Happy Teacher

Two weeks ago I visited a school located in the middle of a slum area. I loved the location and loved the teachers but somehow it did not feel like a very productive week. I introduced some behavior modification techniques to one teacher with a class of 50 (3-4 year olds). I was not sure which concepts would "stick" after I left. Today, the teacher found me and thanked me. She said that before I came she'd had daily conversations with the principal, telling him that she could not do this. She told him that she had too many students who were too young (plus she did not speak the same language as the kids). She reported today that her modifications are still working. Her class is listening, quiet, and now knows six letters. She said she no longer needs to meet with the principal.

MATH

July 30, 2011

  I told the teachers at school today that I needed to write a letter. I need to write a letter to a former teacher. I am sure that she would never imagine that her name would come up in India and that I would end up sharing from my heart the difference she made to me.. but...I did.. and I know that the impact she had on me has touched teachers half a world away. It’s been 22 years since she was my math teacher. She gave me a poster that year that still hangs in my childhood bedroom .. it reads .. "I would love math if it didn’t have so many numbers.. Keep trying - Love, Mrs. Mizzelle."

 I was never good in math. That year, I was moved to her math class. It was really a class higher than where I should have been. I knew that my “math anxiety" was already high.. and being in the advanced section only made it worse. I am not sure why she came to mind this week. It has been a while since I have thought about that year.

  I am guessing that it started on Wednesday. I was watching a third grade math class. I missed what had transpired before I entered and the conversation was in Telugu so I was not sure what was being said. However, standing among his peers, was a wide-eyed boy looking intently at his teacher. His eyes brimmed with tears and he wore a look of desperation. It was as if I could feel his small heart. I could identify with his angst....when the realization hits that you don’t know the answer. More than anything - you want to shrink from the room. Even as I watched - the elapsed time seemed endless. I had to make a conscious decision not to jump in, take his hand, and offer encouragement ( I meant to say something to him today but forgot… I hope someone will).

  In my daily half hour teacher sessions, I usually talk about a variety of  instructional methods that can be used with struggling learners. Thursday's topic was learning styles and and how individuals learn differently. If we vary the instructional modality, perhaps someone who could not understand...will be able

to comprehend. 

 Even though I had not planned it - I began telling about my own struggle to understand math. I told about the hours of tears at the kitchen table, struggling with computations and calculations. I also shared the wisdom of my teacher who knew that my fifth grade heart needed confidence even more than my brain needed math.

  I told the teachers yesterday and as I write this now it still brings tears to my eyes. Mrs. Mizzelle would tell me a day ahead of time, which problem I would need to solve on the board so that when I went before the class I could meet with success. She made sure that I never looked different or felt inadequate. I am not sure what will happen to my third class friend or whether he will ever really understand mathematics. 

  As I prepared to depart, one of the math teachers.. the quietest at the school said, “ I know now that it is my job to make all students successful and to give them encouragement.” How wonderful that the teachers were inspired by my teacher, a world away, who they will never meet. Thanks you Mrs. Mizzelle. Your impact on one (me) has impacted a school of many -  including one small, wide eyed, third grade boy.

Thankful!

Tonight.. I am sitting looking at my pictures from the past weeks. I am smiling as I remember small moments. I remember the gift of a family from a world away, the giggle that bursts from almost every lip whenever they hear my attempt at Telugu, and a smile on the face of a friend I made last year. This year, that same friend, is quick to take my hand and try to engage in conversation. She has even learned English and attempts to speak it. Between her very broken English, my very broken Telugu and a lot of acting - - we sometimes communicate a spoken message.. but more so.. we communicate a heart message. I am looking at faces of people I don’t know but long to meet. I really wish I could come for awhile and work in a rice field or as a sweeper. I would love to listen. I would love to know their stories. I wish I took pictures that did justice to the beauty of aged hands clutching the worn ends of saris or faces that peer through once brightly painted doors. I would love to hear what they know about faith, about life, and loving others. I am thinking of people I do know whose faces are a joy to see each time I visit but so hard to leave. I love the expression of surprise that says without words…”You came again.” I love when they tell me to “go and come” (back soon). I am looking at new friends… who with great persuasion agreed to have tea or the faces on those I was with today - how they laughed when I tried to teach the electric slide. I am thankful for teachers who trust me enough to enter their classrooms; who allow me to take their class and share ideas. I am so thankful that God is teaching me to give the week to him. Most weeks have not gone according the plan I have set. Some days, that has left me feeling frustrated.. but this week I am loving seeing His plan instead of mine. Mostly, I am truly thankful to God to be here again. What fun!

