I miss posting and I miss my camera and photography, and I'm super behind on the blog and I miss it. =/ Enmeshed in work (which is going wonderfully, but it leaves me with no time). I hope to catch up soon!
Day 340 (Mon., 9/4); Day 341 (Tues); 342 (Wed); 343 (Thurs); 345(Sat.); 346 (Sun., 9/11)
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Day 339: How Sweet it Sounds
How sweet it feels, this Urdu on my tongue!
How sweet they sound, these "jees" and "aaps."
Stumbling upon a cart of shawls and shalwar kameez in a San Jose mall, I had to stop and look to get my fill of "culture" after what felt like such a long time. I asked the shop keeper if the shawls were from Pakistan, and although he replied, "No they are Turkish," we pretty soon began a conversation in Urdu. A Karachi-ite himself, his fellow shopkeeper from Afghanistan, we all conversed in Urdu for a few minutes and wished one another Eid Mubarak and talked of upcoming desi events in the Bay Area. I left after telling them it felt nice to speak Urdu again after such a long time, and we were all in smiles.
I remained smiling the rest of the day. Ah I miss the feel and sound of my mother tongue at home! Even a language is missed more once it's gone.
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How sweet they sound, these "jees" and "aaps."
Stumbling upon a cart of shawls and shalwar kameez in a San Jose mall, I had to stop and look to get my fill of "culture" after what felt like such a long time. I asked the shop keeper if the shawls were from Pakistan, and although he replied, "No they are Turkish," we pretty soon began a conversation in Urdu. A Karachi-ite himself, his fellow shopkeeper from Afghanistan, we all conversed in Urdu for a few minutes and wished one another Eid Mubarak and talked of upcoming desi events in the Bay Area. I left after telling them it felt nice to speak Urdu again after such a long time, and we were all in smiles.
I remained smiling the rest of the day. Ah I miss the feel and sound of my mother tongue at home! Even a language is missed more once it's gone.
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Friday, September 2, 2011
Day 338: Cleaning Camp
What did I learn this camping trip (the 2nd one of my life)? I learned, besides all the school activity related lessons, that I still do not know how to get into a sleeping bag, the consequences of which are severe out in the woods. I enjoy realizing what I don't know, though, because now I know I had better figure out my sleeping bag for next time.
While the past few days in Mentor groups, both during the camping trip and otherwise, have been a steep learning curve and I was anxious about my abilities as a Mentor, today's mentor time and MentorOlympics made me breath a sigh of relief. A series of games like the Sack Race and Tug-of-War in which my mentor group, the self-identified "Rolos," played against 9th, 10th, and 11th graders gave me a chance to begin working on my "pump up" skills (still weak, but I'm working on it). Our final Mentor Time at the end of the trip, though, was a sign of progress - mentees sat and listened to one another, and shared their camping trip experiences in more than a sentence each (almost). I suppose these things just take a bit of time =)
Other heartwarming moments were spread throughout today and yesterday. The Henna/Mehndi breakout sessions I lead brought an unexpectedly high number of students to the activity, and I was so excited to see the number of students excited to learn more about Mehndi and a bit of South Asian culture, and also those students who are brilliant artists! I also truly enjoyed all those little moments during this camping trip in which I got a chance to sit down and have casual interactions with students: that moment when a quiet student advocated for herself and let me know something was bothering her (which was immediately resolved); the moment when a group of students surrounded me to tell me about the Harry Potter Musical that I just have to watch one day with them; the moment when a young student, and the first person to ever say something like this to me, upon learning that I'm ethnically Pakistani and am troubled by the violence in Pakistan, said to me with a hand to my shoulder, "It'll be ok Ms. Lodhie, it will get better. These things always get bad for a while, but they also always get better. Don't worry."
I love being a teacher. I'm surrounded by awesome human beings, all the time.
