Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 May 2005 07:05:32
Thanks be to God!
Thank you for your prayers and advice. Both were greatly appreciated, and knowing your prayers were with me strengthened me greatly today. My priest prayed for me yesterday, and that was a great comfort also.
I slept quite well, but woke up a bit earlier than usual. I wasn't overly stressed, just a bit nervous. I prayed and prayed, "Lord, have mercy!", as I walked to the centre and then sat and waited for my mentor teacher to arrive. A moment of extreme nervousness when she said, "We have 8 new students." -- ARGH! The 16 we have already was quite enough for me! But the new students were as wonderful and eager as the existing students, and I need not have worried -- God was looking after me.
I introduced fruit and vegetables, and passed some papier mâchè fruit and vegetables around as I drilled the name of each. My observing teacher was due to come an hour into the lesson, and observe for an hour, and I was thinking, 'So far, so good.'
My observing teacher arrived, and was almost hit by a thrown papier mâchè cucumber as she went to sit down! She laughed -- I wiped my brow. ;-)
The class continued well for the next hour. I'm truly blessed, not only with a great mentor teacher who provided me with a lot of great example teaching and feedback, but a fantastic class that loves to participate and students who are willing to help other, weaker students during group activities when I'm helping another group.
My observing teacher's feedback was positive, and she complimented me on a good choice of lesson for the students' level [they started five weeks ago with basically no English, except the alphabet and their names], plenty of enthusiasm, and great use of praise for students. A few suggestions on alternate ways I could've made the language [This is...; That is...; These are...; Those are...] a bit easier for the students and some further suggestions on teaching style, which will (hopefully) help me to become a better teacher in the future.
Tomorrow is my last day at the centre -- I will be sad to leave. I'm grown to know and love the students and teachers there: it has become part of my everyday life. Our class is making a fruit and a vegetable salad, and then we'll eat it: so that will be a great end to my time there. I do hope I may return there in my career: working with migrants is where my heart is.
Once again, thank you all for your prayers and advice. And thanks be to God that I have passed this section of the course.