Today was our first full day at the school. We arrived at 8 and split up into small groups to help out here and there. Kyle and I worked with 4th and 5th graders on math problems, some of us helped with reading, shelving books in the library, other odds and ends.The kids I worked with were supposed to play one of a variety of math-based board games. Kyle and I quickly discovered that we remembered how to do neither long division nor manual multiplication. We did our best to conceal this fact. I'm not sure how transparent we were, but they didn't seem to have any great expectations of us, anyway. I think when I asked them stupid questions about the processes, they assumed that I already knew and was just testing them.
I worked first with a group of four 5th grade boys. They didn't seem to interested in the game and had not bothered to gather the necessary supplies (markers, cards to draw from.) Instead, they subjected me to a thorough interrogation of my background, personal habits, interests, and favorite movies and video games. I think I lost a few points when I revealed that I don't have a game system, but one kind boy pointed out that my laptop is basically like a game system, which seemed to assuage the others' concerns for my welfare.
Eventually, I got them to take a few turns at the game. They didn't have any problem with the math. I was a little surprised - I had assumed they were avoiding it because they didn't know how to do it, but apparently this wasn't the case. Perhaps they just didn't feel like playing math board games. The only one who made any mistakes was the one who seemed to really like math but refused to write down any of his work.
I had a really hard time with names. I could probably have been more successful, but I was trying to move around to the different groups. It wasn't really fair because I had a name tag and they didn't.
We had an early lunch at 11 with the little kids - K through 3. We walked into the cafeteria and they all started screaming for us to sit with them. They had already been exposed to us because we walked around as a group in the morning and said hi to all of the grades. So we tried to split up and sit near as many kids as possible.
I didn't eat much for lunch at first because the main course was ham and cheese sandwiches. There were also peas, potato salad, and canned peaches. It was a fairly healthy lunch but the portions were TINY. My culinary crisis was averted, though, because we were allowed to get some food from the faculty eating room. So I got a giant salad and filled my belly.
Lots of the kids didn't eat most of their food. One boy kept picking at the top slice of bread on his sandwich. I tried to suggest that he could just pick up the whole slice of bread and eat it without picking it apart. I didn't press the issue, though, and he happily ignored me.
After lunch we went to entertain different grades during their indoor recess (it snowed this morning.) I went to the kindergarten room first and helped to construct a fortress of cardboard bricks. They were very entertained when I pretended to break into their fortress by walking my fingers over the walls while singing a little song. So I did that for basically the entire recess.
Gonpo and I presented our music lesson to the 4th grade. I think it went pretty well. Musical chairs was a big hit. I forgot how entertaining that game can be. We also managed to do sing some songs, teach some music theory, clap some rhythms, and sing a round (row row row your boat.) I talked to a few of them later in the day and invariably their favorite part was singing Yellow Submarine which has a nice solid chorus for everyone to join in. So we'll make some adjustments for tomorrow (1rst grade) but I'm less worried about it now.
We hung around until around 5:30 with all the kids that stay after school waiting for their parents. Everyone stays in the cafeteria working on homework, playing games, or chatting with each other. I helped a few kids with homework - telling time, multiplication - and then played poker with a boy and girl from the 4th grade for a long while. Gonpo played his guitar for a small mob, Ellen and Prim read books to some kids. We were all exhausted by then and quite hungry. But we're starting to remember some names and make some connections. Since we all speak different languages (to varying degrees,) everyone wants us to write their names in different languages. I was sad at first because I'm not from abroad or multi-lingual, but then I realized that I could write their names in Hebrew and Russian. Even if their school lunches are tiny and they have to wait for a long time after school while their parents work, they certainly are intellectually curious.
The teachers are an interesting mix of Navajo, volunteers fresh out of college, and Catholic missionaries. The Dean of Students is a young guy in his late 20s or early 30s who basically said to us, come on out! after graduation. Stay for a couple of years, change some lives. He is a really nice guy who connects very comfortably to college-aged folk. But I'm not sure if it would be the right place for me, considering the religious thrust of the whole operation.
We had a delicious dinner tonight cooked by Prim, Ellen, and Tomomi. I am very happy with the food situation! I tried to help cook, but they seem to have things firmly under control, which is fine with me if it's fine with them.
Most of us hung around in the meeting room for a while after dinner, working, talking, or guitarring. Beth talked us through some of our options for the next few days: a trip to a canyon, a visit to a Navajo college, talking to high school kids about college, flea market, some other things. I am looking forward to all of these activities! The canyon and college are both far away, which means we'll get some nice long drives across the landscape. Now it's just me, Tomomi, and Lyndsay in the meeting room, with a few of the others in the kitchen having some sort of conversation.
The really elderly guidance counselor started yoga this February and has been teaching small groups of students! So tomorrow morning, Ellen, Jess, and I will help her lead a class. I didn't pack any yoga clothing, but apparently Ellen and I both wear size medium Williams shorts. Ha! So she's going to let me borrow a pair.
I wonder if anyone ever gets to the bottom of any of these posts. I mean that literally, not in the detective-mystery sense.
I am at the bottom!
ReplyDelete