It's official: I survived my first weeks as a teacher!

It's the Saturday after my second week of school here in Nairobi.. and I'm beat! :) Really, I couldn't be happier. Teaching's a challenge, for sure, but my students are such a trip- they're a delight to teach. There's so much to tell.. but I'll just post some highlights here:

- First day of school: It was a half-day and so I only had my high school students for about 25 minutes per class. I followed Harry Wong's "First Days of School" plan as best as I could, even shaking kids' hands as they entered the room, which wasn't as awkward here in Kenya as it might have been in the States, because that's what you do here. Shake hands. All the time. And when you can't shake someone's hand because it's dirty, they'll offer you their wrist. Anyway. So we played "This or That," a game where you give kids an option between one thing or another (ie> Chocolate or Vanilla; Beach or Mountains; Comedy or Action, etc.) and they move to one side of the room or the other, depending on which they preferred. The whole point from a teacher mentality is to subliminally remind kids that they're not alone in class- that they've always got something in common with someone else. I found out a couple of days before that I'm going to be the freshman class advisor (and again, everything's like that here.. you just learn to roll with the punches) and so it was fun to watch that class come in. A whole bunch of boys.. and a bunch of little "deer in the headlights" kinds of stares pointed up in my direction. They're totally nervous still- it's adorable :)

- Day 2: So I was just so excited that I survived day one, that showing up for the second day was kind of a shocker. But I'm figuring things out (namely the darn copy machine, which I still haven't figured out completely) and putting my things together during my morning prep period, and over walks Nancy, one of our office staff, telling me that there was a parent there who wanted to see me. My first thought is, "Oh my goodness, somehow on the very first day of school, I managed to screw up her kid!" So I shake hands with Mrs. A, the mother of one of my ninth graders. She smiles and says, "I just wanted to meet you and let you know that you got a big compliment at dinner last night!" Whew- alright, so it's good news. "My son said that he's got this really great English teacher- and he's never said that before!" Wow, that's encouraging! "But he said you're kind of crazy." ...Crazy?... "I think that's a good thing!" Awesome. So I'm the crazy lady.

- I'm getting ahead of myself, but, Day 9 (Yesterday): Alright, so I'm in the middle of my Theatre Arts class which is full of a bunch of goofballs and hams, and it's FRIDAY, and I'm realizing I've got to do something to get them to pay attention for the period. I realized during all of our theatre games and improvisation exercises from our previous classes that the kids are relying a great deal on facial expression and dialogue to get across who their character is and what the mood of their scene is. I decide to pull out a lesson I remember from THE 131, my college acting course, and plan to introduce my students to bodily expression. In order to explain the concept, I explain that when putting together a character, you've got specific "anchor points" (your head, shoulders, spine, hips, and feet) in your body that affect your gait and carriage. Then I decide that it'd be a really great idea just to demonstrate this to my class, because they're kind of looking at me with a glazed, confused look in their eyes (a look I'm getting used to quickly). I have an aisle down the middle of my classroom, and so I begin walking up and down it and ask them to tell me which "anchor point" I lead with when I'm walking normally. A kid finally shouts, "Your shoulders!" Right. Then I say, "So when I change the point I lead with to my head..." and I do... "I become someone else, right?" As I'm walking back and forth down the aisle of my classroom, my kids start busting out laughing. Then I continue my humiliation by demonstrating changing my gait to each of the other anchor points. To top it off, I explain to my students how your spinal position can affect your portrayal of a character. In your neck.. between your shoulders.. and in your lower back.. changing the curvature of your spine can "make you into someone else." So basically, I'm standing at the front of my classroom, looking like a complete goon.. all in hopes that they'd get something out of it. And actually, they did. I got them back by having them do a "walk about" around the room, changing their own gaits and carriages.. and then had them practice imitating one another. It worked. They got it. But now I think I've doomed myself to being the nutty drama teacher for the rest of my career at WNS.

- Freshman Class: Like I mentioned before, this is the class that I'll be advising for the next 2+ years. They're a good bunch of kids, but man they've got more questions than I ever thought was humanly possible. There are two boys in the class who are already so obsessed with their grades (mind you, it's the SECOND week of school) that their hands are constantly up in the air, asking all of these outrageous questions. I know I'll either grow weary of it or completely figure out how to handle it eventually, but for now, it's just kind of hilarious. A bunch of these kids are in my Theatre Arts and Yearbook production classes, too, so it's fun to see them multiple times during the day.

- Sophomore Class: I've got to say, I'm already mourning that a teacher will be coming back from furlough next semester who wants to take over this class. They're really great kids. Lots of talkers, which I love because it makes class discussion so much easier and more meaningful. I've also discovered through doing some Multiple Intelligences assessments that a handful of these students aren't interested in spiritual things at all, and don't have a saving relationship with Christ. The fact that they're a dynamic class who are just itching to talk about big ideas and concepts all of the time is leading me to think that there's some real potential here to watch kids grow and change spiritually. We've had great discussions on right and wrong, morality and free will, all as a lead-up to a thematic unit I'm calling "Utopia, Interrupted" where we'll use Lord of the Flies as a central text for a grand conversation on human dignity and depravity and the Fall. I'm totally pumped.. but definitely be praying for these students.

- Junior Class: Alright, these are my toughies. I LOVE this class- they're amazing, bright kids.. but they intimidate the heck out of me. Really, most days, these groups of kids (I've got two sections of English 11) will just kind of sit there and stare at me, so I'm often self-conscious about whether I'm teaching effectively and challenging them enough. The good news is, at least from what they're communicating to me, it appears that each and every one of these kids has a relationship with the Lord. But there's some "intellectual" types in there that I'm concerned will have a tough time maintaining their walk with Him if they don't get discipled closely right now. What a challenge, huh? I think this'll definitely be the class that stretches me the most. We're starting Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter this week in a unit I'm calling "Your Good Name" where we'll be discussing reputation, honor, sin, and the dichotomy between our fallen condition and God's abundant grace for us. Should be pretty cool if I do my job well.

Bottom line, I am SO completely aware of why the Lord's got me where I am. There are countless opportunities every day for me to be Christ and encourage kids to learn and grow not only in their academics, but in their spiritual lives as well. Even little things like my attitude in class towards my students seems to be a "way in" to these kids' lives. The theatre kids were being obnoxious the other day, and I stood there and waited for them to quiet down so I could give them directions. When one of them finally shushed the rest, I told them that I wasn't going to try to shout over them, but that their talking out couldn't become a habit- we've got too much to do in that class and I want it to be a fun time for everyone. I started in to explaining some directions, when one of my sophomores (who has made it quite clear, by the say, that he's an atheist) raises his hand to ask a question. I call on him and he says, "Miss Weiant, do you ever get mad?" I ask him what he means (we're talking about "expression," after all) and he says, "I mean, do you ever get mad...ever?"

Hmm.. you know what, I think I'm really realizing that my ability to teach these kids about literature and writing and journalism and theatre and all that stuff is so inconsequential when contrasted with my responsibility to teach them truth. And I'm very aware that that has so much to do with the attitude with which I come to my classroom and towards my students every day. That attitude has got to be Christ's or I'm going to fail these kids as their teacher. There's a big prayer request for you right there.

* * *
I'm finding that it's such a blessing to take a few moments and reflect through writing about all that's happening here.. and with this being my first year of teaching, I'm realizing that those spare moments are few and far between! It's been a lot of late nights grading and lesson planning, but I promise I'll do my best to update here as often as I possibly can! Thanks for reading and praying- and again, please let me know how I can keep you in prayer as well!

Kate