Yes it's true...I love school!

*I apologize for the long blogging hiatus!  Between life and visiting my family for Christmas, well, not much got done.  However, now I'm back!

Believe it or not, I do actually work! I know I haven’t written a lot about school up until now, but I seem to keep pretty busy between one thing and another. I only work on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (Wednesdays I help H with the language festival or work from home, and Fridays are my day off), but Monday and Tuesday are very intense. I’m in five classes and one English A.G. (Arbeitsgemeinschaft, or afterschool club), and I’m in six classes, one English A.G. and two Dance A.G.s on Tuesday. I’m up at 5 AM, at school by 6:45 and not home until 5 or 7:30 PM depending on the day. I’m just in two classes on Thursday, which, thankfully, isn’t so strenuous, since the other days are so long. I really enjoy it, though. I’ve been going to the same classes long enough now that I know most of my students by name, and many of them are super-friendly because I’ve been around enough that they aren’t so shy anymore. I do a lot of team-teaching with H, work in small groups with students, lead parts of lessons and give long presentations. I also run/help run A.Gs., and I’m even setting a piece of jazz choreography for the dance groups. My work is varied, and I like being active in the classroom and having the chance to work with so many students.

It’s kind of a weird in-between situation that I’m in as a teaching assistant; I’m half a teacher, half a cultural exchange partner. I sit in a Russian class, and sometimes I see students outside of school. *Fun fact: It’s normal for some teachers to invite students to their houses, and that students sometimes know where their teachers live.* I really enjoy that I have the chance to get to know my students outside of the classroom because I think being able to speak without conforming to a curriculum allows the students a chance to speak English where they don’t have to worry about grades and thus facilitates a deeper level of intercultural exchange.

I know two of the classes of 9th graders the best of all my other classes because I work with them in small groups and correct a lot of their papers. One class has lots of smart students and always works really well. One of the girls from that class, Lena, has befriended me and sends me long e-mails every week. She is sweet, loves learning English, and like many of my students, she is very interested in knowing all about America. The other 9th grade class is very friendly, and I must admit, though, some of my favorite classroom personalities are in that class. There are only three girls, and one of them is Nadia. She is one of the best students in both classes, but she has no idea. Her content is always excellent and well-developed; she just needs someone to push her for perfection. I wish she realized how much she is capable of, but she’s so modest that she just sees it as part of her job as a student. Then there’s Antonin. He’s smart, but his brain goes a million miles a minute, and his mouth (and pen) just can’t keep up. He’s got great ideas, but sometimes no one can understand what he’s saying. It’s always “Slow down, Antonin.” Mercifully he’s realized what a hard time I have reading his handwriting and types all his assignments for me. Frank is also in this class. Frank’s name is really Frederick, but there are two Fredericks in the class, so the first day, when he said he is sometimes called “Frank”, I started calling him “Frank Frederick” and it stuck. He’s always laughing a smirky little laugh, but it’s not meant in a bad way. I think he just likes to see the humor in everything. I don’t mind; if something I do can make his day better…cool with me. I like to see someone get such true enjoyment out of life. He always writes funny essays and sometimes leaves little jokes meant for me in them when he knows I’ll be the one grading. I guess he thinks I’m alright. The moments when I feel accepted by my older students, who were leery of me at first, really makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something here.

Those are just a few students who jumped to my mind, but really there are so many who are eager to learn and bring their bright personalities to the classroom. Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to mention many of them in the future.

Deine,
N*