A Typical School Day

This is long, but I figured some of you would like the details of what a full school for me goes like. :)

6:20 – My alarm goes off, and often I have already been awakened by the noise of someone else who has gotten up earlier. I get ready for the morning, and if I’m on the schedule, lead out in morning worship with the girls.
7:45 – Staff worship begins in the library. Actually, staff worship is scheduled to start at 7:45, but people start singing early, and if you don’t get there 5 minutes early, you feel late. Teachers lead out in worship rotating through the grades. Then there are announcements, and we leave to use the few minutes before classes start to finish up whatever we need to.

8:25 – I unlock my classroom and let the students in. If it’s Monday (and not raining), this will be preceded by flag raising. (I’ve found the pledge of allegiance very fast to memorize as it is the same as the United States, only with Federated States of Micronesia instead of United States of America. I think I know it better than most of my Chuukese students!) We begin with worship which consists of prayer, songs, and a short devotional thought. I am trying to teach my students to pray loud enough for the whole class to hear, and they’re improving.

8:50 – We begin Bible. Since I have no student textbooks I read the story from the teacher’s book, we discuss the story, and then the students finish a sentence prompt in their notebooks designed to make them think about the story in relation to their own lives. This is when I start running around the room helping those who don’t know how to spell, or have no idea what to write, usually because they weren’t paying attention. On Wednesdays the Bible period is spent having an Adventurer program in the church, and on Fridays a chapel program.

9:20 – English begins. Complaints of being hungry begin.

10:10 – Math begins. Complaints of hunger increase.

11 – Lunch! The students group around desks, eating their own food and sharing with others. I try to make sure the kids wash their hands, and encourage them to use silverware if they have it. I inwardly cringe as I watch many students eat their rice and meat with their fingers. Some go to buy their lunch, but most bring their own. When they are done eating students are to clean up the room, and when everyone’s done eating and the room is clean they can go outside for a break during the rest of lunch time. I try to keep track of everyone, and if I know where everyone is at once, I’m doing well.

11:30 – Science begins. Science consists mostly of reading from the textbook, copying the notes from our reading that I put on the board into their notebooks, and occasionally making charts with illustrations if the material allows. I wish science could be more interesting, but when I look at the list of supplies needed for the experiments and activities suggested in the book I am reminded of how few supplies I have, and how hard it would be for me to obtain some of even the most basic ones.

12:20 – Reading is next, and I have been experimenting as to what works best for the class. There are students who can read fairly well, students who can barely read, students who can’t read at all, and one who understands very little English at all. We’ve done primarily group reading, but I am trying to split the group in two and work on phonics with the group who can’t read.

1 – Recess begins, and I happily line the kids up and send them out of the room. It’s not unusual for a few students to have done something warranting their staying behind and copying the sentence I have written on the board into the notebooks until we return. This has been happening less often though. It’s been an amazing day when no one stays inside during lunch break or recess!

1:10 – We next work on either spelling or social studies depending on the day. At the end of this period I write their homework assignment on the board if I give them one. It’s a school policy not to let students take textbooks home with them because they’ve gotten so damaged in the past doing that. That makes homework assignments more challenging, so I usually have them do something with their spelling words on the days we have spelling for their homework.

1:50 – The last period changes every day. It’s either Adventurers, (which I still have no material on and I have no idea of what to teach), P.E. (which drives me crazy because the kids wait for the period all day and then I can’t get them to play anything together as a group. Then they complain that they’re bored because they’re not doing anything. Also, the office never seems to have any balls or any such thing for them to use. I think some of the kids are going to start bringing their own, and idea I highly encouraged.), Art, or music. They love art, and it’s the one subject they all can get enthused about.

2:25-2:30 – I give the last 5-10 minutes of class time to cleaning up the classroom. When the students check with me to see if their area is clean, they’re free to go. Often there is a student or two who has to stay after school because of misbehavior during the day. I give them some sort of writing work to do, or have them clean the classroom more before they can go, and have a talk with them. I don’t think they realize that I probably hope no one has to stay after class more than they do because it creates extra work for me! Luckily, this has been decreasing as well. One of my students still stays after school almost every day. I’ll feel accomplished if he can control himself well enough by the end of the year to not need to do that!

The time after school is filled with a variety of things that changes depending on the day. I spend time grading or lesson planning, and often run to grab something to eat if I didn’t eat at lunch because I’m not usually very hungry by 11. On Tuesdays there’s staff meeting, Wednesdays there’s prayer meeting, and on Thursday there’s an opportunity to go to town. There is also a chance on Sunday, but I try to go on Thursdays so my Sunday feels more open. Even though town is only a few miles away the whole trip tends to take at least 2 ½ hours because the travel time on the roads is so long. In the evenings some of the teachers will sometimes play games together, or I might read, or catch up on some grading. And in the event the internet is working, you can usually find many of the girls in the “internet café” which is the window in our room where the best connection can be found.

Fridays are half days of school, and all I can say is – Praise the Lord. :)