Pray, learn, teach: Role Play

So much has happened in the past 12 days, and I feel terrible for not keeping up better with my blog. Where to start. The school of course!

In 7^th and 8^th grade English, the students were reading a parable or excerpt from a story. As a demonstration of their comprehension for these, in my opinion, rather difficult texts (Pride and Prejudice for 8^th graders, for example), the students were to create their own little play to show the class. Each class was divided into about four groups. From there, each group had to determine who would play each part and if they would have multiple parts, write their script in a creative manner instead of simply word-for-word, utilize some sort of prop, memorize most of their lines, and practice inflecting their voices/displaying the correct mannerisms of their characters in order to show true comprehension of the story. All of these tasks were completed within three forty-minute class periods (and any preparation students chose to do outside of class).

I was astonished by the results. The students were fantastic! The seventh grade students acted out a parable called A Grain as Big as a Hen’s Egg. There were three old men in the story, a king, some children, two wise men, and a traveller. The students came prepared with crutches made from newspapers wrapped around their textbooks, some sort of black pastels and/or black tape to make moustaches, chalk dust to make their hair look white, a crown made of newspapers, and a tennis ball to serve as the grain. These are just some of the props students developed. The 8^th graders made fake pipes, brought in tea sets, and sewing kits to act the parts of Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr. Bennett. Keep in mind, most of these students are living in severe poverty and collecting these resources would have taken great time and effort!

Within just these few classes, most of the students had memorized their lines, decided upon scene changes (8^th grade only), determined their characters’ personalities, and created props. And most of the groups performed wonderfully. (Two of the groups did not use their time wisely which showed in their performances). I was sincerely laughing aloud at how the children walked hunched over like old men (7^th grade), showed the sarcasm and overreactions of Mrs. Bennett, and danced (boys with girls!) formally as they would have at the dinner party (also 8^th grade).

Aside from the specific lessons, the students are finally warming up to me. I am not such a novelty anymore, and I am so thankful for it. The students still stand up when I walk into the classroom like they do with the other teachers (something that will take adjusting to) and get so excited to say hello to me, but in general, they know that I’m there now, they listen to me when I ask them to do something, and are taking me seriously now that they better understand my role in the classroom. That role being, right now, assisting the teacher in classroom management, checking comprehension, promoting proper use of the spoken and written English language, and helping students stay on task.

The students are wonderful, but the teachers deserve so much credit for where the students are academically as well as behaviorally. I have thoroughly enjoyed coming to know the teachers at the school. They are all curious about my weekend plans, excited when I wear a sari or a salwar kameez to school, and informative about their teaching methods and their reasoning for it. The teachers are hilarious, too! They are constantly making jokes and looking on the bright side of their situations instead of complaining about how this or that is so hard. It seems that they’ve recognized their jobs comes with difficulties, so they do not grumble about their situations unless they are truly looking for suggestions on how to improve it. I am so glad that I am fortunate enough to work with such a supportive teaching staff.

Before I move onto discussing non-school related topics, here are some fun facts about the school: