365 Writing Posts: The normal

Is being”normal”__whatever that means to you–a good thing , or a bad thing? Neither?

When we think about humans and we give our opinion about a particular person we say he is normal, i.e. physically and mentally sound and healthy.

We do the same thing with plants,animals, insects.

About plants we’ll say, it’s growth is normal, it’s not too large or too small. We always make comparisons, whether it’s an animal or an insect or a human being, we tend to show the difference between each of God’s creation.

As regards humans we do not stop after talking about his, her growth, e.g  physical, somehow we also talk about h/s mental growth.

Mental comes into question when someone cannot cope with the learning that takes place among their peers. We find there is a huge gap in their understanding of the same thing, we conclude the eight year old or whatever age we are dealing with  takes longer to comprehend even the simplest things, immediately whoever is the person teaching puts the person in a group of other kids who are slow.

This division lowers the self esteem of the ones who are in this group. These kids or students who are labelled slow learners are humiliated, they then start to act up and disrupt the class. We usually ignore them and feel contented to keep them aloof from the rest of the students or kids.

These so called slow learners become a problem for the society, they end up dropping out of school, and get into all kinds of trouble. They are without jobs, either they live on social assistance or do whatever they have to for survival. The society calls them abnormal, they are shunned by everyone.

…………………………………:)

 

https://justmywriting.wordpress.com

At one point in my career in teaching, the members of the department of education made a rule which I thought was crazy. In their efforts to promote writing, they made a rule, which encouraged the kids to write.

They did not have to worry about spelling, spacing of the words, they were just told to write. When I got the group of kids and tried to read their story,which is what they called it. I was lost, the words meant nothing because the spelling was so far removed it made no sense.

I took one of the students aside and asked him to read it for me. I noticed the words he read were completely different from how it was  written on paper.

I did not expect this system of free writing to last too long. When a teacher has a class of thirty two students how can it be possible for the teacher to let the students read while s/h tries to make sense of it.Even if we gave five minutes to each student which multiplied by thirty two comes to  one hundred sixty minutes.

Each period was forty minutes. The school started at 9 am and was over at 3.45 pm.  out of six hours and forty five minutes, lunch was an hour and recess fifteen minutes. The total teaching time was five hours and thirty minutes.

I wasn’t sure we could teach the other subjects, if we devoted one hundred sixty minutes for correcting writing.

There was only one hundred seventy minutes left for the other subjects.

The group of students that went through this system, i.e just write do not worry about spelling or anything else , had a difficult time in the higher grades.

This is my post for “Just my writing.”

DP Daily Prompt:We Can Be Taught!

What makes a teacher great?

A great teacher understands and respects his/ her students.

A great teacher  instills in the student that they are important and they belong with the rest of the students.

A warm friendly, caring and enthusiastic is the mark of a great teacher.

Each student is expected to excel by a great teacher.

Teachers also need to keep up their knowledge of the world so that they can pass it on to the students. It is another sign of a great teacher.

A great teacher is able to change their way of teaching to suit the needs of the students.

A great teacher cooperates with colleagues.

These are some of the attributes of a great teacher.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/dp-daily-prompt-7

365 Writing Prompts: Community Service

Your entire community– however you define that; your hometown, your neighborhood, your family, your colleagues, is guaranteed to read your blog tomorrow. Write the post you’d like them all to see.

I live in the capital of my province. we have one university here. some of the inhabitants buy houses to rent it to the students, who are from other communities and some are from other provinces and countries  as well.

Memorial university has a wide variety of subjects to choose from and the tuition fees is the lowest, so it attracts many students from various provinces of Canada and other countries.

My house is located close to the university.

I know some of the neighbors, we visit each other regularly. It is a relatively quiet neighborhood except when the students renting the houses have a cause to celebrate. The landlords try their best to inform the students, that it is a residential place and they’re not allowed to be rowdy.

The students try their best but go off the handle and forget the rules, which either results in their leaving the house or if they promise not to be disruptive they’re allowed to stay!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/365-writing-pr…munity-service

 

DP Daily Prompt: Secret Admirers

You return home to discover a huge flower bouquet waiting for you , no card attached. Who is it from__ and why did they send it to you?

The bouquet of flowers I received was in my classroom,placed neatly on my desk. It was from a group of students, who thought I was the nicest teacher they’ve ever met.

It was something they did to show their appreciation. I truly enjoyed teaching them and they enjoyed having me as their teacher.

The students left a number of gifts from time to time, sometimes it was a box of chocolate, a cup and saucer, or even a seashell . The shell one of them left for me was a large one, if I put it close to my ears I could hear the sound of the sea. Unfortunately I forgot to take it home, and found it missing the next day. I still think about it.

It was a joy teaching those sweet kids, they always wanted me to read stories to them.

Their gifts always meant they were happy to have me as a teacher. I miss them!

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/dp-daily-promp…ecret-admirers/

 

365 days Writing Prompt: Ripped the headline

Write something that happened over the weekend as if it’s the top story on your local paper.

Students go home after school threatened.

A St. john’s school was closed after receiving a threat by a woman. The woman has a long history of breaking the law. She is a long time offender who was sentenced to a 40 month jail term in a federal prison for committing a number of offences.

Parents and guardians of students at the downtown St. John’s school were asked to pick up their children after the threat was received.

A community breakfast was underway when police advised the administration of the threat. About 240 students attend the school.

alink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/365-days-writing-prompt/

365 days Writing Prompt: Helping Hand

Tell us about the most surprising helping hand you’ve ever received.

 

My sister and I were going home in a rickshaw in Dhaka city in Bangladesh, it was early evening we were only a few yards away,when suddenly we were pushed from behind, I have no idea whether we were pushed by another rickshaw or some other vehicle. We were thrown out on the street,our handbags were scattered in different direction,my sister was screaming her ankle was broken. 

Suddenly we were surrounded by what looked like students who came to help us,they picked up our bags and one of them handed them to me.I was not hurt, they felt I was in a better position to take care of them. Meanwhile my sister was screaming, some of the students called another rickshaw to take us to the hospital. They helped my sister get on the rickshaw.

I was impressed how helpful they were,they made sure no one took off with our handbags.

 

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/365-days-writi…t-helping-hand/

Writing Prompt: Proud

When was the last time someone told you they were proud of you?

This prompt is rather hard for me to answer.  Actually  my classmates didn’t tell me they were proud of me when I did well in my exam. To tell you the truth they gave me looks which meant they were jealous.

Next in line my teachers,they said I should study harder to do better. That didn’t mean they were proud of me.

My little students said they loved me but did not say they were proud of me. Isn’t it different from being proud?

I remember my father once said, he was proud of me because I was the only kid among his  kids, who remembered the name of his ointment. That was the time he had a  severe pain somewhere in his body. He needed the ointment but without the name how would anyone get it for him. It wouldn’t get me too many points just for that.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/365-days-feb 15-proud/