A peek inside a foreign Enlglish teacher's classroom...
The students were seated nicely at their desks, hands folded and ears anxious to hear the teacher's lesson. The teachers say something, and they obediently repeat it, phrase after phrase. The teacher gives a command, and immediately the students' hands are placed behind their backs (a common "attentive" position in classrooms here). Then comes the review. They know their stuff, most of them can answer the questions thrown at them without a problem.
Wow. These kids are amazing, aren't they? Too bad they were in the English teacher demonstration video, and not in my classroom. I mean, who wouldn't want to teach a class made in heaven?
Most of the classes I've taught in haven't been quite as perfect. Honestly- and this is just Ginger's opinion #101- mine were way more exciting. Somehow perfection seems to lack the excitement of the unknown and dealing with whatever happens instead.
Kind of like a fourth grade class..
Me: "Ok, touch your head, your shoulders, your nose..is that your nose? No, ok- so touch your eyes, your shoulders.."
It was somewhere between touching heads and shoulders that the class ended up flexing their muscles at me. I'll have to say, it's really cute when fourth graders do it.
And there was the third grade...
"Everybody stand up. Stand UP." The first kid started it, then the next thing I knew half of the boys were perched on their chairs striking the best "Discus thrower" pose I'd ever seen. It looked better than the statue! (is there a real statue??) But hey, they stood up. I did manage to make them get down before almost completely losing it.
I love those moments- the ones where perfection takes a walk, and something simple, yet meaningful takes its place. Maybe that's just my idea of perfection walking out, and God's idea of it smacking me in the face to say, "Chill..it's in MY control. I'm handling it, you just teach class and love those kids."
I'm so glad life is not dependant on Ginger's idea of perfection. God's is SO MUCH better!!
