The Trials of Teaching

Whew, I am glad the first two weeks are behind me. They have been full of learning, both for me and the students, and I have a new, deep
appreciation for my elementary school teachers.
Teaching has been hectic to say the least. My kids were (and are) still catching on to what I want them to do, so I have not been accomplishing as much as I had envisioned. In fact, nothing has really gone the way I planned. My discipline plan,
which seemed quite acceptable to me, was "way easier than first grade"; then when I made it more difficult, I got a parent complaint which I am still resolving. As of yet, my children do not understand what a sentence is, and even concepts they seemed to understand verbally in class do not translate into perfect worksheets. Two of my children cannot read, so I have to walk them through any worksheets or quizzes we have. My emotions have not been what I was expecting either - I go from high to low, idealistic to realistic to despondent in a matter of minutes.
But all has not been lost. Despite the challenges, I love my kids. They are fun, full of energy, super talkative, and I am excited to see them grow over the course of the school year. The papers they turn in almost all have names and proper headings on them, and the concept of numbering their papers is also slowly sinking in. I have learned a lot, and each day I feel myself becoming more competent and more like a "real teacher".
My biggest source of stress has been classroom management. I have been told that the last teacher "couldn't handle" my current class, and I am looking for creative punishment ideas that will mean something to them. I don't really mind them whispering quietly, but they don't whisper, don't stay in their seats, and don't listen to directions. So I am still working on that. I'm afraid Mr. Wong (we watched a lot of his videos on classroom management) would not be very happy with me. But I am doing the best I can and praying for wisdom and sanity.
This weekend brought a needed break from school. We went to an island called Ngemelis for a staff retreat, and it is about the most beautiful place I've ever seen. We left on Friday after school and took a very bumpy hour and half boat ride through the rock islands to get there. It was simply gorgeous. I slept outside on a bench because it was much cooler than sleeping inside the shelter. The view in the morning was breathtaking - I was in awe each morning when I woke up around 5:30 with the sun.
The weekend was spent relaxing and exploring. Saturday afternoon I went on a hike to some other islands. When we left it was low tide, so we could wade to the other islands. The way back involved swimming (officially frowned on for SMs in Palau on Saturday, but we had no choice and certainly didn't mind!) across two channels with a strong current. That night we had vespers on the beach and then supper and smores. I skipped out on night fishing in favor of sleep, and while I know I made the right decision I hated being responsible. I have promised myself that I am going to go before I leave Palau.
Sunday morning Marianne and I swam out to a rope swing and enjoyed a few swings before we packed up and left. That morning we went to Jellyfish Lake, which totally blew me away. The jellyfish in the lake don't sting, and they are all over. I was being nuzzled by dozens of jellyfish. They were everywhere - you couldn't move without bumping into them (a few accidentally got killed - oops). It was so cool - I found myself holding my breath and constantly had to remember to breathe. A little taste of what heaven will be like - I'm sure the first time I pet a lion I will be a little timid, too.
After Jellyfish Lake we went to Shark City for lunch and snorkeling. Shark City is named because of the many sharks that live in the area right off one of the islands. There were quite a few sharks, and one of the SMs almost touched one. Overall the weekend was a great success. I had a ton of fun and returned with a fresh outlook and energy to tackle the next week of class. We have Labor Day off, and I have been using it to sleep and get caught up and lesson plans and grading. I am praying hard for a solution to my discipline problem, and also for a perfect blend of love and justice. I am once again reminded of what a patient teacher God is. I was thinking the other day about what God's lesson plans for us would like: Day 1: patience. Day 2: love. Day 3: joy. Day 4: repeat all lessons. Day 5: test for comprehension. Day 6: concept not grasped. repeat lesson as long as necessary. and so on, year after year, for we never really seem to learn our lesson perfectly. Praise God that He doesn't give up on us for lost, but instead puts special time and attention into tutoring, mentoring, and helping us through each lesson as often as necessary until we finally achieve perfection when He comes again. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Random information:
*bobai (bo-by) means papaya in Palauan *Don't forget to put sunscreen on your ears when on a tropical island *Palau has rats that can eat through plastic bags to get your cream puffs (Kaitlynn took it as a sign that she shouldn't eat sweets) *Sugar cane doubles as a food and toothbrush *Asians are not liked very much by Palauans. This partly stems from their immodest clothing by Palauan standards *If something is really cheap at a Palaun grocery store, check the expiration date. Odds are it has long since passed. *Cockroach count: Courtney, 14. Brenda, 4. Everyone else: way less.

Kaitlynn's sign that she made after the rat ate her cream puffs.
Kaitlynn, Jolene, Dinah, and I ready to go.

The island of Ngemelis.

My view in the morning. Gorgeous.