In My Wildest Dreams

pushbikes and crockery

Crockery--that's dishes in kiwi, and a bicycle is a "pushbike." Went to my school today. It is a beautiful school... As the principal was explaining, standards of poverty in New Zealand are much higher than they are in other Western countries. Maybe we should take some lessons from the kiwis in that department. Anyway, I figured out how to get the bus over. Was pretty easy, though I was following along in my brand new road atlas so I would know exactly where I was. Went to the mall this afternoon to buy some more New Zealand chocolate (yummy!) and get my eyebrows waxed. TMI, yeah I know. It's bloody cheap here, though--like $4US, but I guess it depends on where you go...

Oh yeah, back to my school... The kids have two breaks: "morning tea" and afternoon lunch. The largest percentage of students are Maori, then Polynesian, then Asian and European. Very, very diverse. Can't wait. One of the school staff members was telling me about some important cultural differences between European descendens and Maoris. You should never sit on a table or desk. Good thing she told me this cuz when I teach I often do just that! Apparently, it's bad manners in Maori culture. ('Course it's probably bad manners in my culture, too, eh?) BUT, it's okay to wear jeans. Nice ones. I have one pair of those...

They seem to run the school quite like the way my principal ran the school where I taught in NY. Classroom mangagement (aka "Discipline" for non-ed folks) is #1, first and foremost. 'Course I totally agree with that. YOu can't do much in the way of anything if the kids won't listen to you. The supervisors seem to think I'll fit in quite well. The Bronx experience seems to carry quite a bit of clout--guess they've seen all the "Dangerous Minds" movies, etc. ('Course I don't win my babies over with chocolate bars...)

My principal did say that he likes to work from a non-deficit perspective. AWESOME. Looking forward to learning more about how he facilitates that kind of environment. I'm so happy he feels that way. That's always how I've felt about my students. In other words, "what poverty?" All I've ever found is them is richness and life...

posted by Sara @ 7:37 PM