Simple pleasures...

This week in my 6th standard class I decided to try something different and I was so happy and surprised with the results. My 6th standard class doesn’t follow the same format as the other classes I teach. The principal told me not to follow the curriculum or book, but to “speak with them generally” because this is their first year of English classes. I meet with these students once a week and my co-teacher always tells me that “they have been eagerly awaiting my class.” This becomes apparent when I hear them cheering wildly as I walk down the hall towards their room. I like having the freedom to come into their class and teach them things that they won’t find in their books. I recently taught them the English names of different insects and ended class by teaching them The Itsy Bitsy Spider, which they loved! I think we sang it no less than 10 times and my co-teacher recorded me singing it on her cell phone.

This week I wanted to give them an opportunity to see something they haven’t seen before so I looked through our small collection of children’s story books and picked out some I thought they would enjoy. The English was simple enough for them to follow, but what really impressed them were the illustrations. At every turn of the page there was an audible gasp from every student. Their eyes opened wide to take in the vividly colored pictures and they stretched out their arms to touch the pages. After reading each page I would walk through the room to give each student a chance to see the pictures close up. At some points their enthusiasm for the books was too great and my co-teacher had to reprimand them in Gujarati to get them to sit patiently for their turn to look at the book. When the class bell rang the students sighed in disappointment because we had not finished the story.

It was so refreshing to see their enthusiasm and interest in the books. As I write this blog there are 350 books on their way to our school from the US and I can’t wait to get these books into the library so they can circulate through the students’ hands and minds. The simple joy of reading them a book made my day and I can’t wait to see what books I can share with them in the future.