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While the past few days in Mentor groups, both during the camping trip and otherwise, have been a steep learning curve and I was anxious about my abilities as a Mentor, today's mentor time and MentorOlympics made me breath a sigh of relief. A series of games like the Sack Race and Tug-of-War in which my mentor group, the self-identified "Rolos," played against 9th, 10th, and 11th graders gave me a chance to begin working on my "pump up" skills (still weak, but I'm working on it). Our final Mentor Time at the end of the trip, though, was a sign of progress - mentees sat and listened to one another, and shared their camping trip experiences in more than a sentence each (almost). I suppose these things just take a bit of time =)
Other heartwarming moments were spread throughout today and yesterday. The Henna/Mehndi breakout sessions I lead brought an unexpectedly high number of students to the activity, and I was so excited to see the number of students excited to learn more about Mehndi and a bit of South Asian culture, and also those students who are brilliant artists! I also truly enjoyed all those little moments during this camping trip in which I got a chance to sit down and have casual interactions with students: that moment when a quiet student advocated for herself and let me know something was bothering her (which was immediately resolved); the moment when a group of students surrounded me to tell me about the Harry Potter Musical that I just have to watch one day with them; the moment when a young student, and the first person to ever say something like this to me, upon learning that I'm ethnically Pakistani and am troubled by the violence in Pakistan, said to me with a hand to my shoulder, "It'll be ok Ms. Lodhie, it will get better. These things always get bad for a while, but they also always get better. Don't worry."
I love being a teacher. I'm surrounded by awesome human beings, all the time.
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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Day 337: All School Camping Trip Day 1
This is Our School...except it's now in THE WOODS. 300+ students, parents, and faculty all convened in the woods today for an All School Camping Trip. Structured Mentor time, check-ins, time to put up tents, lunch and dinner, and a fantastic Talent Show put on by students (and ended by some faculty dancing) meant a packed by awesome day of community building.
It's very interesting to see how the 9th, 10th, and 11th graders begin to interact with one another across grade levels. Whereas in my own high school the grade levels stayed completely to themselves, this school encourages grade levels to mix and provide support for one another. I love it.
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It's very interesting to see how the 9th, 10th, and 11th graders begin to interact with one another across grade levels. Whereas in my own high school the grade levels stayed completely to themselves, this school encourages grade levels to mix and provide support for one another. I love it.
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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Day 335: Push-Pinning
In continuing to prep our 9th English classroom for official academic classes tomorrow, I made the extremely permanent decision to use push-pins for our posters. It's done; no turning back now.
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Monday, August 29, 2011
Day 334: 1st Day of School (Kind of)
On the first day of school my new job gave to me
Another mentoring opportunity.
Lame. Sorry.
So after talking to a bunch of my incredible colleagues, I finally decided I'm going to try permanent group seating in my 9th English classes this year. It is always surprising to me how much norming has to go in to the beginning of the year processes, to the point where students (and myself) have truly internalized the norms of groupwork, classroom, and school behavior and characteristics.
I'm continuing to learn the ropes of mentoring - such a different but exciting "hat" to add to being a classroom teacher. Whereas last week I felt awkward putting on that "mentor hat," this week (again after colleagues helped me calm down) I feel like I'm beginning to let go of the notion that I need to act like a mentor, which in turn makes me feel more natural in the role.
It's Eid tomorrow, such a special day, and Chaand Raat tonight. I'll be honest though - I forgot until I talked to family this evening; sad, I know. Eid mubarak to those of you celebrating, and hope you enjoy with family and friends =) (and those of you not celebrating, partake in the happiness and food and hugs and good vibes, oh and that eidi too!). Oh wait, and of course, Chaand Raat and Eid are good days to remember those who need our support...
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Another mentoring opportunity.
Lame. Sorry.
So after talking to a bunch of my incredible colleagues, I finally decided I'm going to try permanent group seating in my 9th English classes this year. It is always surprising to me how much norming has to go in to the beginning of the year processes, to the point where students (and myself) have truly internalized the norms of groupwork, classroom, and school behavior and characteristics.
I'm continuing to learn the ropes of mentoring - such a different but exciting "hat" to add to being a classroom teacher. Whereas last week I felt awkward putting on that "mentor hat," this week (again after colleagues helped me calm down) I feel like I'm beginning to let go of the notion that I need to act like a mentor, which in turn makes me feel more natural in the role.
It's Eid tomorrow, such a special day, and Chaand Raat tonight. I'll be honest though - I forgot until I talked to family this evening; sad, I know. Eid mubarak to those of you celebrating, and hope you enjoy with family and friends =) (and those of you not celebrating, partake in the happiness and food and hugs and good vibes, oh and that eidi too!). Oh wait, and of course, Chaand Raat and Eid are good days to remember those who need our support...
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