Hello all! Yes, my blog post is quite late. I apologize for the tardiness. If you disregard my poor time management skills and simple laziness, the real reason I waited so long is because I wanted to carefully craft my first ever blog post. That turned out to be too much pressure though, so here's my un-perfected first blogging attempt.
My position at the English Learning Center has been interesting thus far. My technical title is the 'PM Program Assistant'. Basically I am part receptionist/office worker and part teacher/ classroom helper for adult ESL (English as a second language) learners. Much of the beginning of my day, which begins at 1 PM, consists of sharpening millions of pencils (I am not sure how they disappear so quickly, the ones that are still there by the end of the night look like they have been through war- chewed on, erasers missing, only stubs left, etc), answering the phone ("Hello, English Learning Center", followed by me stumbling over names or finding myself talking entirely too loud- the students struggle with speaking English, not hearing), making extra books (the comb binder and I are finally becoming friends), and plugging in the coffee pot (the students are serious about their coffee, or should I say creamer and sugar mixed with a drop of actual coffee). While these duties can get a bit monotonous, once the students arrive, the pace picks up!
When students come into the office it is always a bit of a mystery figuring out what they need. Sometimes it's just to say "hello", sometimes they need paperwork filled out, sometimes they have never been to the school before and want to know more about classes, and some just stand there, looking lost, staring at me blankly. Often I feel like I am in a game of charades, but most people are patient, so if we can't figure it out, we wait for the translator. In addition to general communication, I have found that my name also poses much confusion, especially for the Somali students. 'Allie' is very similar to their 'Ali', which is a boy’s name, so they laugh when I introduce myself or look puzzled and question, "But, you are a girl?” Mostly, they just call me 'teacher' though. "Teacher, teacher, correct this page", or "Teacher, where is the milk (it is a crisis when the coffee creamer or sugar runs out)?!", or "Teacher, thank you, teacher!”
My favorite part of the job is interacting with the students and helping in the classes. Math class is always fun because I am able to help the students one-on-one vs. leading the entire class. The students love having their workbook pages corrected and insist that I star the top of each page when everything is correct. They are diligent workers and take their studies very seriously. Thank goodness for the math book answer keys. I have found that most students are faster at adding, subtracting, and multiplying in their heads than I am (I slyly count on my fingers when I think they aren't looking). We laugh when I have to think for a long time about an answer that they've already figured out. I am learning some new Somali math words which I try to use with the students, but can be dangerous when I mix them up. I repeatedly told one woman to kachar (subtract) when I actually meant kudar (add). I felt awful, but she just laughed, shook her head and said "Oh teacher, it's ok teacher." I am lucky to have such understanding students!
I'm looking forward to getting to know the students better and learning names, which right now is a big challenge for me. I am equally puzzled by some of their name pronunciations and spellings as they are by my 'boy name, Allie'. Again, I am very grateful for their patience and am excited for the new challenges to come.
Well, now I can say I am officially a blogger. Hope you enjoyed my first post and will come back for more exciting news from the current Winonans (Winonaites? Winonians?), whatever you want to call us.
Peace out! -Allie
