Because my teacher is not only the Block's leader, but also the Deputy Principal, she is relieved from her duty as a classroom teacher two days a week to fulfill her job as deputy. In America, we call them "subs" or "substitute teachers" which often have the connotation of "free day" or "time to goof off and not listen to the teacher day!" Here, that is not always the case. These students are use to the handful of rotating relievers and (usually) respect them as regular classroom teachers. Working as a substitute teacher the past few months has made me empathetic and step up as a teacher.
This has given me plenty more opportunities to step up and give direction to the class. I very much so enjoy the freedom and respect, but thinking on the spot of activities I want to do can be quite challenging. Thankfully, there is a pretty set schedule everyday of the week.
A typical day at school looks like this:
8:45 First Bell
8:55 Karakia (Māori prayer)
9:00 PE / Sport
9:35 Reading
10:15 Maths
10:55 Interval / Morning Tea (recess)
11:30 Tech (Food, Metal, Wood, Art, Music) OR
Specialist (Poetry, French, musical theatre, drama, rock band)
12:45 Lunch
1:45 Health / Māori / Study Skills (rotations)
2:15 Social Studies
3:00 Final Bell
Teaching Māori today has become one part of the day I truly look forward to. We learned 600 sentences using 18 words...crazy. Their sentence structure seems bizarre "is + where + the dog" = "where is the dog?", but then again, English is probably more confusing for non-native speakers. Once the students had their prepositions, we practiced having conversations. Being Year 7 and 8s, I had to, of course, have a few guidelines to this chat:
Kia ora "Hello"
Ko Miss Tessarolo toku ingoa "My name is Miss Tessarolo"
Kei a koe he ra pai? "Are you having a good day?"
Kei hea te ______? "Where is the ______"
Kei raro te kuri i te tepu "The dog is under the table"
I did this not only to practice vocab, but to have the students speaking the language. I know my biggest struggle learning Spanish was my fluency. Therefore, I believe if I had taken more time to use my notes and gain confidence speaking the language I might speak the language much more fluently. Providing specific time for students to practice speaking an unknown language allows them to struggle in a supportive environment and learn from mistake early on. And, speaking of speaking language, let's talk about these Kiwi accents. Traveling Tip #16: Just accept you sound funny and YOU have the accent.
Last week, my host teacher had to leave the room while reading aloud and immediately handed me the book. Before I could think twice, I picked up where she left off. However, the student's attention seemed to shift from the plot to my accent. Giggles filled the room and I became so conscious about my reading that I even giggled...only realizing they were laughing at my accent. Not only did I have an accent, but this book was written from the perspective of a young girl who never learned how to write or speak. So, yes, initially I stumbled quite a bit before finding my flow. But hey, the kids love listening to me either way!
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