mY fiRst daY at SkoOl

yes. i am now, officially 'miss brader'. i taught my first ever class today. 7year old students from singapore, korea, india, taiwan, and china all in my drama class.
the straight forward responses crack me up
'miss, you a quite beautiful'
wow. thank you. thats very nice of you.
the two girls smile.

i may have trained as an actor, but nothing had prepared me for this.
i had that stereotype in my mind that all kids from asian backgrounds are uber well behaved, and i am sure the majority of them are, but perhaps as i am the newbie, it was time for them to test the ground.
'so, lets break into groups and create freeze statues of different qualities, like respect, helpfulness, co-operation...all the guidelines we talked about for what makes our drama class work well.'
blank stares.
ok, i have never been that clear in communicating but really...
'ok so you can stand up and pratise your freeze frames. you have five minutes to create it and then show the class
blank stares. bums on the floor.
'but i dont want to'
'i dont know how to'
'i dont know what a quality is'
'we dont want to'
'do we have to'
i didnt factor that into my lesson plan....
'umm well, i'm the teacher, and im telling you what to do. remember, qualities are the behaviours and actions that we spoke about at the beginning of the class that help set the standard.' starting to loose it inside...
they continue to sit on the floor, some rolling around and chatting, others bored out of their brains....
ok you have three minutes left...
and then two and one and
well, one group had got its act together (pun not intended) and showed a cute freeze frame of helpfulness (a beggar and lots of people giving him money...hmmmmm i didnt want to dig too deep into that social question...haha)
and yes. the others did what they could.
i felt like the crappest drama teacher in the world. i couldnt even motivate a group of 7 year olds.
but then i let it go. have to be clearer, and simpler, its all good life skills....
then my second class, 8 year olds, and much more onto it, picking up games quickly, quieting each other without me...i was in heaven...
a day of massive contrasts.
overwhelming, nerve wracking and satisfying.
i still cant quite believe i am a teacher, even if it is drama and that is what i know, its not really about the drama, for now its about how to manage a class of kids!!!
small steps.

back from macau. an incredible 5 days of reflection, planning, and very soon....action....
please apartment, come to me...wanting to settle in for real, start up my devotions, and jy groups and study circles...oh yeah..and learn how to be a drama teacher.....

one step at a time
i keep telling myself.