Week 6

After 6 weeks of waking up at 5AM, going to class from 7:15-3:15, eating all kinds of Asian food, enjoying 80 degree weather every single day, and motorbiking to different places, my time here in Indonesia is almost over.  Has it really been six weeks?  I can't wrap my head around that.  Next week, I will only have two days of school before I leave for the states on Tuesday night.  But, my experience here is not over yet!

Here's where I am in meeting my goals.

My first goal was to finish all of my edTPA responsibilities.  While I've only taught a couple of lessons this week, it's been really busy trying to spend time working on the edTPA and trying to enjoy as much as I can of this beautiful country.  I need to work on revising my planning commentary, clipping my videos for Task 2, and filming my giving of feedback to my focus students.  Some of this can definitely be done next week.  Because of our shortened week, things can get a little crazy.  This weekend, we have an extra day to our weekend because of Chinese New Year, so I'm hoping to get a lot of what I want to get done before I leave this place.  Many students come from Chinese backgrounds, so they celebrate this holiday.  One of the unique features of this school is that while it is a Christian school with Christian beliefs and values, there are days off of school for any holiday or religion.  A number of the students that go here are not Christian, so as a school, they recognize that it is important to respect all cultures and religions represented at this school while still sharing the truth of God's Word.

My other goal was to cultivate a better culture of eptness, which I believe I am growing more confident in doing.  For one of the lessons that I taught this week, I pretty much let my students do all of the talking.  They were to have read Chapter 7 of A Wrinkle in Time by Wednesday, the day I would be teaching my lesson.  During this lesson, we quickly reviewed the chapter together as a class, then I split them up into groups.  In their groups, they were to create a poster illustrating a descriptive scene/ passage from the text including 3 descriptive words from the text or that they thought of on their own.  Also, they had to include a one sentence summary explaining their scene.  After being given some time to work on it, they were to present their posters to the class.  They did an amazing job taking a prompt and making it their own.  These students exceeded my expectations, and I barely was up at the front of the room except to give directions.  I was very impressed and proud of their diligent work.  Part of creating a culture of eptness is to let the students shine by letting them demonstrate their knowledge and reverse the roles of student and teacher.  Eptness goes beyond just that, but this was really nice to see come to life successfully.  In future lessons, I really want to create activities that allow students to showcase their ideas rather than me lecturing all the time.  If I've learned anything about what strategies really work, it's that when you let the students take ownership, they surprise you in the best ways possible.  Here's some pictures of their work:

Overall, this week was a really fun one, and I'm starting to see myself as more of a teacher instead of a student teacher.  This week and next week, there is a student teacher from the local university that is teaching in my classroom as well.  At first, it was a bit of a sticky situation, because I had to teach my lessons, and she had to teach hers.  So, she taught a lesson on Monday, and I got to observe her.  I could tell that it was a little weird for my students having three teachers, but I love that they were so respectful towards her.  This student teacher is only in her 2nd year of college, so she is still learning about different aspects of being a teacher in a classroom.  The rest of Monday, my cooperating teacher took the reins as the students worked on finding descriptive words for their name acrostics.  They are writing a children's book and will be writing an autobiographical essay, so my teacher is pushing them to use more descriptive language. 

On Tuesday, there was not much teaching from me, because I actually was preparing for my interview with the school for a real, full-time job.  Since I've been student teaching here, I've been really considering coming to work at this school.  At least once every day, the students have asked me if I can come and work here, and a lot of times, I'll just joke around with them.  But, the head of the school and the academic principal approached me and asked me about setting up an interview before I leave, which honestly makes a lot of sense.  During the interview, they asked me questions primarily about my faith and how I would bring that into teaching.  Overall, the interview went really well, and I was informed that I would hear in the next few weeks whether or not I would be offered a position.  It's so exciting being able to start interviewing at different schools and seeing what God has planned for me in these next few months.

Wednesday was a very fun day, because it was Valentine's Day.  In addition to teaching my lesson, valentine's were constantly being handed out throughout the day.  Many of my students gave me some valentines as well as some teachers.  It was just a day to celebrate God's love for us and how we can share that love for others. 

Because it's my last full week in Jakarta, a few teachers wanted to take me sight seeing.  So, we went to MONAS after school which is the National Monument.  It was really cool to see and actually go up into!  It was nice to see historical sites in Jakarta amidst all of the high rises and new buildings.  It was a great afternoon and night, but I was so exhausted by the time we were heading back to our apartments. 

Actually, Wednesday and Thursday were very beneficial days for me, because my cooperating teacher was absent for both days, so although there was an occasional substitute teacher that would come and check in, I was, essentially, the teacher of the classroom.  IPTS Standard 9E says that the competent teacher "is cognizant of his or her emerging and developed leadership skills and the applicability of those skills within a variety of learning communities."  I gained some valuable experience of acting in a leadership role as a teacher outside of teaching lessons.  Over the past 6 weeks, I have been working on gaining a mutual respect between my students and myself, and it has paid off.  They truly see me as the teacher in the classroom and will listen to me.  On one of the papers that I was handed back on Thursday, a student put "Mr. Chris and Ms. Sarah" on the worksheet.  It's just sad that I won't continue to be a part of this wonderful class.  But, anyway, I took on responsibilities that I didn't think I would be ready for 5 weeks ago.  I led my students to and from break and lunch, I guided them in the vocabulary quiz, and I even helped the other student teacher in her endeavors of teaching the lesson.  She actually has come up to me for advice. 

Also, because my teacher wasn't here, he couldn't lead devotions during homeroom.  So, I asked the other homeroom teacher if she could do it, but she was not prepared either.  She talked to the students about their dreams, aspirations, and trials.  She wanted to know more about where they were in their faith.  At times, she would ask me to interject, so I gave my own words of wisdom.  As we were finishing up, I remembered a passage that the Lord had put on my heart that morning coming from James 1: 2-12:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. 
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.  But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.  For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

Being able to talk to them during devotions and share this passage was a huge turning point for me.  Not only can I be their professional teacher, but I can embody Christ-like servanthood through being a mentor to them.  I can serve them by loving them, and guiding them in their faith walk. 

 It's absolutely insane how much experience, knowledge, and respect I have acquired in the past few weeks.  Indonesia has touched my heart in a way that I didn't realize it could.  I'm very grateful for my time here and for all the experiences and friendships that I have made.