Happy Humpday Haiku #36

Why?

When your directions

Are met by the power of

Inquisitiveness.

            I'm so proud of my students. They're usage of the English language has come a long way. While there still exists a grade of poor performers and top achievers within the classroom, everyone has improved beyond my wildest expectations. Perhaps more gratifying is noticing the ways in which they have changed as individuals. 

           The social hierarchy of the classroom has long been established, but the dynamic is more stable. I believe this is in part to the fact that all of the students have developed (and/or are exhibiting a once repressed) genuine curiosity. This isn't exclusive to leaning English either. My Kindergarteners demand explanations for my actions. They want to understand and to be understood. My elementary students are grappling with the content within our reading assignments in ways that are still coherent with the English that they can use. They ask questions. Then they ask questions about my answers. Then they ask follow up questions that relate between the two. This was my goal.

            My Korean co-teacher brought this up during lunch today in regards to our Kindergarten class. She commented that the children have started to inquire about the reasons for her teaching style eg. why she chooses picks a certain worksheet to complete instead of another, or perhaps irrelevant questions as to why thunder makes a big noise.

            This made me smile. Then I began to wonder how much longer it would take before the children started asking "why" as a means of taking advantage of the power that is inherent in an inquisitive nature ie. being a smart-ass. I hope it's at least until next week.