Today at Oasis I was teaching a little math to the kids. I am not exactly a math wiz by any standard, but I can handle a little conversion of fractions into decimals, especially when their denominator is 100 (see what I did there). As my lesson went on I realized why teachers do what they do, even If they get stiffed financially. There is a joy in having a child understand something that he didn’t before, a joy that you can’t really get from doing anything else in life. I am not some amazing teacher, in fact I think most of the time I may misinform the children, but today one of the students really understood something that he hadn’t before, all because of my explanation. So now I understand why teachers put up with bratty students, absurd parents, overbearing administration, terrible wages and sometimes ridicules standards. So I dedicate this blog post to anyone who has ever tried to teach a child something that they didn’t understand before (like that dedication actually means anything, but hey).
5 comments:
Chris you are the BOMB!!!!!
Love you,
Mom xoxoxoxoxo
I admire you so much.
Well done good and faithful servant.
Now go enjoy Tuscany! Eat pasta and cheese and savor bread soaked in olive oil and butter. Drink Chianti and eat a TON of Gelato!
God knows what He has in store for you, but you don't have to figure it out today.
Well done indeed.
Your dedication means a lot to me Chris... From one teacher to another, I love you Chris.
DAD
Yes, Chris, you're dedication means a lot to Jack and I, too, since he has been teaching for 42 years ( and still teaching even after public school retirement) and me, off and on since '68!
You'll be getting home just as we are leaving so we won't see you until January. Can't wait to spend a few hours with you just catching up on everything. I know you have matured beyond your years. We can tell from each day's blog that God has done a mighty, mighty work in your life, and through you, a mighty work in many you have taught, befriended, prayed, played and lived with, and just hung out with in Kenya. You took a mighty step of faith serving in Kenya and, for that, I can hear the Lord saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Love ya lots, Jack and Suzy
P.S. Glad you found my email even though it ended up in your junk mail!
Chris...You brought back one of my favorite memories. I remember back to the very beginning of Oasis when Bram, and Elvis were still street boys and came to Oasis every day. Bramwel was always such a thoughtful and dedicated student....not always the quickest...but, he really cared. He would take FOREVER to draw those little boxes on his math papers to copy the math problems in....he wanted them to be so perfect that the other kids were done with math before he even started. Consequently, he was often a behind the others in getting a concept, because he had less practice doing the problems. So, at that time, the older kids (of whom Bram was one) were doing long division. He just didn't get it and day after day, he had completed maybe two problems (situated in the nicely drawn boxes on his page) by the time they were collecting the composition books to move on to singing or art (the next subjects). So, I decided that Bram and I would just move outside and sit on the concrete strip outside the class and continue to work on math at the end of math class. We did this for several days and he just DIDN'T get the concept...until one day he said "Like this?" and did the problems perfectly. Honestly..that remains to this day one of my most thrilling life moments.
Love you.....
Post a Comment