First/Second Classroom Report

A week of teaching a first/second grade class under my belt not, and I still survive to teach another day, only by the grace of God. Yesterday I welcomed a new student to the classroom who threw the established routine and discipline pattern into a tailspin. She is a very active Korean girl who knows very little English, hence, it is very difficult to explain the way we do things and what is expected. Fortunately, I have another Korean girl who is very intelligent, though does not speak much English, who I hope will set a good example and can communicate what is needed to her new little classmate. These two girls go to ESL class every day for 45 minutes. The other first graders plus one second go to Czech level I class during that time. That leaves one second grader with me. He is a very bright, gregarious lad who is well behaved. He has a Cuban mother who does not speak English and an Italian father who speaks some English, but since this boy, Massimo, came to CISP for first grade, his English is quite good. So he helps me get my classroom organized and I assign him some independent work, since he leaves later in the day for his Czech level II class.

Just yesterday we began the full schedule of Phonics/reading for grade one and grade two plus those two levels of Math, both using Saxon materials which are easy to follow. But with the new Korean girl getting settled in, yesterday was a whirlwind, or should I say tornado. One of the mothers greeted me after class and said that I looked really tired. I knew why. Today was better with a different schedule having some specials. The way that works is the principal, Leslie Johnson teaches music with the combined classes of first – third with a few more homeschool students added to the mix which makes for a grouping of 22 international students. The third grade teacher is doing P.E. which she did outside on a tennis court. She had to send one of her third graders in to ask me to come out because one of my first graders disappeared. He returned saying that he just wanted to move some sand off a table. We had a talk discussing the fact that he must stay with the class and follow the teacher’s directions and not just go off and do what he wanted to do. Yes, he is my ADHD student, or should I say just one of them. His dad is American and his mom is Czech. I have another boy who has an American father, but a Russian mother.

Now let me tell you about my Art class today. We have quite small classrooms…10 was the limit they had for the room, but they expanded to 12 with requests for more, but stopped at 12. With combined third grade and three extra for the specials on Tuesday/Thursday , we needed to find a larger room. We decided we could use the Czech classroom because it is used only MWF for Czech instruction. We put some extra tables and chairs in the room last week and had a fine Art class. When we arrived at the room today, we found it occupied with the homeschool Tuesday/Thursday class. Well, what to do????

We ended up using the room with a few more students added to the mix, so I ended up with 25 students and a table collapsing. Then I had to take control. Fortunately we have the standard discipline plan in place so as soon as I started writing names on the board for timeout from recess, the the class was mine again, but I was not prepared for so many students. By now we at this school know that you do what you can with what you have in the time you have. And it is truly by the grace of God that we can face each day’s challenges.

Let me tell you about the rest of my students who I have not yet mentioned. I have two very sweet girls daughters of and American pastor and his wife who teaches part time at the school as well. All of the other children are sons and daughters of business men and women working here in Prague. In January we have another boy joining the two second graders. He is coming with his missionary parents from America. The other students are a mix of French, Canadian, South African, Indian, and Czech.

Are you exhausted yet? This bunch will keep me busier than I thought I would be this year, but yet, I feel that I was meant for this job. All the other elementary teachers, who are American and Canadian, are glad that I am here and that they do not have this class.

Here we go again. We now have a single young lady staying in the extra bedroom of our apartment. She is a Canadian from Prince Edward Island doing her student teaching with us on assignment from her Bethany Bible College in New Brunswick. She is doing 7 weeks in the combined fifth/sixth grade classroom with a fellow Canadian teacher, then she will be doing 7 weeks with me in order to get an early primary school experience. She is a lovely gal and very gifted musically. She plays bass guitar and keyboard with a Christian rock band.
This experience is teaching us a lot of lessons. How to be flexible. How to laugh at mistakes. How not to take life too seriously. And how to depend upon the Lord for strength and grace to extend to ourselves and others around us.

That is my report on the first of the school year for me as a teacher at Christian International School on Prague. Stay tuned for updates from time to time.