Teaching

I have officially finished two days of teaching! The first day was absolutely insane, but the second day was a lot better.

The first day was very long and hectic. It was impossible to plan for anything until we knew the students and which level they were at.  First off, I need to tell you about Alma. Alma is incredible. She works at the school, and she helps keep the kids in line for us. She is also so sweet. By the second day she already knew all of our names. She doesn’t know English very well, but she always says hi to us, cleans up our classrooms, and helps discipline the kids when they’re being naughty. It’s so funny: when a kid is acting up, all you have to do is say, “I’m going to go get Alma” and they literally shut up right on the spot. Today she even volunteered to take Alona and Emily home to their host families. However, she doesn’t know English, so she called Dima to ask us if that would be okay. She is such a sweetheart.

My first set of Basic Reading kids are Vejus, Toma, Nikita, Pranas, Milena, and Aritum. This group is very smart and knows English very well. Most of the kids are six and seven years old. However, Vejus and Pranas are older, nine and ten, and they are best friends. This makes them very difficult because they are bored by everything we do and can’t stop talking to each other. And I don’t blame them, since I would be bored by that stuff too if I already knew how to read. They should be at a higher level, but I guess a conflict with the parents prevents us from moving them to elementary. So that really makes the situation unfair for both us and them. It is unfair to us because they are very condescending to us and the other children. It is unfair for them because they are beyond this stuff and have every right to be bored.

Toma is one  of the smartest kids in the class. She is also very sweet  and actually tries to help the other kids.  Nikita is not very advanced and doesn’t know how to read well. However, he is so adorable and kind. He gets distracted easily, but he will listen to you when you ask him to refocus his attention. Milena and Aritum are both very quiet but very well behaved. They don’t like to participate very much, but I try to include them as much as possible. They are such good kids.

My second group is a lot crazier and not as advanced in reading as the first group. Their names are Agata, Kira, Laurinas, Birute, and Maja.  Agata is my favorite. When we line up for opening, she always stands in front of me and leans her head against my body. She is a cutie pie. She can’t read very well, but she is well-behaved. Maja is very sensitive. She will cry about almost anything. Today we tried to play a competitive game.  When she wasn’t doing well , she would start to throw a temper tantrum. We adjusted the rules of the game just to get her to calm down.  It’s going to be hard dealing with her. Birute is crazy. She has so much energy and loves to yell and run around. She will listen to you most of the time, but sometimes she gets a little out of control. But she’s funny too, so I don’t hate her. Laurinas and Kira didn’t come the second day, so I don’t know them as well yet.

Alona and I decided to combine our Basic Reading groups and teach together. This made it so much easier the second day! The first day was so awkward only working with two students. This way, we had at least 3-5 students and could help each other. It is very nice teaching class with someone else. I also love teaching Basic Reading and writing. It is so much more fun helping them read a book and learn how to spell. We played hangman, around the world with alphabet cards, and a game where they had to spell words we read in the book on white boards. They seemed to love all of them. It went well, but I’m already losing my voice.

So that’s how teaching has gone so far!