God is so good, and I was so encouraged today! There were several instances where the Lord just touched my heart, but here's some of them from just this week:
I had been feeling discouraged a bit with the relationship that I've been having with my Middle School kids in class. Most of it is that they are just spastic Middle School kids, but the other part of it is the culture and the way they think, so I am learning to work around it, and figure out how to teach them to think. I don't ever want to make it sound like they aren't smart, because they are, but I'm realizing more and more one how Haitians just don't think in a critical way. They have to be told everything- Critical Thinking is just not understood or taught here at all, and it's frustrating to be teaching 6-12th grade with only 4 students who can understand the prompts of Critical Thinking questions on their homework or a quiz. If I had to guess, I would guess it's a combination of the mentality of poverty, and the fact that if you're not taught how to think, then you just aren't going to be able to think. It's sad, but true. Most of these kids are either the wealthy Haitians, or know someone in the States who is paying for them to go to school at the American school even though they don't soeak a word of English, so it's an interesting mix of learning levels that go deep than just what we have in the states....
Anyway, the last 2 weeks I have been encouraged in some of these ways in the class and with the team:
1. I no longer feel like I have to yell at or discipline my students as much anymore. The middle schoolers still get really excited and have a ton of energy, but they know the pattern and the rules enough now that I can leave them to do their work, and we actually get much more done.
2. Watching the way these kids WANT to learn is awesome. It's a very different mentality here than it is in the States, or at least that's what I remember from when I was in Middle School and High School.
3. God is so faithful, and always knows what we need. We have been reading this book by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision U.S.A., called The Hole in Our Gospel, and it's been really hitting home with a lot of what we see here and what I've been feeling and thinking, particularly things about the churches in America that are hard to express without being judgmental and upset, but this book has harnessed some of those feelings, and I'm being reminded on how much Jesus loves His bride, even when we don't do things right. We all fail to be the church, but He still died for us. (Romans 5:6-9) He still loves us.... I will probably post a blog on that book later this week, and hopefully it will bless you the way it has blessed me....