This week, I’ve heard students say lots of things, some funny and some serious. Here are some of the most interesting quotables from the first full week of school:
Monday: In guitar class, I was explaining something to one student, and I saw D.P. explaining something to A.M. in Korean. He was explaining how the palm should be a little closer to the guitar (his hand was sticking out). So I said, “D.P. is right….” and added to/confirmed his explanation. They looked at me in shock, and muttered something to each other in Korean, probably “Does she speak Korean?!” I said, “No, I don’t speak Korean. I just saw your hand and knew what you were explaining.”
Tuesday: My orchestra chaplain came into class with a brown piece of paper set up with a chart. She handed it to me and asked me to fill out the first row – name, email, birthday, and mailbox. Next she gave it to a cellist, T.K., who started filling it out. Then I heard his voice, “Do I have to write my birthday?” Chaplain: “If you want to get something for your birthday, you do!”
Wednesday: In Guitar class, we played, “This Land is Your Land.” One of the students said she didn’t get it – what was it about? So we talked about how the song celebrates the things we like about America. Then I asked if anyone was not proud of one of the places they’re “from.” R.W. said that she’s not proud of being from Germany because in Peru, Germans are still seen with a dark reputation from WWII. Then, M.S. said she is not proud of being from America because Americans are so materialistic and selfish. To counter the negative responses, A.M. said she is proud of being from both Korea and Yemen because people in Yemen like Koreans.
Thursday: In Orchestra, the chaplain came in and asked if she could lead a devotion on Mondays and a prayer time on Wednesdays. She’s doing more than I could have hoped! I’m really excited to see the students taking leadership!
Friday: I took Guitar class over to Natalie McIntyre’s 12th Grade English class to sing Happy Birthday to her. We let the students know ahead of time so they could give us their chairs. We completely surprised Natalie! The guitar students were partly bashful and partly excited. I heard a senior from English class say, “Now I want to join guitar class!”
In orchestra, we did a little improvisation exercise. I had the students pair up, create a short dialogue between two characters, and play the dialogue on their instruments. I can’t quote the noises that came out of their instruments, but I’ll at least tell you the characters: “A cowboy and the principal,” “An elephant and a hamster,” “A grumpy hamburger and an annoying pickle.” We all had a good laugh on Friday!
To top it off, an anonymous student publishes a weekly restroom newspaper called “The Weekly Flush.” I was particularly excited to find that gnomes were featured this week! I have a strange fascination with the oddness and creepiness of gnomes, and it makes me happy to see them in people’s yards and gardens here in Germany.
