Perhaps some of you are familiar with the movie “Finding Nemo”. If you are wondering what relevance a movie about a talking clown fish has to my time in Tanzania, I promise, it is relevant! For the last several weeks I have been teaching Vocational Skills to standard 3. Although initially nervous about being in charge of a classroom, they made teaching a joy. Sometimes they were noisy and boisterous, but they were always eager to learn (often wanting to know what all my props were before we even set foot in the classroom). Not only were they eager to learn, they were eager to help me teach them in any way possible. Telling each other to “be quiet and listen to the Teacher” was common (and sometimes louder than the original disturbance). I even received helpful suggestions such as: “Teacher, show us the demonstration a row at a time so that we can gather around and see”. Trying this suggestion once, I was so impressed, that they all worked quietly on their projects so that I could focus on each group.
As a thank you for being such a wonderful class, I decided to throw a movie party at my home featuring the film “Finding Nemo”. The cheering and clapping was evidence enough of their delight in the idea. They were thrilled! The afternoon arrived and I found a gaggle of noisy enthusiastic students waiting for the movie to start. I had moved my furniture around, putting mats on the floor and placing my laptop and speakers up high so everyone could see. After everyone was settled, I counted about thirty students gathered on my couches and floor and a corresponding sea of thirty pairs of shoes outside my door. The movie was a success – gasps were uttered, laughs and giggles too. Half way through I brought out ground nuts as a treat. As I passed out handfuls to everyone, there were choruses of “Thank you, Teacher”, and even several “God bless you, Teacher”. I must brag for a minute and say I have wonderful students. How many nine year olds do you know that say “God bless you, Teacher” for peanuts at a movie?
Now you know! Teacher Gayle
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