One week into school

Ok so I know the weeks not over yet, but I have time so I figured that I would post about my first week at school.  Georgian schools have been quite the trip so far.  There appears to be no scheduling or planning for the school year.  Each days schedule is brought out on a handwritten piece of paper in the morning and everyone crowds around to read it.  I have been teaching everything from 1st to 7th grade depending on the day.  So far I have not had more than 3 classes in a day and it rotates what classes I am teaching.

The teachers are nice and spend their free time hanging out between classes in the lounge.  The English teacher that I was supposed to work with teaches the upper grades, so I was paired with a teacher who just graduated from college and has no teaching experience.  That just seemed like the perfect Idea, throw two people who have never taught before in the same classroom and see what will happen.  That lasted for two days, when I was informed that she would be transferring schools.  Typical Georgia to pack up you bags two days in the school year and find another school to go to.  As of right now the original teacher is teaching every class in the school until they find a replacement and I have been helping her when I can. 

Now to the classes.  Most of the students do not have books yet, but I am told that they will get them as their families gather enough money to buy the English text book (8 lari).  Us teachers do have one level 2 teachers book, so at least we have something that we can go from now.  English is a very new subject in the lower grades, so basically everyone is at level 1, but we are supposed to use the respective books for each grade.  That means that we are supposed to use book 5 for 5th grade even though they are clearly not that far yet.  So we have just been winging it and teaching everything from the beginning.  My classes for the most part have been well behaved.  Of all my classes 6th grade is defiantly the worst, with the boys who just want to goof off all class and the girls who just giggle whenever you look or say anything to them.  We will have to keep a tight leash on those kids so they get used to paying attention in class.  All in all it has been a good week, and I have gotten used to just going where I'm told because the schedule gets all messed up.

On another note my package from home finally arrived, so now I have some movies and essential things that I was missing at home. 

This is a pic of my school, Akhuti Public School #1