I wanted to take pictures of all my classes one to show you three things:1. How humongous each class is. 2. To better explain the sweet location of my school, and 3. So you could check out their rocking awesome uniforms. In addition to what I wanted to show you I gave each class the option of choosing where they wanted to be photographed. A2 wanted to show you the Lesotho flag, A3 wanted to show you the river valley down the mountain from our school, and B3 wanted to show you how the teachers live. The few B3 boys also wanted to show you the school donkey.
A2 (one of my eight grade math classes): This class definitely wins the award for trying the hardest each and every day. They always do their “level best” (which I assume means very best)! They are constantly begging me to assign them more homework. Strange, yet refreshing… students that come to school because they want to learn (or because otherwise they might die of boredom). If we could get the basic foundation America students have and the effort of the Basotho students I imagine we (the United States) could rival some of those other developed nations. They prefer to work individually to groups, a movement I am completely opposed to (but since when does my opinion matter?). Call me lazy. I do not feel the need to defend myself but I am going to anyways. I will say it 10,000 times: There are 66 of them and only ONE of me. If only there were more me (plural, can me be plural?). In a classroom where you can hardly move down the isles it is a lot easier to reach 11 groups of six. I realize I told you never to trust me but take my word on this and sending mail. This goes without mentioning, I have about ten students in this class that “get it” so it really helps them when they work in groups and explain it to their classmates. I can say it four different ways and work 99 problems on the board but sometimes it is just better to have a peer explain it. Not to mention their English is not great so a lot of what I say (despite clearly writing it on the board) goes in one ear and out the other. In many ways this place really is no different from America, most of my education went in one ear and out the other (which I realized the other day when I could remember how to draw an Iodine ion on the board properly showing all electrons).
A3 (another eight grade math class): This is my favorite class by a landslide. They are hysterical, an absolute riot. If it were not for them I probably would have quit teaching long ago. We have bonded. We get each other. We know how to make it work without making either parties life miserable. I need them to show my other two classes how to have fun while learning.
B3 (my ninth grade science class): This class brings me down to new lows, each day worse than the day before. Most of what I need to say about them can be explained in the post titled “Test 2 Frustrations.” I am sad to inform you picture day was also “hair check” day, which hit the B3s hard. Half of this class was sent home from school because their hair was too long. Two millimeters of hair is two millimeters too much. Out of about 550 students at the school slightly over 100 were sent home. From the pool of 100 there were 30 from the B3 class. My other source of relief (besides A3) is knowing the B3s are not just trouble for me!
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