Setting Up Class

After many days of work without actually being in a classroom, today was my first day with my homeroom in their classroom. Here, they don’t call it homeroom; I’m called their class teacher. And it’s their classroom, as in the students’, because it’s the teachers who rotate.

After the 8:45 assembly, the school spent the morning setting up all the classrooms with chairs, tables, and blackboards. Since I am the class teacher for class 6A, my students know what to do, so their class was set up quickly, leaving hours before lunch with some students in and out helping other classes set up and clean up. In the off time, we played Hangman, Sonam Says, and Pictionary, which they seemed to enjoy.

So far, I'm finding there are too many “ma’am”s. Every other word is ma’am. “Can I go out, ma’am?” “Yes, ma’am,” “Can I come in, ma’am?” Whenever a student leaves the room, they have to ask permission to come back in – this can get tedious.

After lunch, I gave out textbooks and we went over rules and discipline – “Uncivilized and barbarous actions like yelling, quarreling, fighting, stealing, abusing of friends or any staff members are strictly prohibited,” “Eating of Khaini, chewing doma, smoking, gambling or consuming any intoxicating substances is totally banned,” and some of the main offenses calling for disciplinary action are “hooliganism,” “anti-state statements and actions,” and “prowling.”

Overall, it was a fine day. I’m nervous that I won’t be patient or kind enough.