Week 2 in PG: This week was my first official week teaching my class. I was thankful that my first lessons went well, as it’s always good to get the first lessons under your belt. The rest of the week was filled with ups and downs of teaching. Our students have definitely been testing the new foreign teachers and we keep having to remind ourselves ‘to come in like a lion and leave like a lamb’. I don’t think that I’ve had to give so many ‘teacher looks’ in my life. Classroom management has become a big priority and the students don’t seem to respond to positive reinforcement like we are used to in Canadian classrooms. Physical punishment is practiced here, so we will be challenged with creating our own effective disciplinary techniques. My students dislike sweeping the classroom after school, so that has been working well for a punishment. I’m also thankful to have such a supportive mentor teacher. My students are quite lively, so it can be challenging to keep them fairly quiet, especially working in groups. The top of the walls in my classroom is open air to the next classroom, so things can get quite noisy. My students love to be read to so I start every language arts class reading to them. I’ve been trying to establish routine with them and they are never quieter than when I am reading. I was able to get my hands on a series of Robert Munch books and they can’t get enough of it. I only wish that I had a never-ending supply of these stories. It has definitely been an adjustment to plan your lessons without the use of a photocopier and all of the materials we have been spoiled with in our previous placements. It was comforting to here from our teachers and principals that they have been impressed with our teaching thus far and are impressed with how quickly we have adapted. Some of the teachers seemed hesitant about us, but as Trisha says ‘we have killed them with kindness’. I enjoy my students and it’s hard not to burst out laughing at times. They all love to sing and dance and I even had to explain to one student that my name is actually Miss Katie and not Miss Haiti.