I walked into class this morning to find we had a new teacher. Her name is Sara and she is from Södertälje. I know this because the first thing she did was introduce herself with a bit of a presentation. She seemed very nice though I didn’t understand everything she said.
To reciprocate, as each member of the class entered, they had to write “Jag heter [name]” on the white board. I noted that Hureya, the woman who never shuts up, chews gum continuously and is generally very annoying, had written hers right across the middle of the board in letters 30 foot tall. When Sara removed her name, I smiled inside.
But it was a red letter day because Teacher Sara put the annoying woman in her place during class in a show of teacher in charge that was a delight to witness. At the beginning of the class, I wasn’t sure about Sara but this incident alone was enough to change my mind.
Hureya was doing her usual noisy talking while another person in the class was struggling to read something from the textbook. Sara had already put a finger to her lips in an attempt to shut Hureya up. Hureya ignored this. Sara then told Hureya she should have a bit more respect for the rest of the class. It was very disrespectful to talk when a classmate was trying to learn. Hureya managed to shut up.
I felt like cheering. Obviously I didn’t, otherwise I would also have earned the ire of Teacher Sara. And I wouldn’t want to do that. She’s no softie.
Another thing Teacher Sara did was ask each of us various questions about ourselves. She was interested when I said I was Australian. One of her sisters lives in Australia but Sara has never visited because it’s too far away. I agreed.
The class was also told to write down various things about ourselves. One was how many children we had. I wrote that we had two dogs. I was sitting next to Djuma, and he wrote that he had 17 children.
At this time, Teacher Sara came over to see why I was so surprised. She joined me in my surprise when she read what he had written.
When I told Mirinda later, she wondered if he remembered all their names. I think it’s unlikely given he has problems with his own. She also assumed it was with different mothers.
All in all, it was a boisterous and enjoyable class.
But the enjoyable aspect of the day didn’t end there. In the afternoon we popped over to Neighbour Beth’s place for strudel, coffee and chat. It was such a beautiful afternoon, we sat on her small deck outside. It’s funny to think that she’ll be gone next month.
How wonderful to hear about a teacher that makes sure there is some basic order in the classroom. It is so upsetting – and peculiar – that SFI is run so poorly! It is a lose/lose situation. And for no reason!