And quickly, the First Day is Done!

After a day of teaching and getting to know my students, I came to this. I had almost forgotten that while I was reaching for socks this morning, my drawers all started sliding forward. Next thing I knew, I had picture frames, drawers, and clothes that shot across the room and hit the opposite wall. Apparently my socks make the dresser top-heavy?? I could understand if I had both top drawers filled with jeans and had them both open, but this was somewhat comical. I can't pick it up because it's lodged into a sweet spot on top of the heater,suitcase, and tote. I was asked if an Alaskan earthquake hit this place while we were at school. I think I'll leave that there until I can get someone to help me.

Interesting facts I learned today from teaching in my 4th/5th grade classroom:

• No matter what my day was like, at least I went there with a smile and came home with a smile. That's good news. Because I have a few first-class doozies.
• I have so much to learn from my students.
  
• Some students have immaculate hand-eye-coordination and can blow me out of the water with their ability to copy a complicated clapping-pattern.
• Many of the boys are very knowledgeable and interested in animals. They get so excited while talking about local animals and can identify them as mammals or not.
• There are three types of seals around here: Bearded, Spotted, and Harbor
• One boy in my class "caught" one last night.
• They know the Yup'ik tricks to taking Goose eggs without the mom chasing them.
• Waqaa means "hello/welcome"
• Quyana means "thank you"
• Many students will try to "help" establish a Do-not-cross-this-line! piece of masking tape in the teacher desk area by shouting "Jana, Jana, Jana! I'll hold this side. I can help. I will put the tape down." while trying to grab the tape from me and practically sitting in my lap and knocking my stuff of the desk.
• Those kids will hide anywhere. I tried to have them line up after basketball and saw two hiding. When I made them get in line, two more popped out behind the beams. An older teacher joked about them being ninjas. Now I understand.
• Many students struggle to raise their hand, stay in their seat, and listen to directions. They'll blatantly say, "Well, I wasn't listening. So?"
  
• They test out new teachers for a long time. Teachers come and go faster than a batch of fresh cookies. One kid asked a new teacher, "Are you going to make it past Christmas?" So when the 14th student purposely pokes the wall after I ask them to not touch it, I'll just .. ya. I don't have a plan, yet.
  
• The culture has many respectful values stressed, yet these kids grow up in a household where the mother has no say in what time they go to bed, let alone how they perform or behave in school. The Yup'ik culture teaches students to give respect without expecting anything in return-- yet they have limited intrinsic motivation unless there is a Brave Buck, or a sticker, or a piece of candy. My goal tomorrow is to develop a reward system that will be obtainable, and hopefully it won't give them more than they deserve. It's hard to know where to really lay my expectations when I'm new in this culture.
  
• It is a different world up here. It's different in respect to everything-- family values, education, expectations, bodily functions, religion, myths, traditions, food, climate, societal values, privacy, bed times, and even how the sun is on a different schedule. It will be light for at least another hour (It's 11pm now)!
  
• I have an awesome roommate who gives me valuable insight from similar experiences. She shares her living space, her powdered milk, and her laughter. She allows me to vent about not having technology to teach with and lets me think aloud through my classroom management issues. She has stories of student's seeing parents kill their loved ones or never knowing their parents at all.
• Sometimes the only solution is prayer.
• And to that-- cheers and good night!