Yes, though it was very tourist-y like, the view was beautiful. When I'm not so lazy I shall upload the pictures from looking out this dome - of perhaps the best view in Berlin. Maybe it's not so much laziness as the frustration that pictures cannot do it justice. Maybe that's the saddest part about living in a digital world - you get tricked into thinking that you are experiencing more than you are. When in reality, the only way to experience a culture and a new place is to go there and be immersed inside it. Television and internet completely numb out the energy that comes from standing inside this famous place and just looking out onto the landscape.
switching gears
[because holding a single thought is too difficult]
Yesterday, I got the experience of working in a lower level English classroom - and for some reason it came much more natural than a higher classroom. Maybe I felt less intimidated because the kids were younger than me and I felt like I automatically seemed older, and therefore authoritative. Or, maybe I'm just becoming more comfortable in the school with every day that passes so it is easier for me to do what I'm good at. Probably the latter. Nevertheless, I finally got a taste of some kids who truly are not only disrespectful, but go without being punished. One girl particularly stood out... here is a quick overview of what happened:
So, it's the final class of the day - and the topic is introducing me - and almost every class I have been in does it the same way. So I am "mystery woman" and they have to come up with 6-10 questions in small groups written in English that they want to ask. Then, they get to ask me and I answer and we make a "mind map" or a sort of web about me and it goes pretty smoothly. Since they have no idea who I am, everything seems interesting - even my favorite color. So the first three questions are always "Are you married?", "Do you have children?", usually followed by "How old are you?" - and then maybe they will ask me what my name is. That in itself is entertaining, but not part of my story. Oh, and they always want to know what I think about Obama after they figure out I live in the states. He's pretty famous here, I suppose like every American president usually is. Nevertheless, they also want to know about Justin Beiber (in the 7th/8th grade, more than 9th/10th). I think they were disappointed when I told them I like old-time jazz.. but whatever.
ANYWAY.
So in my final class of the day, the children are writing these questions and the "crazy girl" (they actually call her this) is laughing to her friend as she writes down "have you met a criminal?" and "have you been to jail?" She ended up not daring to ask me this, but it gave me an initial sense of her desire to draw attention to herself. Although they were told I didn't speak German, I have them convinced that I do, so this girl was very very cautious when she was whispering to her friend - I was lucky to get this sort of respect right away and catch her attention. She usually is careless of any one who tells her what to do. So, once we joined as a class to begin interviewing me one of the questions made me chuckle, and she started mocking me. I looked at her, and said oh? okay! And I said if she is to repeat my laugh, then she is to repeat everything I say in English. The class started laughing, and it worked. When I would say something in English, I would grant her time to repeat what I said. When she would talk without me saying anything I would quickly tell her that I didn't say anything, and surprisingly she understood her role to be my echo, and it became quite fun.
It got me thinking about discipline techniques and maybe how unnecessary it is to be so authoritative and stern with children about everything. I mean especially when "mocking" can be made into a scenario where a student who usually causes trouble is now participating in the class and practicing her own English. Maybe, just maybe, it's okay for a classroom to not resemble the silence of a funeral home and instead have the noise of a delivery room. After all, this is life - and education should be dynamic and most of all a symbiotic relationship between a teacher and their students.
Before I get too off in rants or what have you, I want to tell one more quick story from the interview. So as soon as these children found out I am not SO old, they all began giggling amongst themselves - especially because they knew I was single. I mean obviously these 3-5 years are important years.. but the guys are really convinced they have a shot with me. So, when they see me they ask, "Will you meet me?" Which is their English for asking me on a date. It's adorable and expressive, even though of course I laugh and decline. Yes, another opportunity where I could scold them, but I don't have to scold them to communicate that I am not going to be dating them. Plus, I want to encourage them to ask some nice girl that's their age this same question, so why try and put down a good thing?
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