Everyone is Running Around Yelling....

If any of y'all were with me on my Namibian journey you may remember the disorganization and drama that is the Southern African exam system. We started our first day today, meaning we're in for a few WEEKS of testing blocks followed by mayhem when the learners are supposed to be in class (...I think...?) but just scream and cause trouble for the rest of the shortened day. I told all my kids to come to school today (some thought it was a holiday?) because I was going to teach and tell them what was on the exam, but instead I've spent the entire day in my cold class room lonely and confused.

This has been a super roller coaster week anyways-I shed my first tears at school and because I'm still kinda embarrassed about it I'll tell yah later....

Life lately however, has been a collection of hilarious and weird microcosms that describe the constant randomness that is teaching at my school.

-on Wednesday, in the span of 10 mins I wrestled a cell phone out of a girl's hands as she tried to shove it down her shirt, had a learner ask for a stapler only to have him raise up his leg and start stapling his pants, and had a teacher ask me to cover her class because she had to go deal with "spiritual matters." It was something with a learner and seeing "The Black Lady," who I guess is like "Bloody Mary?" and needing to inform the grandmother about the small curses he has been experiencing being put on him week.

-also on Wednesday, a Grade 10 learner who has become my shadow (and sings Rihanna's "Work, Work, Work" to me whenever he sees me...) started enthusiastically explaining some American movie he watched last night. It was possibly the funniest half understood conversation I've had here yet. Apparently some character had to lick either an ice sculpture or statue (...unclear...) to make friends because no one liked her. When I asked the name of the movie he said, "Slap Her...She's French." I absolutely LOST it. There is no way that is the real name of a movie. Apparently though, 2002 was a tough year for the cinematic industry, because that is in fact, a real and actual movie.

-on Thursday I had library duty, where I usually play some sort of music quietly because I can't handle silence. I flipped on the Frank Ocean albums and looked up to see the heads of the eight Grade 11 and Grade 12 boys in there start to nod to the beat. A few songs in, one learner was totally unproductive; his glasses were off, and he was singing the lyrics to his homework paper-not writing, not reading, but in the zone. Another was rocking a cobalt blue afro pic in his school-cropped short hair, rocking back and forth doing math and singing the harmony. Earnestly and genuinely he looked up at me said, "Miss, can you please raise the volume?" All the other learners whipped their heads around and agreed. I don’t know if I’m helping their education or shaking their concentration but hey, whatever I need to do to get my boyz in the library....thanks Frank Ocean for making me cool.

-and right now, as I type this, tired and feeling kinda sick, there is a tiny tiny 10th Grade learner dancing next to me, alone, to the South African rap music I'm playing. I'm actually hoping his English isn't very good so he doesn't know I'm typing this exact sentence about him.

Let Me Explain....

 I’ve been writing a lot less this time in Africa. Sorry self, sorry everyone. But if I can make any concessions and excuses they are as follows:

-School has picked up. We’re getting closer and closer to exam time (where essentially schools shut down and the kids only test) so I’ve been needing to get a lot of business in order. My classes are really far behind- partially due to constantly thinking I can get more done in a class than is realistic and partially due to behavior issues. My kids are precious angels and simultaneously devil children. I love them to pieces, but a few of them make it really hard sometimes. I had to walk out of class on Tuesday and count to 10 I was so angry. I hoped this would have the same effect as the few times my mother got so fed up with my brother, sister, and me that she got in the car and drove away. Back then, I knew I was in for PAIN when either her or my dad came home. That wasn't wasn't really the achieved effect when I entered the classroom though, and I just got even madder.  But, my co-teacher had my back like a champ. She followed both my classes to their next class and told them they couldn't come back to English class that week until they wrote me a letter of apology. PREACH TEACH!!!! I'll have to throw some pictures of these letters up here, as they are pretty great. Although, most of the kids who wrote them were the ones who didn't actually misbehave and I felt bad. 

-I have a routine now. While I usually hate knowing exactly what my day is going to be like before it happens, it's kinda nice this time around. Things have fallen into a system, and since I'm me, I'm usually out of the house by 6:45am and back 12 hours later. Long days. 

-My laptop got stolen out of the locked trunk of my car. I should be more mad about the loss of pictures, months of learner's marks, super important saved information, and just pure annoyance, but....what can you do? I've just got to buy a second hand PC and get back on that blog train. It's just dumb because that computer was almost 10 years old, couldn't even run Google Chrome, and was basically just powered by the sands of time. So, basically, South African gangsters got a crap ton of pictures of drunk college kids in costumes, lesson plans, and obsolete computer parts and I got a really limited Christmas list this year.

-I’m “studying” for the GREs. By that I mean I’m actually serious about it now and am constantly filled with anxiety and a lack of self worth because I can't solve math problems I could do in high school. Well, actually, my giant GRE study book also got stolen out of my car....so I've taken a short sabbatical. The theft of the book might actually be more infuriating than the laptop cause I KNOW ain't no one else looking at that shit.

-My friends (I have some now!) like to hang out and chill. I’m good at chilling. I like chilling. So I have been chilling.

-The #GirlSquad American Fortess (a.k.a- our house) tends to enter into a state of antics after 7pm. Somewhere between cooking dinner, organizing for the next day, and yelling at Nana, we find ourselves YouTubing classic American folk songs, talking about teaching, complain about something, laughing at everything, and sometimes being generally unproductive. Well, I'm unproductive and easily distracted. Izora and Lizzy get things done, I instagram and sometimes think whiskey and tequila go together (...they don't). When I was in the Namibian village, it was much easier to talk about yourself over the internet when you have no one else to talk to.

-I've been coming up with cool challenges for my learners. I teach Art Club on Saturdays now and I try to prompt and promote creative and critical thinking with cool assignments. I'm still waiting to see some return on investments here as I don't always explain things the best.

-both Adele and Beyonce have new albums. I mean, that's just rude. How am I supposed to get anything done?

So, please accept my apology in the form of this video of morning assembly!

I Am Very Inspirational

I've been working with this learner who is a wonderful, beautiful, articulate, intelligent old soul. I'm helping her start a non-profit (...we're in the very ELEMENTAL stages...don't give me too much credit yet) called "Beauty For A Purpose," centered around girl empowerment and positive self esteem. 

She's also a poet, with a whole notebook full of teenage angst  and mature insightful work. She wrote a poem about me.  It's adorable. It's too much. It's below.

Miss Jay

The searchers of wisdom and knowledge

Savior of the world, the speaker of the

Voiceless, the young woman after

Wisdom rather than the Gold, stylish

And unique, her personality is breath-taking

The color of her skin doesn’t determine

Her character, the English and Art teacher

Flew all the way to South Africa and Namibia, driven

By love and kindness, Miss Jay the mother

Of Education (word I can’t read) of our days

This Week on "WTF is in the Library..."

Everyone Loves Adele....Literally.

Was it annoying that 3 periods into the day on Friday I found out we were recognizing a holiday and leaving early? YUP. Was it actually still pretty awesome and a great surprise? YUP. Did a spontaneous jam session break out in the library with my guitar lesson kids for an hour after school? YUP. Are all those learners allowed to have cell phones in school? NOPE. (**Ms. J doesn't see it because she's having fun....)

I started the video a bit too late, but I was trying to be inconspicuous.