Friday October 13.

Today was our last day of orientation before we start working in the schools on Monday. I found out that I will be team leader for my school. This is exciting news all around and I'm sure everyone is eager to get started. Our last day was a very interesting and insightful activity. What I learned most from bumbling around trying to figure out how to work a mechanical DHL envelope after an intense lesson in levers, fulcrums and loads is that we all learn in different ways.

Once the activity got underway I immediately could tell that I was missing something. I was trying hard to articulate what I didn't understand and needed explained but was at a loss. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness come to mind! I kept at it and tried another strategy. What if I could think of something that was in the house that sort of worked like the levers then I could visualize and contextualize the entire activity and be on my way. But alas that didn't happen and I was stuck in my world of confusion up till the end! Sad but very insighful I must say because even with all my tools and years of learning I had a hard time articulating what I did not understand. This is something good to keep in mind when teaching our students on Monday and beyond.

I'm quite excited about Monday but honestly have no idea what to expect so I'll spend my weekend doing my best not to speculate. We start 9am sharp with breakfast with the principal. So I guess orientation is over and we are well on our way!