Like Colossians 2, Christ has conquered the written code. He has triumphed over all the forces of this world and its traditions with the cross. He has given us His grace, and it is our job to spread it. Recently I have been learning what God's beauty look like. It is not just appearance or internal beauty. No, it goes much deeper than that. My beauty, as a lady of the Lord is not found in any means of myself, it is solely found in the glory and vastness of Christ's redemption! Less of me and more of Him (John 2:20). In this place is true joy. In this place is true freedom. In this place is true purpose.
So what now? Good observations, but what does this look like in my calling? What does this look like in my vocation, in the classroom?
It looks like redemptive teaching. In regards to my intercultural practicum, I need to be open and willing to fail. I need to surrender my situation to Christ so that He can have His way with my tutoring. I did not understand this in my first and second visits to see Enci, my first-grade little Chinese boy I tutor every Friday for an hour before lunch.
I went into the classroom that first day without many expectations. I did not know what to expect. When I got there, I realized that the cooperating first grade teacher had no idea what to expect from me either. It felt like I had almost surprised her by being there. After introducing myself and telling her a little bit about why I was there, I decided to make the best of the situation. I spent that hour observing Enci in the classroom. I helped him with tests and worksheets, I kept special note of how he was performing on his literacy test with the entire class, and I tried to build up some trust and familiarity. It seemed as though everything was going pretty well. However, right before I took Enci out to do a couple of get-to-know you type of activities, the co-op teacher decided to have them do a pick-up of the room. She let the kids go hog wild running around the room collecting things and throwing trash away. It was a bit chaotic. When I took Enci out after this little adventure, he was a ball of nerves. He could not sit still and I could not find an empty room for us to go into. Every room that the school told me to use for my tutoring sessions was full with either children learning or aids sitting with food and socializing.
All of this run-around made Enci ever the more ancy. When we finally settled into a room he would not sit still or talk to me. I know part of it was the language barrier, but I thought that certainly this child must know a word other than "No!" I did get to know Enci a little bit better despite the circumstances. However, I felt very discouraged after this first meeting. I sat in my car with my fists clenched and just prayed for ten minutes straight that the Lord would give me patience and his grace for the situation.
Through the first tutoring session with Enci, I learned quickly how to discipline a child from his culture. It is different than previous tutoring sessions I have done. In the past I just had to ask a question and the student would respond. Additionally, I was automatically given respect for being a teacher. With Enci, I found true things that Delpit said in her book. I could not ask questions to Enci or he simply replied with a hasty and spirited, "No." Instead, I needed to show authority first to earn respect and give direct statements so that the child does not have an option of whether or not to do something. I also realized at this first sessions how Enci rarely looked me in the eye. He gave me a different name, Mrs. T, and felt like he was in control. Even with the fun interview type activities and coloring strategies I had for him, Enci would not do anything he did not first think of. I wonder if this is because of his culture or simply because he is used to having numerous tutors and being in control. I am not sure. All that I am sure of is that I needed the Lord's grace for that second session the following week.
In the second session I took Enci out almost immediately. We did many things together and I exerted my authority quickly this time. However, Enci was still a bit squirrelly. He insisted on climbing on the bookcases or constantly playing with the bins in the room. I found myself frustrated again. I employed a couple different activities to help get Enci focused and excited about learning. He did end up reading a whole book for me and acting it out which really helped me see how excellent of a reader Enci is. I also found during this time that he needs to be active and have his hands moving at all times. If his hands are not moving, then his brain is at a standstill and he gets overly-excited and angry.
Like in the book, I found that Enci already has the background needed for learning, he simply needs the tools to help express his learning. He does not have a large oral language yet. I think it is my job and calling to help develop Enci's language skills and acquisition by being a constant and an encourager in his life. He needs to know that he can do it and that I believe in him, however he more so needs someone just to be willing to talk with him and help him pick up oral language skills. I must humble myself to this position and be willing to in a way "grow up with" Enci. I need to learn his culture and he needs to learn mine. What an amazing opportunity we both have and I am excited to see how the Lord's grace is going to move through this semester of growth!
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