a disaster!
I left that first day pretty sure I wouldn't be going back. The students are very bright, but they spoke VERY little English. These are NOT students of the English Dept. They are students of the Law Dept. And they have had one....only one....class of basic English conversation. So you can imagine the challenge and frustration that we all experienced.
I called a meeting. I told Rick to protect me.....from myself. I'm much better than I used to be, but I think I will always have a hard time saying no. So our friend (the law professor) and his friend (the headmaster of the English Dept) came to our house last Wednesday evening. I was going to be firm. I couldn't go on like this for three weeks. I'm not a professor, after all. I had all the reasons listed on the tablet in my head.
But then......they had a list, too.
They had it all planned out how it could work. They were compelling. And thankful for my willingness. And they were compelling. And they wanted to help me brainstorm ideas for teaching these students with little to no English.
In my book, they are unsung heroes in this place....working tirelessly to try and help young people have a chance for something better. Did I say they were compelling? Bottom line....they weren't ready to give up. And so how could I give up?
But I did have to rethink e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. I had planned. I had to lay down expectations....of myself, of them, of this educational system. The gap in our worldviews is HUGE. We all talked about that. And they were very understanding. But the opportunity to have a native English speaker who is willing to come and give however much can be given is also HUGE....to them. They apologized. They told me they knew that they were asking much more of me than they or the students were able to give back.
Hello? Compelling? How could I possibly give up?
I couldn't. So here we are....about to finish up Week 2 of class.
It's been fun...frustrating...exhausting...challenging...rewarding.
I gave them their first test yesterday. It was only fifteen fill-in-the-blank questions. It took them one hour. And all of the answers were in a list on the board to choose from. *smile*
I had to chuckle as they tried to work on that test and whisper to each other. I tried to give a few stern looks. But inside I was just smiling and hoping they did well. Even with all the talking, there were a lot of missed answers. Bless their hearts.
And then there are the few exceptional students. Aren't there a few in every group?
I laughed as I read some of the tests. They each labeled the test in their own words.
"Answers"
"Evaluation or tense" - Oh, they were tense, alright!
"Text of English" - They mean 'test'.
"Text of Englaugh" - A Freudian slip? I know I laughed.
And my favorite. "The English Interrogation" Oh, I'm sure they are all feeling like it's quite the interrogation.
But God is giving us all strength to endure. And I think He's answering prayers and opening doors for more important discussions.
Today, we were discussing torts. I gave a definition for "trespass".
An illegal act done forcefully against another person's rights or property.
We couldn't even get to the business of trespass because they couldn't get past the word "rights". That lead to a discussion of America's Bill of Rights as I tried to explain what someone's "rights" are....at least in America. I could only think of two off the top of my head.
Every person has a right to freedom of speech. Every person has a right to freedom of religion.
It was a day of lively discussion about freedom, religion and human rights! I've been thanking the Lord today for His ever-present help and words to answer some tough questions.
Tomorrow we tackle malice, negligence, and fraud. Whew!!!! I'm tired just thinking about it. But I am having a lot of fun with it....and am very glad I didn't give up on them or myself.
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