So I am only four days into this whole teaching thing and I am already feeling in over my head and questioning whether or not this whole teaching thing is really for me. NOT persay because teaching isn't for me but because teachers (and adults for that matter) do a lot of work and this is my first real experience being in that hard-working-professional-adult world and I am not quite sure I am ready for it. The more time I spend at school in my classroom and at my school the more appreciation I have the working-folk; I guess this is called growing up. In this process of "growing-up" over the last four days there have for sure been some tears as well as some, "I don't want to be a teacher anymore..." whines that I am sure will pass the more comfortable I get in the school and in my classroom. Please thank Chris for taking the brunt of those moments, he really deserves a medal or something for putting up with me this week. :)
Now if I am going to claim to be overwhelmed I better try and explain why. Here is my best attempt to explain my bamboozled mind: the way that I funcion as a worker is to get a task and then do it right away. The overwhelming thing about these first few days of workshops stems from the fact that I have been getting bombarded with different things to do and not much time yet to do them. The first two days in particular were quite exhasuting as all I did was sit and listen to the thousands (literally) of things I will be doing and details I will be remembering and students I will be working with for the next nine months. On top of that I don't know how to do a lot of these things or these are processes that take months of experience to perfect. I also am not familiar with any of the cirriculum I am going to be teaching which does not help in my "not knowing what to do or how to do it" first week of my first year.
The hope I have is coming from the many teachers who, remembering back to their first days in their classroom, can empathize with my stress and continually remind me that I am going to get everything done and I am going to figure out this whole teaching thing. I feel like teaching has some rhythm to it, you have to get into it and feel it and flow with the constant changes to the perfectly made plans. I have not yet felt this flow but trust and pray that soon I will.
Enough of the sorrow. There are some wonderful things about my school that I am going to do a better job of focusing on... First of all Twin Cities International is a school created for East African families, so most of my students will be coming from the country of Somalia. This is quite exciting to me but also a bit intimidating as I really don't know very much about that culture or people group. All I know is what I read in the book on Somolia I was given after being hired for this position. Here are some interesting facts I have gathered thus far:
-People from Somalia are called Somali or Somalis, not Somalians
-Somalis eat bananas with some of their main dishes to balance the spices
-Somalis generally do not touch people of the opposite gender
-Somalis are very frightened by dogs (which is a bummer for my students because today when I was opening their new math journals they will be working with daily I noticed that there were very large images of dogs on both sides)
-Somali people gernally do not celebrate birthdays
-Ramadan, the 30 day fast they as partake in, starts either August 21 or 22 depending on the moon. During this fast they only eat before the sun rises and after the sun sets.
-Somali names are quite different then our American names and they go as follows: Name, Father's Name, Grandfather's Name. There are no last names but the names of the father and grandfather are passed on to both girls and boys. If that were the case in America you would call me Justie Mark Leeland. Funny!
I guess that might be enough fun facts for now, but believe me there will be many more to come as I continue to learn through reading and asking questions and experiences.
Another really fun thing for me is that I am going to be working downtown Minneapolis! I have had the joy of being part of morning traffic, which really has not been bad at all. I love when I exit on 94 and turn onto Washington when I can see all of the buildings and commotion going on in the morning. It is one of my favorite moments of my day as I anticipate all that the day ahead could potentially hold. While I am in no way unsafe being downtown, we do need to be careful in the area of the school as you never know who might be coming around in that part of town. I was informed to always lock my car, try to leave while it is still light out, and always look under my car before going home. One of the old staff members shared with me that last year a homeless man would sleep in the bushes right outside in front of the school. :) Kind of cute I think, and I guess I wouldn't mind seeing a few buddies like that napping in the bushes in my time here (considering we all stay safe which I see no problems with.) There is a security guard in the school and I have no doubt he'll take care of us.
My last favorite thing about my new job is the team of girls I am going to be working with. At TIES (that is how they refer to Twin Cities International Elementary School) there is a lot of staff collaboration and team work in both planning and teaching, and from the moment I met my team my heart rested in knowing that I will be taken care of this year and will have a lot of fun! I really enjoy all of the five girls I will be working with, we are a young team and have already had quite a few laughs together. I am excited to be spending more time with them and getting to know them more as I pick their brains with how to set up my room, when and how to use the flashcards scattered throughout my drawers... etc.
So here is my REAL favorite part about this whole deal, I know without a shadow of a doubt that by being in Minneapolis and teaching at this school that I am directly in the center of God's will for my life right now. I know there is a purpose for me being there. I know God is going to be a fence around me everyday. I know I am going to learn so much in my time there. And I know God is going to use me to teach these little ones as well. Please pray for me. Pray for safety, for patience with myself as I learn how to teach, for patience with my students as I am sure 20 five year olds can get overwhelming, growth as God continues to stretch and shape me through this experience, and sanity as I navigate becoming an adult and growing up.
Love.
