School's Back for Summer

After putting on an intense and productive week-long workshop for professional education (while being immersed in Navajo culture and lifestyle), escaping to Canyon De Chelly for a weekend to hike in nature’s beauty with a variety of European foreigners, and a manual-labor-esque two days of moving, organizing and discarding teaching materials and furniture it was finally here: the first day of school.

I woke up at 6:45 am and got ready for the day. I walked over to the school just after seven. When I arrived there were tables but no chairs set up for the students to eat breakfast. Sarah, Eileen and I set up chairs as the first students arrived via their morning bus ride. It was nice to see the school in action. Just days ago we were sitting in child-sized chairs at dusty tables, giving presentations about Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and such, with workers painting the walls around us, I-pods cranked up so that we heard “Notorious Thugs” from our seats across the room. To see this very same room beautifully painted, organized, and full of young children eating and eager to meet their new classroom teachers for the year just days later really made me feel good. It was a nice sight.


After breakfast, all of the teachers took their new students in single file lines to their classrooms. My current designation (“P.E. man”) had me walking from room to room, observing and assisting when needed in each of the classrooms. It was exciting to see the NLMS teachers in action. As if they had just flipped a switch, they were now in “teacher mode.” I was very impressed with their work. They were in their element; artists of pedagogy at their finest. I envy their classroom management skills, and my hope is that when I teach I can somehow emit the same passion and excitement that I witnessed from them today.

Moving from class to class helping different students and leading whole classes in physical education every hour or so afforded me many entertaining and comical experiences. There are times when children are so intelligent that they are finishing your sentences, and there are times when you have no idea what is going on in their little minds. One exchange of words that stuck with me after today occurred while I was helping out in the 1st grade class. Ms. Pettit had two different books about animals, and was inquiring about some of her students’ interests in animals. When she asked, “Do you guys like the animals on this book?” a student replied, looking about the room “I like these walls.” To me it was classic. To the child -- I’m sure he was thinking about something I wouldn’t have understood. Children’s minds are amazing. They think and learn and absorb so much. It’s a pleasure just to be able to observe them as they process information and think about ways to use it. Little kids are fun.

One student ties another's shoes at recess.

Five P.E. sessions, teaching a writing lesson to 3rd and 4th graders, and miscellaneous assistance in other classrooms led me to the end of my school day. I was helping out in the 5th and 6th grade classroom (after secretly chugging the left over coffee in the teachers lounge alone – yeah it was that kind of day, and no I’m not ashamed) when Ms. Holiday, the 5th and 6th grade teacher, realized she didn’t know when to have her students clean up and head for the buses. I walked across the lawn, ehh red sand and rocks, and to the front desk at the main building. I got back to the 5th and 6th grade classroom and it was time to send students home. All of our members of the Knox College Professional Education Development Team helped sort out the madness that was loading the buses. After we made sure that each bus had the little faces of the children listed on the bus list on the correct corresponding bus, I sent them on their way.


Mike, Eilene, Carly, Sarah and Ashley all rode on the bus with the students. I had already made a different and previous commitment to the football coach of the high school across the highway on the other end of town. I met him the day before, when Mike and I went for a jog across town to watch them practice. That day there were three of his players present for practice. Just three. We watched as he instructed them to do a variety of conditioning drills. I had some man-talk with the Navajo coach, you know, high school football, NFL, weightlifting programs… Somewhere along the line he stated that he’s the only coach and doesn’t really have a lot of help out there. That was all I needed to hear. I jumped on the opportunity to attend the rest of the practices that I could make, (which was unfortunately just two, since we are leaving on Friday) agreeing to help him out, pass on some of my knowledge, talk some football and participate in drills and help motivate the players. Anyway, today I went to football practice instead of riding on the buses with everyone else. This time there were six players at practice, and three more showed up but couldn’t participate until they had their physicals. I ran drills and conditioned with the player for about an hour and a half, also chatting with the coach in between drills. Coach Alvin explained to me that the team averages 20 – 25 players, but some still need physicals and many are still working summer jobs to help support their families. They play 8-man football down here, which is foreign to me outside of the Arena League. I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can from Coach Alvin about offensive and defensive schemes in 8-man. I had a lot of fun at practice. I had a great day overall. A fine start to the school year.

D.L.