School!

The first weeks of school were super, super busy. Those that I’ve talked to, know that I spend the majority of my time either teaching or lesson planning so that I can teach some more. Both Sofia and Lisa were teaching other grades previously so none of us have a store of lesson plans.

My class is good by American standards, especially when you take into consideration that I have 16 students shoved into a classroom half the size of other classrooms (Jose has decided to move my classroom. I have mixed emotions; delighted that I will get a full size classroom, but sad that I will be moving away from Sofia and Lisa. We are always in and out of each other’s classrooms to distribute things or chat) But by Year 3 (ages 6-8) standards my kids are the hellions. They don’t mean to be but I’ve got a few strong personalities.

One of my boys CANNOT stay in his seat/hold still to save his life. I’ve got two chatty girls that DO NOT stop talking, EVER. One of my kids likes to pick fights, etc. Personalities. Maria, the primary music teacher has had issues with them, a few of the other teachers have told me that they’re a handful.

One of the major irritations for me is a very Tanzanian habit. When the students want my attention, instead of raising their hand, they each call out “Mees! Mees!” Imagine a whole bunch of baby birds chirping Miss (but with a Tanzanian accent it’s Mees) all around you in a room that echoes. NOT OK. That is something we have been hard-core working on; Raising your hand quietly. I don’t answer to “Mees”!

All of my kids are African; I have Tanzanians, Ugandans, Rwandans, and Kenyans. I have more girls in my class but just by a little. I also have a very wide range of ability levels. Some of my students are still reading books with two lines on each page and one is at the point of chapter books.

Despite their faults, they are all pretty affectionate. One of my girls brought me in a rose the other day. I have two that regularly give me back massages at lunch and other students clean up my dishes at meals. Two of my kids are borders and so I see them at all the meals. They are both really sweet and love eating with me and Kelly.

It’s funny being a teacher on campus. It’s almost like being a minor celebrity. In the first few weeks I would be walking around and hear children whisper to each other, “That’s Miss Fano”. Other times, children I had never met would call out “Hello, Miss Fano!” It’s really funny to walk by a table of children, because then they all call out in a little chorus “Hi Miss!” and “Hi, Miss Fano!”

My popularity is really helped by my neon blue slap watch. The kids here are super fascinated with it. They all know what they are because a few of the students have them. I’ve seen a neon pink/purple on one of the secondary girls and one of the Year 6’s had a brown one until he broke the watch face. The little kids love to take it off my arm and put it on their wrists, ankles and heads and the older kids like to slap themselves with it so it curls up.