After about 5 schedule changes, I have finally settled into a routine and am enjoying getting to know new students and reuniting with former students. This is great on school grounds, during the school day, but even better when it happens around the city, where I can greet my students on a crowded metro and get a quizzical look back that says,
"WHAT?! TEACHERS DON'T LIVE AT SCHOOL?!"
Already this year I have seen 5 students randomly around the city, 4 more than the number of students I saw outside of school during all of last year. (Okay, maybe I shouldn't count the three that I saw at the Estudiantes basketball game as random.... The team, although pro, does originate from our school. That also makes the fact that Joe knows all of the players' injuries a little less creepy... they work out side by side in the gym.) Anyway, I'm not sure if I am just spending more time where students are (Hmmmm, in that case maybe I should rethink my hangouts) or if it is because I know more students. I'm hoping it is the latter.
Speaking of knowing students, I must admit that this was something I didn't fully accomplish last year. Sure, I got to know the 12 kids who did the entire Global Classrooms program on a pretty personal level (one of them still talks to me about the various boys she is crushing on), but with 10+ classes of 30+ students that I saw only once or twice a week, it was hard to keep track of them. And by March, I had pretty much thrown in the towel. So, in an attempt to learn names and a little extra something right off the bat, the students' first assignment this year was a note card with a picture of them (I'm pretty sure the people in Starbucks thought I was crazy as I sat for 30 minutes the other day doing flashcards of young children's faces) and answers to a strategically-chosen questions.
Here are the two most telling questions and a few of the more notable answers... perhaps it will give you an idea of what I'm working with. The answers are from students ranging from 8th grade to 12th grade and are copied exactly as written on their note cards. The italics are my own personal comments.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?
Invisible because it is perfect to hid from people that want you or to kill you.
Maybe I should be asking this student a few more follow-up questions...
Flying because I would like to touch the clouds.
I don't think they are as fluffy as they look...
I would like to be invisible, I would steal a lot of banks.
Well, the banks did steal money from many Spanish citizens... I guess I can understand your motivation...
Stoping the time because I culd sleep more.
Amen...
If I could have any superpower I would have the abbility of being invisible, so that I could know how people really are.
Not a bad idea, but I think there are some things about some people I would rather leave unknown...
I would like to stop time, it would be useful to copy in exams or thins like that.
You can bet that I will be keeping an eye on you when I give a quiz...
I would want to be elastic girl, because I won't have to move for taking things.
Out of all the super powers you could have, you want the one that keeps you from having to get up to get your notebook on the other side of the room?
I can do what I want to do.
I guess it's good that you are content with your abilities, but we're talking about the prospect of a superpower here!
Know everything about everything I touch because with this power I can know if someone is sick and wich sickness do they have.
I think we have a future doctor on our hands here...
I would stop time, I think it is the most useful power due to the different situations in which I would want to be alone.
Not a bad idea; people definitely underestimate the value of alone time...
Not needing to breath.
You know, I've never really seen breathing as a nuisance...
Mimicry: I'd like to be able to copy any other power so that depending in the situation I'd only have to look for the perfect "mutant" to copy. (One at a time so not to overpower it.)
Alright, somebody figured out the way to work the system....
Ability to change my own genetic information or DNA and maybe others DNAs.
What parts of the DNA would you change?
Read other people's mind because I'm always worried about what people think about me.
You are not the only one... every day when I am teaching I try to figure out what is going through all of your brains...
To know how to be Veterinary.
Congrats, veterinarians... you have reached superhero status!
Who do you look up to and why?
I look up to my mom because she is a single mother who works, is getting her 2nd master degree and does everything she can for my brother and I to be happy.
My model is Rihanna the singer because for me is the model for any woman in the world. Also I love her stile and her music.
I look up to Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani girl, because of her determination to fight for education for everyone.
My greatgrandfather Fernando, because he was a doctor and during the Civil War he healed the people from the other band, althought he could be killed because of that.
I look up to every child that having fifty times less than I do is happy, and to Clara*, because she made herself my best friend.
*Name changed for anonymity
I look up to someone.
Britney Spears, because she's fabulous!
I look up to Korean bands because I really like their skills.
I don't have one, but I admire people who see things as they are.
I look up to my cousin, because now she doesn't have a work, because is very difficult to find it, but she is continiusly searching for a work. Sometimes she is sad, but when you have a problem, she helps you with a smile on her face.
My idols are Mick Jagger becuase he is so old and is always dancing and moving from side to side in the concerts.
One Direction and my mother.
I look up to people like Gandhi or Mandela. They consecrated their life to help and protect other people's lifes and fought for their rights!
Felix Baumgaringr because he reached sound speed jumpin from the stratosphere and many people said that won't do it. He did it.
I admire Shacklebon, because although he wasn't able to cross the Antartica, he managed to lead all of the tripulation to safety after their ship had to be abandoned. No men died despite the conditions they had to endure and the low probabilities of surviving
Now, of course, this is an incomplete list. There were tons of students who wrote their parents ("because they created me") and a wide variety of athletes ("because he is the best at playing ______________"), but the above answers were a bit more unique...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there you have it. Now when I tell stories about my students this year, you can relate them to some youngins you know. After all, they aren't that much different than what I expect I would see in the states. I think the response of invisibility as a commonly desired superpower in 10th-ish grade students is a result you would get across a wide range of countries and cultures. And the extreme variety of answers is pretty representative of the drastically different high school personalities. Some kids want superpowers to make the world better, while others focus on how to get away with mischief. One student views Rihanna as an idol, while another student admires Malala (that's possibly the epitome of polar opposites). Throughout the school, they are defining "cool" by many different standards; it will be interesting to see how the students develop and mature their ideas over the year.
But whether I agree with each student's response or not, I'm glad I can put personality facts to their faces. Then, like today, when I find myself pushed up against a student in the metro, I can smile as she tells me about participating in strike against education budget cuts, knowing that at a young age she is doing what she can to follow in the footsteps of her politically active role models.
Much love,
Amber
