The First Week of School!

Alright, people. It has begun. I'm officially a student teacher!

The students arrived on Saturday and Sunday, school started on Monday, and it's been crazy ever since. I've been observing the general music classes, and starting on Wednesday, I've been teaching rhythm reviews to each grade. Since I'm mostly used to a choir classroom that focuses on repertoire, I'm excited-- and a little nervous-- to be working around a set of concepts instead. Flipping between ages and developmental levels has been fascinating so far!

The colorful general music classroom!

The names are the hardest thing for me right now, I would say. There are so many children from all over the world, and they all have such unique names! Some of the phonetics, especially with the Chinese students, are completely foreign to me, so it's tough to keep everyone straight. I've asked my 6th graders to start quizzing me when they see me in the quad, and I think that's helping. Regardless of their difficult names, they're amazingly sweet kids and I can't believe how well-behaved they are!

Teaching here is a very different experience than in the States. The classes are smaller, so it's easier to manage a classroom, and the students are (typically) more well-behaved than students I've had experience with in the past. In addition, the boarding system means that this school is incredibly tight-knit and close. Some of the students have started boarding at grade 4, which was unthinkable to me, but it seems that they're doing well. In the senior school, groups of students are assigned to advisors on the staff, and it's not unusual for the advisors to invite their student groups over to their homes and provide dinner and team-building. When I first heard that, I was taken aback; in the States it seems like if you even touch a student you're in trouble, but that's not how it is here at all. I'm finding it to be a warm and inviting place to learn. I really like it a lot.

The quad from the third level balcony.
This is right out the door of my classroom!

This weekend, I'm taking a bus with some staff down to Dehra Dun (the nearest city down the hill). I'm going to do some shopping and just hang out with some of the staff ladies! It'll be great to get down the mountain and spend some time just socializing. There are a couple get-togethers this weekend as well, so let's see if I can actually get some lesson planning done! Fingers crossed!

And, just because, here's a shot of the view from my front door.
It's the monsoon, so when the clouds clear and the sun comes out,
you have to make sure it's well-documented.