Rialoves2cook: I'm feeling out of my element today with the new school term beginning. Teaching fourth grade is harder than I expected after working with the kindergarten kids. It's a relief to come back to something more familiar: cooking. Weekend Maria was a bit more ambitious and picked up the spices available in Thailand to make Berbere for an Ethiopian lentil stew, so enjoy!
#Ethiopia #Africancuisine #lentils #TastesoftheWorld
Posted Oct 29th, 7:15 PM
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With a basket of teaching tools, Maria ascended to the third floor with a bounce in her step. Two weeks of October camp had gone well, and despite her churning stomach, she was sure she'd succeed today with her new fourth-grade classes. Reviewing her lesson ideas with Adrian had helped, even if he rarely spent time with young kids.
Outside her classroom door, she waited until the Thai teacher finished and tidied her things. A student rushed to erase the board while another placed textbooks in neat piles on the bookshelves. Even on the first day back, the Thai teachers enforced strict rules. Should she bother with the icebreaker activities? Emma had reassured her they were effective to establish a positive classroom climate, but it was the middle of their school year.
The Thai teacher greeted Maria in English before leaving the room. She'd be alone with this group, unlike with the kindergarteners. While Maria set her basket on a table near the whiteboard, the students' gazes followed her. She looked over the twenty-six unfamiliar faces. Each student sat behind a scuffed wooden desk. She'd have three periods with each group to learn their names today.
"Please rise," a short boy said in a monotonous voice.
Chairs scraped against the floor as all but one student rose. The young boy who remained seated had hair flung over his eyes while he scowled. As Maria smiled at him, his glower deepened until the bigger girl next to him nudged him with her elbow, and he stood.
"Good mo-ning, Miss Ma-lia!" the students chorused.
"Good morning class, please sit." She waited for the grating of chairs to stop. "My name is Ms. Maria, and I'm from a city called Edmonton, in Canada." A few children in the back whispered. She ignored it, assuming they'd stop when she spoke again. "My favourite hobbies are listening to music, dancing, playing basketball, and cooking."
A student in the third row laughed, and Maria smiled.
"You're probably thinking 'she's not tall enough for basketball', but I play. Does anyone else like or play basketball?"
While two children raised tentative hands in the front rows, most students in the back talked to each other despite Maria's narrowed eyes.
"Boys and girls, I need everyone listening, please!"
After the students glanced her way, they resumed talking.
Maria sighed and raised her voice. "Listen, now!"
Two of five stopped chatting while the other students watched her.
She maintained her calm demeanour. "What are your names, our two basketball players?"
"Ming," the girl with blunt bangs answered.
"Cookie," a taller boy said.
Maria contained her cheesy grin at the adorable nicknames. "In a minute, I will hand out these bingo papers, and for the square that says 'play basketball', you can ask Ming, Cookie, or me: 'Do you play basketball?' If the person answers 'yes', you write their nickname on the line in English." She mimed the action on her own paper. "Do you understand?"
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