day in the life: 3-6

Sometimes I tend to dread the afternoon part of the day.

Last year I struggled with my Grade 5 class. They were wild and naughty classroom management is kind of not very much a thing here. This year I struggle with my Grade 6 class. See the correlation?  I think my teacher struggles with them also. They are definition naughty.

I go to class and get set up in the back and wait for Ma’am Hazel to come. Then we do much of the same drill as for our other class. Ma’am doing the discussion usually, but not always, and me doing some more activities. However, this class has some added fun. Ma’am does a lot of yelling at them. They wander all over the classroom. I’m always asking them to be quiet, look at me, listen, just fun stuff like that. Sometimes I get to explain to them the proper way to treat other human beings. So far I’ve explained we don’t make broad generalizations. We don’t write sentences whose object is to make someone feel bad. We don’t make fun of the guy from the deaf institute who comes asking for money. We don’t make fun of kids for not being able to breath after we’ve driven them to tears. So many things we don’t do it. After I yell at them, Ma’am gets up and yells at them. She does her part in Filipino, but she talks about church a lot. Score Catholic guilt.

Individually they are benign, but together can be a disaster.

After class I sometimes have a meeting with my library club. After this I go shopping. If it is a Monday or Thursday I stop and get some mangoes and fresh veggies. Our market days are Tuesday and Friday. I find them to be very overwhelming, so I go the night before when they are setting up. Then I’ll go to my usuals for garlic, onion, potatoes, and stuff like that as well as a piece of pineapple. Then home again home again. I drop my stuff off and then go attempt to chitchat with my Auntie.

By now it is getting dark and my afternoon is over.