Sunshine and Sneezes

Whew! It has been a very busy month. The end of the school year is approaching. This means students are, surprise surprise, even crazier than they have been the last five months. Teachers are working on preparing students for final exams. Classes are going on excursions now that the weather is nice. And, of course, I finally have reached some great levels of communication with my co-teachers inspiring more activities and lessons being led by me. So much to do!

I remember being a student in middle and high school and looking forward to those last few weeks of school. The weather was always really nice. Friends and I would hang out around town after school or after a softball game. I didn't seem to have as much homework. We would just be reviewing for finals. But now I am on the other side of the educational fence. I now hope for rainy days because I know the students will be less likely to shout in class or just want to goof off. Discipline isn't a problem so much as noise level and keeping students focused. The short attention spans of my students have just gotten shorter, which I thought was impossible! lol

I'm helping my co-teachers to also prepare final exams. I'm really excited to be involved with this. Georgian teachers are being asked to find new ways of evaluating students and to be more open to western educational practices. Tests are often just focused on one issues and don't allow for multiple learning styles. I'm hoping that my additions to the finals will allow for a broader assessments (listening, comprehension, writing, grammar, creativity). We'll see how the students do in a couple of weeks.

I've been asked to go on many excursions or field trips. I'm trying to go on as many as possible not just because it's a free trip but because it gives my students a chance to interact with me outside of the classroom and use English in a more practical environment. The problem is that on GMT, Georgian Maybe Time, you never know when you are really leaving or other important details. It's frustrating that tomorrow's trip has been canceled. I said no to another class because my 7th graders asked me first. Now they aren't going until next weekend. Ah well, live and learn, I guess.

The weather is fabulous. It's sunny most of the time. We get a nice breeze off the sea to keep the high 70 to 80 degree weather from becoming overwhelming. I love my walks around Poti even more now. However, it seems that their is some flowering tree somewhere that makes my allergies crazy. I'm taking some Russian Allergy tablets but they don't seem to be working. This new pollen has extended my usual spring misery into a much longer ordeal. I am looking forward to the end of spring here. I'm told summer is only a week or two away. I should be out of the pollen by then. At the same time that's about when I'll be going back to America, too.

Stay safe all my American friends who are dealing with the crazy storms there!