Marked Improvement

Rains turn everything green & leafy

A few months ago I went to observe the class of an English teacher here on Clove Island.  This was part of the training program we have for English teachers.  The program consists of 3 parts.  The teachers attend a series of training sessions, they create a detailed lesson plan, and finally there is an observation aspect in which they both observe and are observed.  So, it was that I found myself a few months ago sitting in the back of Mr. K’s class of high school students at one of the local private high school in town.

The class trickled in, students showing little interest in their class or their teacher.  It soon became clear why.  First Mr. K. had each student introduce themselves.  The students did this very haltingly and with many mistakes.  Mr. K. with a stern face would not correct them or encourage them.  When the first was done the next went, and the painful process went on until all the students had introduced themselves.  Then Mr. K. went to the board and started writing.  He had soon filled the board with grammar charts and began to explain to the students the grammar point they were to study that day.  The good thing was Mr. K. spoke English.  Unfortunately, he used so much grammar jargon the students were absolutely lost.  He droned on, hardly looking at the students, almost talking to himself.  The students, meanwhile sat in their seats talking to one another, heads on their desk, yawning, completely lost and completely bored.  Having finished his lecture, Mr. K. returned to the board and started writing sentences.  The students took out their notebooks and busily started scribbling.  The students were responsible to copy down all the sentences on the board and then correct them.  This took a good twenty minutes.  At the end of this time, Mr. K. seemed to be finished.  He looked over to me and announced, “Now our guest Mr. Tom will teach you something.”  His class, which still had half an hour remaining, was unexpectedly left to me.

To say that Mr. K’s class was an absolute train-wreck would be completely justified, except that such teaching is the standard here on Clove Island and students and even schools do not expect anything better.  This is partially why our English program is so successful.  Our methods, which seem so basic to those from the West, are “new”, “strange” and in some ways revolutionary.

After class I sat down with Mr. K. and gave him some tough criticism, pointing out all the ways he hadn’t put into practice the things he was learning in the training sessions.  He took it rather well, and only asked if he could come and observe me teaching some more.  So he did,  and for the past month he has been coming to my classes and seeing the techniques we taught in the training sessions put into practice.

Well, it was with a bit of trepidation that I accepted to return this morning to visit and observe Mr. K’s class again.  “I’m just coming to observe.  You understand?” Yes, he assured me.

Tom visits friend with new baby at hospital

He handed me a copy of his lesson plan and with only a short delay because of rain, the class got started.  He began it again with introductions, but the students seemed more comfortable this time.  I noticed that when they struggled he helped them and when they did well he complimented them. “Good job.”  He kept saying.  You could see the difference in the students.  They were engaged and smiling, attentive and listening.  He followed introductions up with a few short review games.  The students were having a great time.  Students from other classes started poking their heads through the door to see what was going on.  After that there was a review of body parts.  Mr. K had them all stand up.  He would say “Show me your head.” and all the students would touch their head.  At one point in the game, Mr K. said to the students, “Show me your nipple.”  which, thanks to differences in cultural norms, was perfectly acceptable and didn’t get one giggle or raised eyebrow, (except from the white guy in the back of the room who was thinking how a phrase like that could probably get you fired in America).  But nipples aside, the exercise went well and he moved on to the day’s subject.  He showed good use of time, he varied his activities, he got the students talking, he did both individual and group work.  In short, he taught a very good class, and I was happy to tell him so.  The difference was like day and night. 
It’s not everyday we get to see our pupils improve so dramatically.  As I left the class I felt excited.  People can change!  Situations can change!  But it often starts one person at a time.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Some big rains have finally come— providing a much needed break from the heat. We found a temporary solution for our internet problems and are still considering different long-term solutions. We ended taking our youngest son out of preschool. We learned that the directrice doesn’t like kids starting mid-year and we knew that he would require a lot of extra attention. We’ll work with him at home and feel at peace with the decision.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the brothers and sisters— though they aren’t meeting as a big group they are being encouraged to keep gathering and studying in their separate homes. We pray that this would be happening. One brother had this shop broken into and lots of goods stolen. One of our team families is making arrangements to come back to the islands in the next week or two after a long time away. Pray for their travel and logistics with two little kids and for a smooth transition back to the islands. Some fellow workers on the islands have had trouble with their work situation are planning on giving notice and transitioning to something else, pray that they would have wisdom in all these decisions.