I spend Tuesday mornings with routine subjects like spelling, math and reading comprehension. Thursday mornings are "mine" - where I've taken the kids on an hour long "think outside the box" time. We've covered things like Communication Skills, Time Management and Conflict Resolution.
I got permission to take the kids out on weekly field trips on Wednesday mornings and decided to go to the library. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea for the kids to tackle a research project.
After an hour long conversation and pulling teeth, each of the kids chose a topic they wanted to learn more about. To be honest, the library time in and of itself was a challenge. The book selection is limited, there is no copier machine and the magazines are very outdated. I also spent most of my time helping the kids find resources since their language (and resource) skills are limited.
Three weeks later, we decided that everyone had sufficient material gathered. In typical teenage fashion, each one of these kids threw their own version of a "tantrum" yesterday when I made them spend the morning putting their materials together for their presentations - including the excuse that her eyelids hurt when she read so much. Not surpisingly, when she finished, she looked at me and said "I did it" - to which I replied "of course you did".
This morning was report time. The director came to classs and they were asked to present in english - which made them all the more nervous. The kids drew numbers to see who had to go first. I think I was a little nervous myself - or maybe just anxious to see how this whole thing was going to turn out.
I was so proud of these kids. Each one of them remembered to speak on their 3 main points, used visual aids, and answered questions when asked for more information.
such a great story... so interesting that no matter where children come from that they still want challenges and boundaries. I am sure they love you as their teacher!!
ReplyDeleteAwwww...good job Ms. Wendi!
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