The Review

Before the break, my administrator observed one of my 'lessons'. It wasn't really a lesson but was, in fact, leerplien time. This means that I was with another teacher in one big, open classroom with tables and computers. The students were able to choose what to work on. I was checking their math assignments.

The administrator was looking for things that would have been found in a more traditional lesson, but I was not made aware of this, or of the significance behind the observation. On Wednesday we sat down to talk about what had happened. Overall the discussion was a very good one and lasted an hour and a half. I was caught rather off guard though.

He explained his observations and then gave his review of my teaching. I was hard-pressed to find anything positive in what was said and he basically summed up by saying that if I didn't change I wouldn't have a job there next year. I guess there are just a few of these reviews that determine whether or not we will be asked back.

I was able to explain my side of what was going on. Essentially, I was on the leerplien with a more experienced teacher, so I expected her to take the lead while I focused on checking my assignments. This did not really happen so the noise level and such became a little high. I was too busy to be bothered. I guess now it is time for me to be bothered.

It would seem that the administration has some expectations of us that were either poorly communicated or not communicated at all. I guess that is part of the point of these reviews. Now that I know a bit more about what they are looking for, I can work toward it. It is also a bit of a relief to start from the bottom, because it will be easy to show significant progress in a short time frame. It would be nice to get a little credit for things I have done well though.

For example, I was supposed to be co-teaching math with a more experienced teacher. Perfect. He could take the lead. Except he quit in the first week. I was left without expectations or much of any guidance. But I did very well with the course because it was mine and I chose to focus on it. The grades are in order and objectives being met.

My other two classes are co-taught as well. Again, by a more experienced teacher. I assumed that she would take the lead with things, and in many ways she did, but the arrangement has not been working well for some time. Over a month ago we requested a change in schedule. It won't happen until after this coming week. But we didn't know that at the time. So we coasted until we got our own classes, and not much got accomplished.

Each class is supposed to have four grades in the books by Wednesday. Math is in order, but I get no recognition for that. First year science will have two grades. For the second years...we aren't really sure. They had some assignments but less than half turned them in and the quality was terrible...so how can we give grades? Ten weeks with no grades. That is embarrassing.

Thursday night was the halloween party. It ended at 11 and we were there cleaning until midnight. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, and on Friday the first two hours were free. Maybe it is because the kids were still tired from the night before, but I had quite some success with teaching on Friday. For the first time, I taught two classes at once. They were quiet. They listened. They worked on what they were supposed to afterwards and most did it correctly. It was amazing! And it happened twice!

Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the day and slept well that night. Saturday, yesterday, was a big day. I finally made it through a whole Saturday without getting some form of culture shock. I also ordered a bike. I have been thinking about what kind of bike to get since shortly after arriving in this country. I wanted a sporty bike, but slowly had to admit that this wasn't terribly practical. I tried to find something in between, but in the end had to choose practicality over fun.

The bike shop is a tiny little place just down the road and around the corner. I had kind of already made my decision on what I wanted so the task was much easier. I wanted a Trek. They are big here. And expensive. But they come from where I come from and I really liked the Trek I relied on in Mali. Here it would be my main form of transportation as well. So I decided to invest. It was one of the cheapest bikes in the shop at around 500 Euros - 50 Euros cheaper than the bigger bike store.

The owner was a nice guy who didn't speak too much English, but it turns out we teach his daughter's friend and he knows some people we know. Good start. He let me try out a couple bikes and I liked the one I had already picked out best. I also decided to get some bags for the back so I wouldn't have to carry my teaching bag on my back every day to work. Those were an extra 60 Euros. Insurance for the year was 41 Euros, but I opted out of that. A decent lock was 36, but he said that he would throw that in if we buy the bike from him. At the end we also negotiated for a free pump. He let us take that home with us as a sign of good faith. I pick up and pay for the bike on Tuesday. I am excited!!