A student's inspiration

Everyday, I start my class with a journal entry.  I write a question on the board and give them 10 minutes to write as much as they can, using as many adjectives as they can come up with. 

What was your most recent dream?  Describe your ideal bedroom. Where do you see yourself in 2 years.

One of my favorite trouble makers skipped the beginning of class and so I made him spend 10 minutes writing about what ever he wanted.  This boy is probably the most capable student I have and could do anything, absolutely anything if he just got set on the right path..

He calls me granny Danny because im "old fashion"-- ie I don't let him throw trash on the ground, and I don't think he should have 2 girlfriends..

Here is what I found:

To Granny Danny:

Our teacher knows so many thingz
The name of all the kingz and queens
The date of battles that they won,
How far the Earth is from the Sun.
She counts long sums inside her head
I'll have to write them down instead
or use my fingers one by one
A thing she says that is not done
She knows of every town and place
of every country and its race.




I'm not sure if he wrote it, and if he did, I'm not sure if he right then.  I'm not going to ask, but I know that me being "granny Danny" is doing something right.

:)

Swimmin in the deep end

Whooooo this is a learning experience.  I generally considered myself someone who is quite capable; someone who is aware of her strengths and is able to play to them.  Well if I thought that I knew what I was getting into, I thought wrong.

First of all, if eleventh grade volleyball wasn’t enough, I know am even more aware that I struggle with teams.. Boy that is something that I need fix.  I never realized that (despite my disaster of a room) I am meticulously structured.  I have constant lists and agendas and my ducks are always in a very straight row.  I get frustrated when things don’t go accordingly. Well, hey.  This is a #TIA moment, because NOTHING goes according to my plan. Ever.

More than my unchecked lists, ministry is WAY more than showing up on Sunday and reading a little scripture.  I am a taxi, a confidant, a teacher, a planner, a role model, a leader, a choir director.  Yes, you read that right.. The girl who got kicked out of 4^th grade choir is now LEADING a choir.  And that’s just the morning.

In the afternoon, I move to Lwandlekazi where I work with my grade 10.  All of the above, through in a whole lot of disorganization, and even more attitude.  When I get there usually around 1.00 in the afternoon, SOMETIMES school is in session.  It depends of if the teachers come, or if it is raining, or if it’s a Monday, or if anyone feels like it.  Usually around 2.30 I finally wrangle up the kids into a room and force some bonding on them.  Most days I then become the soccer or netball teammate/coach.  Then I ALWAYS become the taxi driver/ confidant. 

Nights are filled with meetings, that sometimes I know what was accomplished.

 

Anyway, this all sounds like a giant complaint, and that is far from what it is.  I enjoy every challenge every day, but woohhh did I not realize how dynamic I would need to become.  No job description could ever, EVER describe all of the things that I am learning, both about myself and about people, and about how to be alive.  I choose a good life.

Remix

At Masinyusane this week, we have been looking at an older song by Nas called "I Can."  Reading through lyrics and questioning the meaning behind has been actually a really great way work on English vocabulary.  We all particularly loved this song, so we decided to make a Masinyusane Remix.  The lyrics are below.  I'm not sure how educational this afternoon was, but we had a fun time :)

(Granny, press the gray arrow above this picture to make the video play)

"I Can"

 

[Kids]
I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

[Nas]
Be, B-Boys and girls, listen up
You can be anything in the world, in God we trust
An architect, doctor, maybe an actress
But nothing comes easy it takes much practice
Like, I met a woman who's becoming a star
She was very beautiful, leaving people in awe
Singing songs, Lina Horn, but the younger version
Hung with the wrong person
Got her strung on that
Heroin, cocaine, sniffin up drugs all in her nose...
Coulda died, so young, now looks ugly and old
No fun cause now when she reaches for hugs people hold they breath
Cause she smells of corrosion and death
Watch the company you keep and the crowd you bring
Cause they came to do drugs and you came to sing
So if you gonna be the best, I'ma tell you how,
Put your hands in the air, and take a vow

[Chorus - 2x (Nas and Kids)]
I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

[Nas]
Be, B-Boys and girls, listen again
This is for grown looking girls who's only ten
The ones who watch videos and do what they see
As cute as can be, up in the club with fake ID
Careful, 'fore you meet a man with HIV
You can host the TV like Oprah Winfrey
Whatever you decide, be careful, some men be
Rapists, so act your age, don't pretend to be
Older than you are, give yourself time to grow
You thinking he can give you wealth, but so
Young boys, you can use a lot of help, you know
You thinkin life's all about smokin weed and ice
You don't wanna be my age and can't read and write
Begging different women for a place to sleep at night
Smart boys turn to men and do whatever they wish
If you believe you can achieve, then say it like this

[Chorus]

[Nas]
Be, be, 'fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian Arabs and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
If the truth is told, the youth can grow
Then learn to survive until they gain control
Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes
Read more learn more, change the globe
Ghetto children, do your thing
Hold your head up, little man, you're a king
Young Princess when you get your wedding ring
Your man is saying "She's my queen"

[Chorus]

Save the music y'all, save the music y'all
Save the music y'all, save the music y'all
Save the music

Lost in translation

They speak English here, right? No problem.  Here is the thing, translating South African English to Minnesotan English has had some humps.

When a notice said “the meeting will be held at St. Paul’s Klinskool,”  I naturally thought it was a school called St. Paul’s that I was looking for.  Google thought so too!  So I drive off to this meeting, end up driving through a Missionvale Township (fine, but Google maps certainly can’t help me here).. After a failed attempt asking for directions at the police station, I end up at a garage.  I get directed take a left after the hilly curve.  I take said left onto a dirt road, which turned into a muddy road, which turned into a marsh, which my little blue matchbox car did not venture.  People have come out of their shacks to see what this car is doing; even the goats are gazing at me…. Somehow, I make it there.  Turns out Klinskool is not a long word for school, it is a region.  And this region was nowhere near where google thought, and even farther from the goat infested mud marsh..

Today, I was in a meeting with my core team planning for an event.  We were bouncing ideas off of each other about metaphors of light and reflection.  Candles, cell phones cameras, and mirrors were brought up.  We carried on and people talked of torches.  I’m desperately trying to be a good listener, and validate all of these ideas that people are having…. But torches.. What is this..1600? I’m not trying to burn the building down by passing out torches to a bunch of 14 and 15 year olds…. Turns out torches are what we call flash lights.. Wheooo. Gave me a fright.

Likewise, the punctuation mark which goes at the end of a sentence, we call a period, does not have the same name here.  I am going through one of my students writing, telling him that he is not using periods in the right places.  I said that a period tells us when we should pause, and take a breath before continuing on.  He looked very uncomfortable.  Turns out that this dot is called a full-stop….. Who knew.. I will not be making that awkward moment happen again.

I still am quite terrible at anything click related.  I apparently use a whole lot of unnecessary throat action when pronouncing an Afrikaans word.  And "yabo" is not the same as "ya bro".....

 

Anyway, this kind of encounter comes up every day.  Keeps me on my toes.