Back to School Night

Last night was back to school night at Justin's school. He is in the seventh grade. Here, that is the second of four years in middle school.

The evening is predictable; two hours of each of the teachers coming into the classroom, explaining their program, how the class is doing, etc.

Also predictable was the opening parental outcry against heavy backpacks. Apparently, on Tuesday, one student's backpack weighed 18.2 kilos. Forty pounds. The kids don't have lockers because there's no room for them, and there are no shelves in the classroom to store books on. This discussion lasted a while.

A few general observations:

1. These teachers are passionate about their subject matter and how they teach it.

2. The kids are getting a solid education using up-to-date technology. They probably are doing less on the computer than American kids; essays are still written, not typed. But the teachers are using  interactive white boards and doing cool things like dissecting fish heads from the market. I can't say that at twelve I would have enjoyed this, but I still think it's a good thing.

3. The chairs are really hard and uncomfortable, and there is absolutely nothing on the classroom walls. I guess this is because the kids are not changing classrooms; the teachers are coming to them.  But it does feel stark.

4. The physical education program is way better than what I had in junior high. As I mentioned in a previous post, the kids are sailing now, and will be moving on to ping pong, badminton, swimming, circus skills, and finish with rugby. Circus skills? It's because they have to do something cultural, and the options were circus or dance. They'll be learning to juggle; hopefully no trapeze or lion taming...In any case, way better than the weekly dodge ball games that I was subjected to throughout junior high and high school.

As we were leaving, a few parents were discussing rugby. This is a photo of an insurance ad in today's paper featuring a rugby player after a match (in case that wasn't immediately clear). I can understand the hesitation here. Rugby doesn't come across as a very safe sport for twelve year olds.

Justin's best friend is sporty, but tiny. His mom is hoping that maybe he'll be allowed just to be a goal post or something (are there goal posts in rugby?).

Strengths

I read the following here at Scot McKnight's blog at the end of July in a post remembering John Stott, pastor, speaker, author: 

It was the summer of 1975. Kris and I were in Belgium at a huge Christian event called EuroFest. I was sitting at a panel discussion and someone I admired, a British pastor and minister to college students all over the world, John Stott, was one of the panelists. A long-haired young man to my right asked John Stott a question we were all facing and that we all face: How can I discern the Lord’s will for my life?

John Stott made an observation that clarified my dream for me, and I’ve pondered his answer over and over in my life. I’ve used his answer in countless talks and conversations. Here are his words as I recall them: “Here’s how to determine God’s will for your life: Go wherever your gifts will be exploited the most.”

The quote has stuck with me over the last two months.

During our orientation conference in August, we received training on  Strengths Based Leadership. Besides the value of thinking through my particular strengths and how to use and develop them, I have been thinking about my kids and how we help them develop their strengths and abilities.

Justin is a sporty kid. For the last five years, he has had some kind of after school sports activity--basketball, gymnastics, tennis, back to basketball. He is absolutely loving it. I am not sporty at all (besides my attempts at exercise), and my physical education courses in school were at best embarrassing and at worst demoralizing.   When Justin came home last year with the highest grade in his class in physical education,  I just about rolled my eyes. Although I allow the extra activities, it didn't hit me until recently, that I don't really celebrate that strength in him. I did finally fully congratulate him this month for his amazing score in physical education at school. Better late than never.

One of the myriad of reasons that Anna struggled so much with school last year is that practically all her school day was spent doing what was difficult for her; writing and working with material that was too visually charged. It's like if I as a child had to take physical education classes all day, every day. The very thought makes me cringe. My poor kid. 

I meet with her teacher before school this morning to talk through modifications to put in place as we work with the occupational therapist. For now, we'll be reducing the amount of handwriting that she needs to do so that her energies can be focused on learning. 

Next post: Anna's lentil-filled blanket