank stare. Don’t get frustrated, don’t start banging your head against the wall, just go to your calm spot, there is no other way….

The hardest is when I walk around the room and some students have drawn things that look like letters-ish on their notebooks because they can’t recognize a letter or word for what it is, the way 4-year-olds do when they are learning to write letters, except these are teenagers that have somehow passed primary school without being able to read or write. I just don’t know how to help at that point, it’s really heartbreaking.



***
“Professora, there is an illness going around the classroom. The boys see stars in their eyes when certain people walk in the room…” Is this some kind of weird pick up line? I’m in the middle of lecturing 40 boys (well 10 large men and 30 small boys) and 2 girls, he has interrupted me and is standing up to tell me this. “I am so sorry to hear. I really hope they feel better,” I am sure that this is not the response he expected. I say this even faced, no frown, and no smile. I know he is looking for a blush or girlish response or anything to cause disruption, anything so the other boys in the class will hoot and holler. Long painful pause. How long will he stay standing? Long pause continues. How long can I keep from smiling? “Oh… ahhhh…okay….Professora” and he sits down awkwardly. This is when I smile… stars in their eyes….haha what a goober!
***


My students are, for the most part, smart, witty, and intelligent. They are excited about school and doing well in school. A student received a high note on a test and wanted me to write the number super clear so that he could hang it up at home, later he won a sticker during lecture for helping answer a question and he promptly stuck it next to the grade. But for me it’s not the grade that really matters, I just like when they can connect the dots and pushing their limits. I like that at the beginning of the semester they would freak out when I asked “why do you think that?” whenever they responded to a question but now they feel confident telling me WHY even if they aren’t right. I like seeing them get excited about activities. I like their sassiness. I like that they are patient with my Portuguese. I like their clever jokes. I like that I laugh every day when I teach. I like when they come by the house for help on homework. I like meeting their families and being invited into their homes. I like how they take care of each other and support each other. I weirdly enough like teaching here.