Goodness

Yeah, I just stole that off Wikipedia.

I figured the last few posts were about some of the challenges with my job, so here are some goodies. First, today was beautiful. It truly felt like a spring day in Colorado -- blue skies, low 70s, mountains in the background (ok, not as big as the Rocky Mountains, but the Tarsus Mountains aren't too shabby!)

Today I wore a dress and my sandals --without any tights. The Turks were convinced I was crazy! Didn't I know it was still winter?? Um, yeah. I sat on my rooftop grading papers for the afternoon in shorts and a t-shirt. Fabulous way to spend the day -- despite the grading. Nice winter day. (Sorry Coloradans; I know you're under some serious cold and snow.)

Here are a few funny things kids have said recently; after practicing the "th" sound (this is not a sound in Turkish), one girl said, "My tongue tickles!" Yep. Sounds about right. ;0  Another student explained what she meant when she told her friend, "You are tomato sauce!" Huh? :) First, you must know most -- almost all-- Turkish cuisine has a tomato base. Therefore, if you are tomato sauce, your are in everyone's business. Good to know! Finally, one student asked me just today, "Ms. Brown, when can I talk to you about girl problems? These are the only problems I have." Really, no grammar problems I could help you with instead? :) "Any time," I replied. "Any time."

I've gotten connected with the local photography club, and they organize hikes every other weekend. Have been enjoying expanding my circle of friends outside of school. Still limited language, but I'm working on it. Another hike scheduled this weekend. Hope to see this bridge this weekend! Supposed to be sunny and 70s the rest of the week.

Also, met some teachers who teach with the Department of Defense in connection with the base in Adana. Sounds like a margarita party with limes just might happen soon! :0 Oh, big find at the grocery............drum roll.................taco shells!!! I have not eaten a hard shell taco since I left. Mexican food is really foreign in Turkey! Hmmmm....imagine that! ;0

Oh, how I miss these!

Yes, I still need to post pictures and a blog entry from Botswana, but honestly, I keep looking at my pictures, and I still can't believe I was there. I miss it. Too surreal for me to even contemplate trying to explain my adventure. For those of you non-Facebookers, I'll post just
pictures soon.

This Friday is the first language exchange between the Turkish teachers and the foreign teachers. There are about 15 Turkish teachers who have been taking English class and about the same number of foreign teachers who have been taking Turkish. Those of us who teach a class (I get to teach English to the Turkish teachers once a week. It really is just a big party) decided to get both groups together to have some fun and practice. It's going to be fun! Another big party!

Just over a month until spring break (first week in April in case anyone is making travel plans! ;0) not sure where I'm headed. Thinking Istanbul for a few days and then London. We'll see. I also have another trip to London in March. Going to see Book of Mormon, Quartermaine's Terms with Rowen Atkinson, and Peter and Alice with Judi Dench. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get much sympathy from anyone any more. The goodness really is pretty good here in Turkey.


*composed while listening to Ed Sheeran Radio on Jango. Good stuff people. Check it out. Kate Nash. The Frames. Ed Sheeran. Jon McLaughlin.

Sorry

First, dear readers, I must apologize for leaving you in a state of confusion. One of my last posts "Least You Think It's All Rose Colored Glasses" left most people wondering if I was hopping the next plane home. Yes, there have been days I wanted to, but that isn't me. While I had every intention of posting a follow-up (before I left for Botswana), spotty internet and end of the semester craziness didn't really allow me to do that. So I apologize for the delay in my explanation. Feel free to skip to the more exciting post about Botswana if you want. ;)

Here are the details of my frustration: Yes, my job is challenging -- everyone's is. However, the last month of the first semester left many of us newbies feeling overwhelmed. From grading final exams, to entering grades (in multiple places on a website that is all in Turkish! Thank you to my department head for her help!), to students' behavior, to general chaos, it just felt like too much. Several of us comforted each other as we struggled to figure out just how to do our jobs the best we could given the newness of it all. After many emails and several bitch sessions, we supported each other the best we could. It was comforting to know that I wasn't alone in my funk.

It wasn't so much living far away (part of it), or the continued challenges of living in a foreign country (some of it), or not knowing the system (more of it), but mostly just a combination of all of thee above and then some. Working within the education system in Turkey has definitely been an education unto itself. While it sounds rather obvious, I learned that I can't just teach English to tenth graders like I did in the US. Duh.

From my limited experience here, there are many factors that contribute to a student sitting in my class. From what I can gather, children are highly protected from natural consequences. Coddled some may call it. Discipline appears to be obscure. Even more so because I an working for a for-profit school. My limited experience as a public educator in the states didn't really prepare me for what that meant. Again, from what I see, it means that most behavior is tolerated. Behavior that would have most students on a discipline contract within a heartbeat in the US. This isn't to say all students behave horribly; it's to say there are limited options when a student does behavior inappropriately. (Oh, what I would give for Mr. Kaufman to talk with the Turkish Ministry of Education! :)

Additionally, while all three schools in my "district" have an entrance exam, my school takes the lowest scores from all over Turkey. Each school has a cut off score; TAC is the lowest and at the beginning of the school year that number was lowered in order to increase enrollment. Again, this doesn't mean that students with lower scores are behavior problems, but it does create a different clientele.

Finally, there is a system of tradition that is quite strong at TAC. The other three schools do not have such a tradition. While students see the tradition as a way to help teach respect to younger students, those of us on the outside see it as bullying. It's a fine line to walk -- one of creating a respectful tradition and one of instilled  fear. And, as I stated earlier, discipline is a bit mysterious. Something about honor points, discipline committees composed of students' peers -- no detention after school or at lunch time, no in-school suspension, no out-of-school suspension, no truancy court, no expulsion. I have not seen any of these implemented within my first semester of being here.

Cajoling. Convincing. Listening. Give. Take. Ebb. Flow. Push. Pull. It's a fun dance to convince any student to learn, but here, I'm exhausted (another contributing factor). Sadly, it's too much for so little in return. Again, I do want to say that this isn't all students, but those of us in the profession know, that it's the exhausting students who drain us.

I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow, but then again, I don't think I've ever met anyone who said, "Yeah, it's Monday. I get to go back to work!"  :) I'm hoping second semester is a little easier. A little more familiar. A little less "new" and a little more routine.

That's a glimpse of what prompted my post. I hope that clarifies, but my guess is that it leaves you with more questions than answers. Sorry. I'm living it, and I'm still not quite sure how it works ! :)  Thank you for everyone who contacted me just to check on me. I really do appreciate it. And, I must say you are all doing very well on the replying. Thank you! I miss you all!


P.S. I promise the next post will be wild! :) Stay tuned.