November 29, 2001

Fifth through eighth grade students share their reflections about their teachers

The last period of school was a chance for the students and teachers for grades 5-8 to meet together in the school assembly hall. It was the first time we've seen such a meeting (it's quite possible that they happened last year and we just missed/misunderstood the announcement), and it was interesting. It was a chance for the students to share some of their complaints about teachers - quite interesting for such a public forum, and it was clearly very difficult for some of them to do so. But at the same time, the teachers had to sit there and take the criticism.

There was also a sort of formality to the meeting - each class has a student in charge of certain clerical tasks (scheduling exams, cleaning the class, sort of a liaison position), and they read a formal thank you to the teachers for their hard work. One pleasant surprise was that one of Elizabeth's students read a note - in English - singing Elizabeth's praises. A nice lift.

A friend’s garden

We then had lunch with one of our adopted grandparents in the village, after which she and Elizabeth got to plant some bean seeds in her garden.