Classroom Stories

I am beginning to truly love each and every school day, as I continually am making new memories with my students. Now that we have been in class for a while, I know and understand my students’ personalities and they understand mine and my teaching style.    Now, I also have daily experiences with my classroom students, the Helping Hands kids, and the cheerleaders! Each day the kids make me laugh and smile and (as cheesy as it sounds) touch my heart and impact me in a truly special way! This makes each school day so worthwhile and makes my time here in Samoa feel validated! 

Here are a few stories that have made me smile big over the past few weeks:

• Moenu: Moenu is one of my best, dedicated, sweet, goodhearted students. However, one day she was a little too chatty in class and had to stay after for 15 minutes of detention. Rather than huffing and puffing about it, though, like most of the kids, she came and did as asked. As she worked, she asked me about my day and how the other classes were. Rather than going home, she stayed in my class for an hour and a half, and we just chatted. She taught me a lot more about Samoan culture, and filled me in on what the students say when they speak Samoan in class. We talked about school, family, and differences between our cultures. She allowed me to slow down a bit from the hectic day and learn about her and her life. It was a great way to end the school day!
• 4th Period Gals: I have 3 girls in my 4th period that are best friends. They came in after school one day to find out about some make up work, and they ended up staying to talk while one of them worked. They were full of personal questions and were curious about my life just like any other 9th grade girl looking up to an older role model. We giggled a lot, and they laughed hysterically at my pronunciation of the Samoan “g.” 
• Field Trip To Texas: On Monday I met with all the Helping Hands kids. Ms. Mauga and I were trying to work out a good way for the students to make it over to a sewing shop I’m coordinating with to make new uniforms for the students who lost theirs in the tsunami. Students have to be fitted for the outfits, so she decided we could just take them their during assembly period. (Samoa is great because mini-fields trips can go down with out parental consent or any preparation.) Once the kids met in my room I announced excitedly that we would be taking a mini-field trip! After one of their visits to my room, they students got the scoop on my life and now know I am from Texas. They have been interested in learning all about the Lonestar State ever since. So the first thing they yelled was “Are we going to Texas!?” I couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of the comment. Are we flying all the way to Texas and back during a 50 minute class period?! Of course not! But I went with it, and sarcastically said “Of course, we are going to Texas! The plane leaves in 10 minutes!” They erupted in cheers and excitement. They truly thought we would be going all the way to Texas just for the morning! After laughing for a while, I had to bring them back down to earth and announce that, “No, maybe one day we could visit Texas, but for today we are just going to Faga’alu.” 
• Yes, Michael Vic Is My Brother and Akon Is My Boyfriend: Oh, Samoana kids can be so gullible. Since Samoa is such a small island and everyone know everyone, they assume this is true everywhere on earth. Since I live in the United States, I must know everyone there-- especially the famous people! The kids love inquiring if I know Chris Brown, or Akon, or any famous football stars. So rather than saying “No, the US has millions and millions of people. I can’t possibly know everyone,” sometimes I see how far on a limb I can go. On Tuesday my especially gullible 1st period wanted to know if I knew Michael Vic. I said, “Of course I know Michael Vic. He is my brother!” They couldn’t believe their luck! Ms. Jessie was, in fact, the sister of Michael Vic. I explained the color difference by giving them an elaborate story of how Mikey, as we call him, was adopted. To further legitimize the story I claimed that we could call him after class. (If I could have taken it this far, I would have called my dad and hoped he pulled through with one of his amazing accents and stories!) I finally gave in and admitted Michael Vic was not my brother! Who knew? They continued to rattle of a list of other celebrities that I might know. When they got to Akon I said “Oh, I do know Akon. He’s my boyfriend!” I managed to convince them for a good 5 minutes that I was dating their favorite singer and would eventually let them meet him. 
• Sixth Period Sing Along: I really enjoy the musical Samoa culture, and I wish the US taught their children how to sing in 4 part harmony like the Samoans. Literally everyone here had a beautiful singing voice! On Friday, the kids were having a work day and had the period to continue adding to a drawing. One of my 6th period students is such a performer. He sings 24/7. While they worked he sang and slowly everyone would chime in. My classes are heavily male dominated since they are under the applied tech umbrella, so it’s even more unique to see a room full of boys singing. For most of the period, the boys just sat work, sang, and danced a little in their seats. They were so happy, so content, and it sounded amazing. It was one of those moments that left me unable to stop smiling. They sang everything from current pop and R&B to traditional Samoan songs. Mona even led a few versus of “Blue Moon.”