I've officially passed the halfway mark of the first quarter, just finished up week 6 today. It's still incredibly weird to think that I'm a teaching, I've been teaching for 6 weeks, and I live in Morocco! While I don't think that my students have learned that much, or at least would be unable to reproduce anything we've talked about in class, I've learned a lot. I've learned that just because they can repeat a definition, they more than likely can't use the vocabulary word correctly in a sentence. I've learned that many students don't care that they didn't do their homework. I've learned that reading is not a high priority for most of my students (and now I need to find an interesting way to teach it). I've learned they enjoy my Friday classes (apparently they're too easy, and filled with too much singing! :) ). I've learned that no matter how many times I write certain names on the board, the talkative kids don't get the message that they need to be quiet! I've learned that candy and bonus points are big motivators!
So I'm still adjusting (a bit plateaued on the "Moroccan" side, and still working hard on the "teaching" side), but I wanted to share with you about my day--it was a good Friday (or as Rebecca Black says. . . "fun, fun, fun")! My day started off with some good prayer--two of my friends dropped by for a spontaneous 30-second prayer which was just what I needed as I woke up utterly exhausted today and in no mood to teach. My freshmen were great, and we spent most of the period talking about literature, and the other part singing my favorite song for the day--Friday. They've gotten pretty used to me jamming in the halls the last day of every week!
Lunch was great! I mean, when is it not??? :) My two roommates, Kirsten and Collette, and I have begun preparing meals 2 to 3 nights a week--which means LEFTOVERS for lunch!!! Today was spaghetti with white cheese sauce, broccoli, and mushrooms. Also, lunch break on Friday's is 20 minutes longer than the other four days = eating at a normal speed rather than scarfing my food like there's no tomorrow . . . which there may not be. Ha!
After lunch, I had my Foundations and Honors classes. I'm pleased to announce that I assigned 2 "complaint" papers in each class! I have started a new policy--excessive complaining = a 3-5 page paper on why the students should not have complained and why he/she will no longer complain in my class. The students try to bargain and complain their way out of lots of things (nay, everything!), and it's wearing on my nerves. Thus, a new classroom policy. We'll see whether they turn in the papers next week or not. I'll keep you posted!
I'm free the last period of the day, and so I had a nice chat with the school's director, another teacher, and Mark Weiderwohl. We chatted about the new espresso and latte's soon to be served to the teachers in the mornings (Yay!), dance classes, block scheduling, cook outs, and the like--most of the conversation was not geared toward the male in the room (Sorry, Mark!), but it was nice to feel like I could relax for 40 minutes rather than rushing around grading papers and planning for next week. I'm pleased to announce that I've switched to doing a few Units in two of my classes, so I'm caught up on planning (for the most part) for the next 2-3 weeks!
After school, the middle school English teacher and I went to my favorite cafe, Le Carlton, which is mere minutes from my apartment. It was wonderful to chat about school, language (Arabic & French), life, traveling, students and more for an hour or so. I'm so glad that I have such a great relationship with the other teachers here. It makes my job that much more enjoyable!
Back at the apartment, my roommate Kirsten, fluent in Arabic, gave me my 3rd Arabic lesson of the week. I can now say "I went to the school today," "I want a kilo of X (vegetable/fruit) please," and "How much for a kilo of X?" However, it takes me about 3 minutes to think of the correct conjugation and pronunciation, so I'm still in the extremely beginning stages of language acquisition here. However, it is pretty exciting to think that I'm learning a few things day by day.
Tomorrow I'm going back to the Medina to look at fabric and. . . shoes! Anyone surprised??? :) I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, hoping to take a few more pictures to show y'all, and be able to spend time with teacher friends outside the school buildings. Have a fantastic week!!! xoxo
So I'm still adjusting (a bit plateaued on the "Moroccan" side, and still working hard on the "teaching" side), but I wanted to share with you about my day--it was a good Friday (or as Rebecca Black says. . . "fun, fun, fun")! My day started off with some good prayer--two of my friends dropped by for a spontaneous 30-second prayer which was just what I needed as I woke up utterly exhausted today and in no mood to teach. My freshmen were great, and we spent most of the period talking about literature, and the other part singing my favorite song for the day--Friday. They've gotten pretty used to me jamming in the halls the last day of every week!
Lunch was great! I mean, when is it not??? :) My two roommates, Kirsten and Collette, and I have begun preparing meals 2 to 3 nights a week--which means LEFTOVERS for lunch!!! Today was spaghetti with white cheese sauce, broccoli, and mushrooms. Also, lunch break on Friday's is 20 minutes longer than the other four days = eating at a normal speed rather than scarfing my food like there's no tomorrow . . . which there may not be. Ha!
After lunch, I had my Foundations and Honors classes. I'm pleased to announce that I assigned 2 "complaint" papers in each class! I have started a new policy--excessive complaining = a 3-5 page paper on why the students should not have complained and why he/she will no longer complain in my class. The students try to bargain and complain their way out of lots of things (nay, everything!), and it's wearing on my nerves. Thus, a new classroom policy. We'll see whether they turn in the papers next week or not. I'll keep you posted!
I'm free the last period of the day, and so I had a nice chat with the school's director, another teacher, and Mark Weiderwohl. We chatted about the new espresso and latte's soon to be served to the teachers in the mornings (Yay!), dance classes, block scheduling, cook outs, and the like--most of the conversation was not geared toward the male in the room (Sorry, Mark!), but it was nice to feel like I could relax for 40 minutes rather than rushing around grading papers and planning for next week. I'm pleased to announce that I've switched to doing a few Units in two of my classes, so I'm caught up on planning (for the most part) for the next 2-3 weeks!
After school, the middle school English teacher and I went to my favorite cafe, Le Carlton, which is mere minutes from my apartment. It was wonderful to chat about school, language (Arabic & French), life, traveling, students and more for an hour or so. I'm so glad that I have such a great relationship with the other teachers here. It makes my job that much more enjoyable!
Back at the apartment, my roommate Kirsten, fluent in Arabic, gave me my 3rd Arabic lesson of the week. I can now say "I went to the school today," "I want a kilo of X (vegetable/fruit) please," and "How much for a kilo of X?" However, it takes me about 3 minutes to think of the correct conjugation and pronunciation, so I'm still in the extremely beginning stages of language acquisition here. However, it is pretty exciting to think that I'm learning a few things day by day.
Tomorrow I'm going back to the Medina to look at fabric and. . . shoes! Anyone surprised??? :) I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, hoping to take a few more pictures to show y'all, and be able to spend time with teacher friends outside the school buildings. Have a fantastic week!!! xoxo
