The Freewheelin' Ryan & Abby: First Days Teaching in Tonga

This past week we had the opportunity to practice teach in local village schools. I think all of us approached it with a bit of apprehension and honestly, a bit of fear. We are still in the beginning stages of learning the language, meaning most things come out as single words or simple phrases. Full sentences are still in the future. So, bright and early Monday morning we walk to schools for the first time ready to instruct.
As soon as we get to the school, the ENTIRE student body runs over stands in a large group, just staring at us. This does not alleviate the aforementioned fear. Hundreds of big, brown eyes focused intently on you... a crowd of completely silent students perfectly happy just staring. This happens right up until the bell rings and we all walk to the classrooms to begin class.
After getting over the initial strangeness of having unfamiliar white people teaching them, everyone in the school just opened up, supported us, and made us feel welcome. It was honestly one of the most amazing experiences I have had in the teaching profession so far. Here are some highlights from the week:
1. Students were so engaged in lessons to the point of repeating EVERYTHING we said. Even when you are talking to your co-teacher and you say something... the whole class repeats it shouting. You just smile...look at your co-teacher and say "Was that loud enough for you?"
2. By the end of the week, kids glowed with pride at the strides they made in their English literacy.
3. Teachers thanked us every day and told us we were making such a difference for our students. They are going to try to get a PCV next round to help them grow their English program.
4. The principal was so wowed by Ryan's lesson (that I spent the whole night before planning for him!) that he called a staff meeting that night and taught all the teachers how to use his lesson to support 6th graders preparing for their upcoming English exam. This exam is very important. It pretty much determines what opportunities the child will have in continuing their education. More on this later.
5. The last few days in the school, students adorned us with homemade tropical flower leis. Parents made these themselves and sent them with kids to give to us. It is a sign of respect in the community. This simple gesture showed such generosity and made us feel so welcome in the school, even though we were majorly disrupting their normal schedule just to give us some practice.
The issues we faced were similar to ones happening in America right now. Schools here want to learn how to differentiate instruction to support individual students, class sizes are too large, infrastructure is crumbling, students are far behind in their English skills and need to catch up. Its a daunting challenge but I am so excited to learn, prepare and serve these schools to help them achieve their vision.