Woodstock!

Woodstock School is a VERY special place!  Last week we had a Staff Retreat all week and it was like taking a crash course in education with amazing presentations and discussions, skits, songs, morning devotions, dinners, teas, and great fellowship. There is a real sense of community among a staff that harkens from all over the world and is nearly as diverse as the student body.  The new principal Jonathan Long, who never ceases to amaze with his repertoire of inspiring stories and profound humor, seems to have struck a hopeful tone with everyone here. 

   Nonetheless I felt a bit nervous to enter a classroom for the first time in 8 years.  I kept hearing “wait till you meet the students…our students are the best!” but I guess I had to see it to believe it.

    Well I am happy to report that the kids ARE great!  I have students from India, Nepal, Thailland, Bhutan, Tibet, Italy, America and Australia.  I teach 4 to 5 classes a day, two study halls, an advisory group and homeroom on a very confusing rotating 7 day schedule.  I have been consulting my computer between classes and running from room to room barely making it in before the bell rings.  I begged the students’ pardon for butchering some of their names, but it seems we are going to get along just fine.

    Just as everyone said it would, it snowed and turned much colder just after the students returned. So the first day of classes everyone was bundled up and sharing stories of frozen pipes on the hillside.  The sky was uncharacteristically grey and people were carrying hot water bottles into class.  You see the school is not heated except for a “bukhari” or rusty undersized woodstove in the back of every room.  So we conduct classes with ski jackets and mittens on, with the tips of the fingers cut out for typing. 

   The good news is everyone’s addiction here to caffeine and cake.  Tea break for students and teachers is from 10:50 to 11 am  everyday and the high school faculty all meet in the lounge at that time as well as at lunch, and for most of us who have signed up for the meal plan, at breakfast as well.  Unlike the colleges I taught at, faculty here share stories of their students and classroom successes freely and there is an amazing sense of comraderie.  Perhaps it is the non-denominational Christian atmosphere that makes everyone try their best to live up to the ideals they profess.  I have to admit I am enjoying the daily “devotions” which are sometimes presented by students as well as staff.  They are of a general nature related to fostering community, honest, integrity of purpose and so on.  It is a great thing to make our intentions  towards others conscious. 

    The most amazing thing is that most of the students are very keen to learn. They do the readings and most participate in class discussions, although you have to draw out those for whom English is not their first language.  I wonder how much I would speak up in a Bangkok classroom! 

    So I love the teaching… the hard part is getting up in the morning.   Invariably the room is freezing because the fire has gone out and now you have to turn on the hot water heater to take a bath.  I usually go into my little yoga room (in the dark…) to do 12 Surya Namaskars to get the blood flowing, turn on the stove to heat some water so I can drink a couple glasses, heat up my clothes in front of an electric heater I bought, and start to bundle up for the hike down the hill with a backpack full of books. 

   I created my first powerpoint for my Comparative Politics course and also learned how to assign and accept papers online.  Praveen in the library has been great in bringing me up to speed on computer technology in the classroom--a great tool.  All the classrooms here are smart wired and we have high speed internet even in our houses which are accessible only by footpaths.  Nothing like it!  I skyped my friend Jan as well as Kapil and Tara in both Mumbai and the Phillipines on vacation so although I spend a lot of time alone, I never feel lonely.

    Today was assembly and the students put together a video demonstrating kindness towards each other as well as responsibility for keeping the school grounds clean.  They are crazy about their videos and use very imaginative and humorous techniques to get their points across.  In class I was raving about the video and asked “Who makes those?  They are so cool!” and they all pointed to a kid sitting right in my class.  I asked him if he intended to become a filmmaker and he said he doesn’t know, it's just a hobby.  I told him he has a great talent for it and already has quite a portfolio to show prospective schools. 

    Next Friday night is class night and we have a bonfire planned for 10^th graders.  Students are also getting ready for the school musical “Around the World in 80 days” coming up in the spring.  Can't wait! 

     Here is a photo of my very first class on my very first day teaching, 10^th grade world history and a picture of the main hall of the high school.  I am going to attempt to also attach a video from the morning assembly when students performed a song they wrote about the “big bass”.   

      That’s all for now.  Think of me running from class to class, computer in frozen hands.  But most of all think of me with a big smile on my face.  I am having a blast!