Class picture day

Finally rounded up my kids so we could get a couple of class photos taken.  Everyone was present in both of my classes so I was a happy teacher.

6A:

6B:

Since telling the boys and girls apart can be pretty difficult at first (school policy says all primary school learners have to shave their heads), there are about 20 boys and 15 girls in both classes.  The ratio varies a lot though, and in some classes there are more boys and in others there are more girls.

Having a class photo taken is not something these learners are used to.  In fact, it's quite an exciting occasion, so I was nervous at first of if they could handle it or if they would get loud and crazy and disrupt the school day for the other classes.  So I was really proud of them for following my lead on this and making it a success.

The experience reinforced the good feelings I've been having as a teacher lately as well.  (Yes, only lately.  Teaching is so full of ups and downs!)  It may not have been what I thought would be important to me early on, but now I've realized that one of my biggest goals is to be a teacher that my learners like but also respect (and who they can therefore learn from most effectively).  And for the non-teaching blog readers, it's not always an easy balance and takes some time to establish.  I may even be the one teacher at my school who best makes both of these marks with their learners.  But more on all that in a future post...