The first two weeks
School has officially begun, but it seems that organization is still a month behind at Bialik. The teachers still have yet to receive their schedules so every day is honestly very frustrating and confusing. We never know who and how many students we will receive. We donโt have time to plan lessons and have to think of them on the spot. We are thankful when the teacher tells us what to do.ย
Despite the frustration, I am happy to have this experience. Working in the toughest situations puts everything in perspective and offers many lessons:
1. I am actually getting used to this situation. I stopped stressing when I donโt have schedules a week in advance. Iโve learned to just go with the flow, because it never ends up being a disaster. The worst thing thatโs happened was that I make myself unhappy unnecessarily.
2. I learned a ridiculous amount of Hebrew! Since my last post 3 weeks ago, when I could barely say 10 words in Hebrew, I am now putting together sentences. I am learning how to communicate with students who do not know enough English to communicate with me.ย
3. I am becoming proficient at figuring out what needs to be done on the spot and developing plans at short notice. No chairs? No book? No idea what weโre even supposed to be learning? No worries, I will figure out what the students are capable of and not yet capable of and play games to improve their abilities. In the end, thatโs what Iโm here for, right?
The strongest people emerge from the most challenging situations. I take on this challenge! (Also, I think the teacher will finally receive the schedule tomorrow! Huzzah!)
