Learning, learning, learning....

Wisdom comes with age, effectiveness with time.

How much time?  When will I understand all the things that I need to know! 
Teaching for only a few days makes me take a step back and see at least this much: I'm young and I need some years before I'll be a good teacher.

"They kind of through you in the deep end", a friend said.  I didn't really know it then, but now I see that yes, they really did.  But the sad thing is that they had no choice.

I hate that these kids are the 'testers', they're the kids that have different teachers every year- they've had substitutes for THREE years, I've heard.  It's not fair.  It's not right, but that's how it has turned out.  And when they get a teacher, often the school has so little to choose from that they pick mediocre (if that) teachers, sometimes without qualifications like myself and sometimes without much competency at all.  Yet, when they get good teachers, they're so disorganized that it's hard to even keep them!  People get sick of having to fight for every little thing, for waiting for this and that, and they get tired because they have to cover everyone else's tracks.  Like mine, because I'm young, I'm learning.  I want to do the best I can for these kids.  Oh goodness, do they deserve it.  They're really sweet kids, and I think they respect me, for the most part.  As a newbie though, I'm realizing that there's so much they need to learn that, honestly, I had no idea they needed to learn.  Like strategies to help them teach themselves so that 1) they can do work more independently and 2) They are occupied and 3) I have time to see the kids that need me the most!
What I often don't realize is that once isn't enough- that I need to give the same instructions over and over again. 

And I want to have time with each child to talk to them, understand them and learn more about them, so recess is a good start.  Otherwise, I've been asking them questions one-on-one.  It's funny, they can talk in full sentences when it's just them and myself but when it's the whole class, suddenly they're afraid to be wrong.

That's the problem, I think.  They're afraid that they'll make mistakes.  They don't even know it, but it's true.

So I just need to start simple, like Mike said, and take it slow.  And learn not to yell if I can help it. 

"If you can hear me clap once," I say, "if you can hear me, sit in your desk and listen with your ears" Sometimes I even find myself having to tell the kids to get out their pencil and start by writing their name on the paper.  "In Cree and in English," I say sometimes.  "I want to learn too!"

And that's exactly what I'm doing. Today's word of the day: doodooschnabwei  (milk) And when I can say the word correctly, they said "Agoda!" and they smile, just as I do when they understand something.  Well there's a good start.