Kenzie Teacher

October 10, 2012

My hands are black with stains from smudging whiteboards and writing out stories for the kindergartners to learn sight-reading on big easel sized paper. Kakoli, a 3rd grader, ran up to me and reached for my hand to hold as I walked out of the 1st grade classroom and asked with a confused face, "Teacher, why are your hands so dirty?"

"I've been using them to teach," I replied.

"Oh, well you should come to our bathroom and I will help you wash them!"

Yes, I am now called Kenzie Teacher. I spend a great deal of my day reading Dick and Jane books. I help teach English and math to kindergarten and 1st grade and art to all of the grades on Fridays. I also teach an English conversational class to the 4th graders after school. I don't think they are too excited about this class, especially since it is taking 30 minutes out of their work/play time and we are learning about manners: please, thank you, informal and formal greetings, and "table" manners (even though they eat on a mat and not at a table). I told them their homework this week was to say please and thank you to their room mothers when they were served their dinner. Now, I hear them saying it all over the place in their afternoon sewing class, breakfast, lunch, dinner, to me if they want to hold or touch something of mine. I am so amazed and delighted with their attentiveness to saying these words at the appropriate times, especially when I or someone else least expects it. Here in Bangladesh they don't use these types of words very often. I figured this out within the first couple of days when I would say "donobahd" (Bangla for "thank you") to someone and they would just look at me with a blank or slightly confused look on their face. Also, trying to teach the children in the classroom to be silent and listen while someone else is talking has been a challenge. I don't think their teachers have spent a lot of time or care with this skill, but I'm hoping they will improve as I am trying to implement the "hands up, mouths shut" rule from camp.

Even though I am the teacher, I feel as though I am the one learning the most. Figuring out how to teach the KG class to sound out their alphabet and keeping the 4th graders entertained and focused throughout the whole class period is a challenge, but it's a learning experience for sure. Learning these different things has helped me to see the children's world from their perspective:  a perspective of simplicity. I'm thankful for this opportunity to grow into a life of simplicity.