Adjectives and Self Esteem

11.25.15

              If there is anything I am sure about here in Ethiopia, it is that I am not sure of anything! I flounder through my days with no expectations whatsoever. Even for someone who is working within a school with a set schedule, anything can happen. For example…

àI think my classes are going to start at the time they’ve always started because that seems safe, right? Surprise! My class started 10 minutes ago, my students are waiting on me, and the teacher I’ve been chatting with didn’t mention the schedule changed for the day.

àMaybe I’ll walk home really quickly in order to clean and get some work done…Not today! On my walk home I have to stop and greet everyone I am in the slightest bit acquainted with. Oh, and one of my friends sees me and invites me to a coffee ceremony. I have to accept the 1.5 hour diversion because you just don’t say ‘no’ to invitations.

àI’m just going to go to the bus station and go home…Boy, howdy, was I wrong! The bus that is always there isn’t there, and a stranger has developed a moral obligation to make sure I get home. She grabs my hand and we frolic to numerous buses trying to find the one most suitable. She pushes me through narrow doors and yells at the bus drivers for me with all the love in her heart. (If my life here was like the movie, Titanic- which I often like to think it is considering my theatrical daydreaming and the copious amounts of Celine Dion I grace myself with- there would be so many people ensuring I get on the life boat…I’d definitely make it.)

Today was yet another day where I was…caught off guard. Every week, I have a club at the primary school for about 28 students from grades 5-8. Naturally, I planned an activity perfectly fit for my group size. It involved scissors, markers and tape which was pretty audacious in and of itself. I knew language barriers and the excitement of the students would make this a slight challenge. As I enter the school and wait on someone to open the classroom, there are about double the amount of students stoked to start the lesson. The director, unannounced, decided to tack on 30 extra students from grades 1-4. This presented a lot of doubt for me. I didn’t have enough materials, I thought the lesson would be way over their head, and kids at that young age would surely make this activity especially hard to tackle. I tried to express my concern to another teacher. He told me to just start teaching and he would go talk to the school director for me…He never returned.

What happened next blew my mind. All of the students participated in impressive self-introductions. The topic for the day was adjectives, and their prior knowledge surpassed that of my high school students. Hands, big and small, shot up in order to answer my priming questions. I gave them synonyms for common adjectives like happy, clever, pretty, etc.

It is known that many students, especially females, lack confidence in themselves. I used this as an outlet to bring up the topic of self-esteem and what it means to feel good about yourself. They picked three new words to describe themselves and made “flowers” with their hand prints. They eagerly dove into the center of the table to use the colored pencils and markers. It was hilarious!. To my surprise, only one marker casualty! They seized the opportunity to be artistically creative (thanks for the supplies, Kari!!). To my surprise, silence blanketed the group as they decorated their creations. “Crayola” doesn’t exist here, and with 100 students in each class, art isn’t feasible. Students from all grade levels proudly read me their sentences with huge smiles on their faces. For example, “I am bright, I am good looking, I am happy.”  They lined up to ask me to take their picture. They even included sentences like “I love you, teacher!” and “My lovely teacher.” The turnout was absolutely phenomenal. I love my students and my job. I was glowing the entire time. Check it out!

"I am beautiful, I am lovely, I am great."

"I am great, I am content, I am happy."

"I am lovely."

"I am great, I am smart, I am happy"