Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.

Its a bit different walking into a school, where kids sharpen their pencils with razor blades, teachers walk in 20 mins late, and learning for the day consists of copying words from the board...but make sure you use your ruler to have straight lines?!?

I feel as if they are going through the motions, but no real learning is being done. Sorry to be so negative, but Today/this week so far has been a bit frustrating.

Its getting harder and harder for me to not say anything to the Principal It's Wednesday, and she has been at work for a total of 3 hours). Its hard to feel motivated in a school, when the leader of the school doesn't even seem to care...let alone any of the teachers....:(

I finally mustered up enough courage , and talked to 3 out of the 5 teachers today about how they were feeling, and it seems as if this school has been taking a hit since the old headmistress left.( The old headmistress was phenomenal I hear, very professional, and cared so much about the learning happening in the school!)

Its hard for me to pick my spot because there are so many things to do be done, and I don't know where to start. But after talking with the teachers today, and finding out their frustrations, I definitely feel like my first goal is to get things back on track. As well as make sure the kids learning is the teachers number one priority. I'm taking it one day at at time, realizing I just have to do what I can, with what I have.

Its hard when teachers are absent though(even when they are at school too and when they aren't, its not as if they leave lesson plans or anything of that sort), and my main focus can't be the support of the teachers, but teaching itself. Teaching is my favorite thing ever, but when I'm supposed to be observing a classroom, and then one of the teachers tells me what subject they are to work on, and then leaves the school for hours, expecting me to teach it, its a bit different. Especially when its my 2nd day in the room ,and I have no idea what the students know.
Today this is what happened, I went through and did a counting and basic addition lesson with them, and after 10 mins I realized that the kids cant recognize their numbers yet. ---something that would have been good to know before beginning.

Which I guess is how it is here. But I mean, in the lesson books that the ministry would see(if they ever came to check on the school(that's a whole different story) says they are learning addition and subtraction and regrouping and all this stuff....which is bullshit...blah..sorry to complain, its just such a frustrating situation. And its not so fun feeling like no one else cares, not the department of education, not the headmistress, not some of the teachers. Just because its a school for "special needs" shouldn't change the fact that its not worthy of a high standard of education, and it definitely doesn't mean that the kids at the school are any less important, because they are, and they are magnificent, and really the only reason I can smile during any of this, is because of them.

Whew....i just hold close to the special moments of today and be grateful for them, the kids that pass me on the street saying "Happy Friday" even though its Wednesday, just because that was the first thing I had ever said to them, and they love it!
The kids at the orphanage who say the silliest things and just want to hold onto you and never let you go, and the kids at the school who greet me with smiles and hugs and laughter in the mornings, which makes me want to work harder for them.

And every night I go to bed thinking that tomorrow I will work harder...tomorrow will be better, tomorrow we'll get further, tomorrow things will change for the better.

I hope tomorrow becomes today....soon enough!

Peace, Love and Razorblades!