Catch the Lingo

(see if you can guess what the phrase means… don’t cheat. )

a. If you are “eating nicely” you…
b. “They got the baby” means…
c. If you are going to put your baby in a perambulator you will…
d. If you ask for a cover for your bananas they will give you a….
e. Ordering “plain water” will get you…
f. If you are “not eating properly”
g. If every table in a restaurant is full you can..
h. A head nod =yes, a shake= no, a wiggle from side to side= ….
i. If you are told to…“take this road and the house will come”..you will
j. If someone “has sugar” they…
k. If you are asked “have you taken food?” they mean..




answers below:)


a. ate a lot of food… or they are impressed you can eat with your hand
b. They had a baby
c. put them in a stroller
d. bag
e. water that is not cold (If you want cold water you have to ask for it)
f. you did not eat enough
g. join a table that has empty chairs (even if others are sitting there)
h. whatever you want…. Or, no (but they don’t want to tell you no)
i. pass the house
j. are diabetic
k. did you eat

I know there are more.. but that is all I can think of for now.

Royal Welcome!!

So, I hear Hillary Clinton was just in India..but...I am sure she did not receive as royal a welcome as I just did. Children lined the walkway - all the way from my car to the school steps. Each fist was filled with a handful of yellow petals that they tossed (or pitched) in my direction as I walked by. There was a banner with my name and picture. Three dances were prepared and performed by various classes...what a morning! The best part….I am being given the opportunity to meet with teachers for 30 minutes each day. What a GREAT welcome.

Generous Giving

I visited the home of the little girl I sponsor. She is the second of four sisters living in the home (two older sisters live elsewhere). Their small house has two rooms. A front room for cooking and a back room for sleeping. The back room has a small bed with only a thin straw mat resting against its metal frame.
Over the years the family has been blessed with support from the larger community. The youngest daughter (now about 4) had open heart surgery a year ago. She is doing well. Her energy bubbles over. She burst into my arms when she saw me. She is always in motion...doing muscle poses in front of the camera and running in and out of the house like a whirlwind. The only sign of her once weak heart is the scar on her chest.
In order to keep the children healthy the family needs more than the typical meal of rice. Vegetables are expensive and difficult to afford. At times, others will give the family these items but instead of keeping the food for her children..the mother shares with neighbors. A truly generous heart.

Please keep this family in your prayers. The oldest daughter has not attended school in a month. She promises to return on Monday but I am skeptical. While math is a struggle, I know that lifelong difficulties will continue without an education. When I asked what would convince her to go back..she said.. “PRAYER”.

Working!

This year I have been searching for signs of growth. As you know, many schools I have visited this year are schools I am visiting for the first time. I spend the week, thereby proving that I can wear a sari, sit on the ground, eat with my hand, and handle spicy food. More importantly it shows that I am not going to say “My way is best,” but will instead listen and partner with the staff. Usually trust builds slowly....by Thursday or Friday... leaving little left of the week.

But this week has come with several surprises showing "buy in"…

a. Yesterday, a wonderful surprise was waiting for me in the first grade room..a small, simple piece of paper with BIG importance. It was a paper I distributed a year ago...and it WAS being incorporated...proving something stuck.

b. The manager of the school was describing how he would like to see students gain a deeper understanding of concepts(I already liked that part). He went on to say.. “ You know, like those books you brought last year. I want my students to be able to make those.” (Thanks 3rd grade.. .those were the books you made.)

c. Two years ago I was so blessed to form really wonderful relationships with girls who were living where I live. They were studying to be teachers. I just loved them and we still keep in concact. This week I found out that one of the girls is working at the school I am visiting. She teaches LKG (lower kindergarten) and UKG (upper kindergarten). Yesterday I demonstrated one lesson in LKG. Today she asked for the supplies needed for the lesson because she wanted to do it in UKG. When I stopped in her room an hour later she had done it! All day was like that, almost team teaching. Sharing ideas and trying them.

d. On the first day of this week, the other LKG teacher seemed very resistant to my ideas. Saying as many do.. “We have to teach, we don’t have time for games.” Yet I was excited today to see him smile while I engaged his students in a lesson on prepositions. He hurried over to his book in order to write the idea down.)

e. I wanted to hang pocket charts.. 15 minutes later..screws were put in the wall.

f. After I demonstrated how to do “Mystery” in 2nd class, the teacher tried the same idea in 3rd class.

g. On the way to school today.. I was talking to the manager about how he would like his teachers to teach. He said, “ We had a meeting at the start of the year for one hour. I didn’t know you were coming, but I used you as an example...and I reminded them how actively you teach. I told the teachers that I'd like to see them using more activities like that.”