Day 2 at St. Florence: Confidences

it's pretty amazing how quickly people open up to near-strangers when you just put in a little bit of time.

walking through the (tiny) halls i bumped into the French teacher and we almost didn't stop to chat. it looked like we were both about 50/50 in terms of wanting to stop to chat or not and looked to the other for body language hints to see which way the other was leaning. it was awkward for all of three seconds before we both decided to turn back to be introduced properly. turns out he used to teach High School Math back in his home country, Haiti, but is now stuck doing French for elementary. he is fairly miserable because most elementary students don't enjoy learning another language on top of struggling through English; he probably feels underpaid and under-appreciated. but it seems most of the kids really like him. he showed up at the door once and three kids leapt out of their seats -- one from the back of the room -- to hug him. it was sweet; they got in (minor) trouble.

i spent a good chunk of the morning coaxing one boy to copy out one sentence. in that time i found out he likes Spider-Man and French, occasionally tries to write with his left hand and returns everything he borrows immediately after he finishes using it. he has a lot of trouble with reading, writing and academics in general. for a grade 1 student, this entails mostly reading, writing and comprehension thereof. motivation is a problem too; he either drifts off into space or is easily distracted by what others say, latching onto that train of thought, forgetting his original focus (copying out that sentence).

the teachers know him very well. most of them lunch in the staff room. much of the conversation centres on the 'problem-child of the day' and carries on from there. i'm not one to gripe about kids -- i'll tell funny stories for sure, but purely for laughs -- but i see how this is a necessary thing for teachers. it allows them to unwind a bit when the infuriation sets in, and discuss with other teachers about possible solutions or tactics that may have worked in the past. parents, in general, figure prominently in these discussions. the teachers have personal relationships with these parents; they are considered extensions of the kids they teach and they make it a point to get to know the parents to get to know the kids better. unfortunately, many of the cases in this school are instances of "children raising children" in incomplete families. i listen in on scraps of conversation (as usual) to find out more about the kids i interact with to try and communicate with them more personally.

when i found out the boy liked French, i suggested that he tell his teacher once in awhile. i hope he remembers to. i'll have to bug him about it.