DAY 6

Today was a LONG day. First we had a parents open house for a couple hours that went fine...seems like I'll just have one parent who will be a 'situation'...but as a teacher I guess I have to expect that from now on.
Then the national TV station came into the school to take some shots and interview us. It was kind of exciting. They sat me down and a lady in her early 20s asked me a few questions about Classical education and what I anticipate for the coming year. I can't say that I was entirely articulate and elegant, but I didn't totally fumble either.

For lunch Mr. Kari Marcelle, the new 4 & 5th grade teacher, went out to a nice little resturant on the water and had 'fried conch burgers', which are like fried calms in between hamburger buns. It was pretty good. Kari told me that he had gone to school in Canada, and returned about nine months ago and since they had just been looking for a job. He finished an Masters of Divinity at Wycliffe College in Toronto, which is a well known Anglican seminary when he was just 24 years old. He's a really nice guy, and we had lots to talk about: the Anglican church in the Bahamas, classical education, the school, his church, and our backgrounds. I think we'll bond quite well over the coming months. He took me by his church and showed me around, and we stopped by to meet his mom, who used to be in the Bahamian parliament for many years. She was quite elegant, articulate, and refined.

The sisters, Marleen and Kelly, have been up to their necks with details since the first day of school is just three days off. Every time I wanted to ask Kelly about something, we talked for a bout five minutes, and then she would have a phone call, or a parent would stop in. It was getting somewhat frustrating after waiting on and off all afternoon. When we finally did sit down and she answered my questions, it was clear that the curriculum was still in a total state of flux, and she was changing it right there. We worked through each part of the curriculum until about 6:30pm.

She kept telling me that the 5th grade teacher last year was off in la la land, and had wasted pretty much the whole year. It sounds like they were totally undisciplined, kept in total suspense, and wasted hours every day of doing nothing. Because of this, I'm going to be up against some pretty big obstacles. But we've adjusted the curriculum so that they are doing some 5th grade content for the first couple weeks, before we jump into their 6th grade material.

My plan is to go into the first day with some pretty strict and clear guidelines, get the students disciplined, and have fun. They say that the first week of school is the most crucial for establishing a routine and ethos for the rest of the year. So as a first year teacher, I'm going into it with my best shot, but also realizing I'll make some mistakes to learn from too. I'm ready!

I think I'm going to do a Shakespeare play after school if any of the students are motivated enough to do homework plus some theater a few times a week. We'll see.