Laughs

Our school needs prayer big time. So many staff members are out, and the rest of the staff is working double-time to compensate. Profe Edith's husband's surgery went well, but he will have to be in the hospital in Tegucigalpa for a while longer, and she has asked for another 15 days' leave. Profe Sonia, my counterpart, who is the elementary school teacher with the most experience working in this school and had become our go-to person in Profe Edith's leave, has been out since Monday. She will be out for a month, completing her practicum. The woman hired as Profe Sonia's substitute has been out for several days because her mother-in-law died. Yicel, our secretary, has taken over Profe Edith's duties and has been substituting in the 5th and 6th grade for Profe Sonia's substitute, but she was out for a day or two this week as well. My assistant, Ana, is rarely in my classroom because she is filling in for Profe Edith in other areas. Lindsay, the 1st and 2nd grade English teacher has been out sick this week with a virus. Stephanie, one of the high school teachers, was out for a couple of days with a virus, and Shelby, our special ed person who fills in everywhere, is just now getting over a sickness. Steve, another high school teacher, was also out for a couple of days. I came down with a cold (strep throat?) last week from the bacteria-carrying dust that pollutes all of Honduras because of unpaved roads. Last Friday was a tough day for teaching because I was losing my voice. On Saturday, I could barely speak, but thankfully by Monday I had my voice almost completely back. I didn't have to miss a day of teaching, but I'm still getting over the cold symptoms. Please pray for health and wholeness and a fully-staffed school.

Let me tell you how much I enjoy my 5th graders. They have such personality and so much love. There are times when they behave so well and are so engaged in a lesson, and there are times when they sorely disappoint me, but they always bring a smile to my face. For example, this week when I told them to take out their Science books, practically the whole class groaned. Blue Planet, the book we use, is pretty dry, and I'm doing my best to spice it up. I told them that they needed to choose to have a good attitude, and several students said, "Yes! Blue Planet! Woohoo!" So that's the new thing - now they'll groan when I ask them to take out a book they don't like, but it'll immediately be followed by an overcompensation of exaggerated excitement.

For both of my classes, when they've had a good day behavior-wise, I put a sticker on a paper I have posted on the whiteboard that is labeled "Game Time". When they have five stickers, I give them a class period to just play games as a reward. When the 5th graders are getting rowdy, several students will say, "Shhhh! Sticker day!" to remind them that they must behave if they want a sticker. At the end of the day, they ask me if it was a sticker day. If it was, I go to the board and start taking a sticker to place on the "Game Time" paper. Several 5th graders shush the class, and there is dead silence until I've placed the sticker, at which point the class erupts in "woohoos" and applause. They are hilarious.

The 5th graders' classwork and homework make me laugh, too. Here are some examples of things they've written:
Write a sentence with the word isn't: That man isn't a chicken, he is a human.
What connection can you make between the book and your life?: That is beautiful book and is very fun like my life.
Use the word "awesome" in a sentence: The classes of Miss Emily are awesome.
Was your hypothesis right? Yes, I win.

The other week, when parents came to pick up their students' grades, the mother of one of my brilliant 5th graders thanked me because her son is delighted with my class, and she and her husband are delighted with the way I run class and the way I discipline. That felt good :-)

My 6th graders are okay when the two troublemakers are removed, but those two really ruin it for the rest of the class. Please pray for them and me.

Both of my new students are doing well, though Daniela in 6th grade has a lot of catching up to do to reach the level of her classmates.

The Honduran presidential elections are coming up November 29th. We've been warned that there may be more unrest and more curfews around that time. Please pray for peace and for the right people to come into leadership in this country. Thank you.