On the second day of class I read, “Miss Nelson is Missing” to the students. I gave them a writing assignment from the book and an implicit warning: Do you want me to be Miss Nelson or Miss Swamp? But the next week, their behavior was the same as before. They talked while I was giving directions, laughed when I asked them to turn in their assignments, and challenged my every action.
Today I started teaching my third week of classes. Ready for change, I lit a candle and told them their goal was to keep it burning during the entire class. I warned, "One word of Hassaniya (local dialect of Arabic) and I will blow it out." They made it 25 minutes- which is a record for the group for sure. They were even upset with the student who made the mistake! The class begged me to light it again. I told them that each day they will have the opportunity to improve. I wonder how they will do tomorrow?
I collected last week's assignment and had to give three students zeros for trying to complete their assignments during class time. But there were some improvements- I never saw or heard one cell phone and I was able to speak in a silent room. I introduced a new collaborative-based project that will last the rest of the semester. The students sighed and tried to persuade me to lighten the load. I made the group stay 15 minutes late so we could complete our agenda and so I could give them the theme for their journal entry this week. As the class was leaving, one student remarked, "Miss Nelson is Missing!" and another commented, "You are now Miss Swamp." I smiled. My mission was accomplished.
Maybe tomorrow I will be able to be Miss Delia again.
Hi - It's great reading your blog so far and I hope you post more. my wife and I will be emigrating to Mauritania soon and we have a few questions if you don't mind. What is the price of DSL there and is it a good connection? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Bilal, thanks for writing. Good luck with the move! Yes, the DSL internet is reliable and reasonably fast. The price depends on the speed you want, but I think I have 512 for 10,000 Ouigiya a month. That is less than $50.00. So far, so good!
ReplyDeleteProgress! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe same scene that you just portrayed has happened to almost all the teachers before you like Ms. Angela Coffee last year. The first class was always the most difficult one. I really do not know why the students become so impolite in their first encounter with any teacher. I think it might be because the teachers always try to give a serious impression about themselves in the first class while students like the first class to be more informal and open to get to know the personality of the new visitor. The best solution with Mauritanian students is to make of the first class an open discussion in which you and the students introduce yourselves to each other in an informal way.
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