A Diamond in the Rough

All in all, this week has been pretty quiet. My students spent most of the week working on their research projects. Using the textbook (since they don’t all have computers at home and I don’t have access to a computer lab or laptop cart), they each did research on an Animal phylum or class. This was the first big project I’d given them in quite some time because, with previous assignments, I received a couple that were fantastic, a few noble tries, but the majority of my students didn’t even bother. It was rather disheartening.

This time around, I was extremely diligent and prepared. I gave them 2 weeks to work on the assignment, I gave them multiple in-class days, and I was very explicit on what they should be working on and when. When Friday came around (the official due date), 3 out of 4 of my classes had at least half the students ready to present and a decent number of others that were visibly still trying to complete their projects. While it may not seem like much, this is a marked improvement from what I saw in the previous semester.

It is an unfortunate fact but many students don’t know how to be students. They go to school because they are told that they have to. There is no why, just do. Yet, at the same time, they are often encouraged to stay home to help out around the house because that is more important. Talk about mixed messages. So, it is no surprise that my attendance averages 1/3 absent on a daily basis.

This is especially unsurprising when you take into account the fact that their parents will write them a note or their friend will forge one (they practice in their notebooks) and their absence will be excused. This means that there is no consequence for missing school other than a bad grade. But what is a grade other than a silly number, if it is good enough, will get them into 2-4 more years of school?

To this mindset, add the fact that, in elementary school, they spent most of their time cleaning, coloring and playing with their friends while their teacher enjoyed nap time. Because of this, they were moved on to the next level not because they were ready but because they were another year older.

I know I am over simplifying. These are not the precise experiences of every single student here; I have plenty of students that are fantastic (my diamonds in the rough); but these are all firsthand accounts that I have either heard of (from students and other teachers) or experienced in the past 10 months. Combine all of this together and you have the very prominent attitude that high school teachers here battle on a daily basis.

That being said, this Friday’s presentations showed me that my students really are making positive strides. They are finally realizing that, unlike some of their other teachers, I want them to not only complete the work but complete it well. They realize that, if they want to pass, I expect their best and nothing less. For some, this is the first time anyone has ever held them to this standard. The truth is, true improvement takes time. Even diamonds have to start off as detritus (ß Science word, 10 points).

Abandon Ship

I’ve been going a bit hike happy these past few weeks doing a different hike every Saturday. However, what has been going on these past few weeks with my classroom has just been too “good” to not reflect on.

After that heart wrenching boat ride from Ofu to Ta’u over spring break, I thought my likelihood of drowning from this point on was slim to none. How wrong I was! A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at my computer taking attendance before the start of class when I started to hear water flowing. I looked up just in time to see water dripping from my ceiling. It stopped as quickly as it started but it was the start of the most ridiculous ordeal yet.

Directly above my classroom is the Family and Consumer Science room which includes a number of sinks. After the second time the ceiling leaked, I learned that one of the sinks was clogged and that the proper authorities had been notified. Assuming they’d be by to fix the problem with a day or two, I made a few adjusts to avoid any unnecessary water damage and did my best to ignore the occasional drips that fell directly in front of the whiteboard.  

Haste is not a word in the Samoan dictionary. I haven’t actually looked it up but I would definitely bet good money on it. You learn very quickly that nothing here gets done in a timely fashion and, in order to get anything done at all, you must be extremely persistent.

The plumber did, eventually, show up. He fixed the sink but informed the FCS teacher that my leak was actually caused by a problem with the air conditioning. ‘Glorious!’, I thought, ‘the 7 month old air conditioner that replaced the previous air conditioner which and left us in unbearably heat for a month and a half is on the fritz.”

After another day of increasingly worsening leaks, I went to talk to the vice principal to see when I should expect repairs. No one had told him that the plumber hadn’t fixed the leak (communication is another lost concept). So, he called. No one came. The leak got worse. I asked for an update. He called again. No one came.

Yup.

 

Then, last Thursday, the dripping wouldn’t stop. I looked up and noticed that the ceiling tile had become fully saturated. I took a broom and, barely touching the tile, managed to poke a hole through it. Instantly, all the water that had been collecting in the sagging tile flowed out onto the floor. No longer was the water contained to the area behind my desk. It had spread underneath the tables to where the students were sitting. The entire day, all I heard was “Mr. Feak, what happened?” (This is a very common phrase from students. My typical response, in an attempt to get them to think scientifically, is to ask them in return, “Well, what do you think happened?” Occasionally, it is effective.)

I really couldn’t handle it at this point. I was so happy to have a nice, long weekend ahead of me. As I was packing up my bag at the end of the day, ready to just book it; I heard a crash. The tile had finally had enough. Little did it know how much more I would still have to endure.

When I returned to school on Monday, I was greeted by a huge puddle that spanned an entire wall of my classroom with a big old cockroach chilling right in the middle (they don’t call them water bugs for nothing). I went straight to the VP’s office, he made an emergency call to maintenance and they, finally, agreed to be there before lunch.

I immediately took to mopping it up but realized there was no way my students would be safe in such an environment. God forbid, one of them could have slipped and been seriously injured. So, I was forced to move my 1^st class out into the hallway to do their work. By 2^nd period, the water had evaporated enough that I decided it was safe to return. Then third period came around.

At the start of 3^rd period, I man from maintenance showed up. He took one look at the pipe and said, “Nope, that is definitely the run-off pipe for the sinks”…SERIOUSLY!...He would have the plumber come by later to check it out. Not long after he had left, the leak returned. But, this time, it wasn’t a dripping. It was a rushing. Not having been informed of the true source of the leak, the FCS class was washing dishes. No longer a feasible clean-up for the mop, I threw the entire bucket under the leak and hoped it would slow the steady growth of the puddle. It was a mild success but, at this point, the leak was no longer linked to the sinks. Even with all of the sinks turned off, the pipe continued to leak. What is worse, water began flowing out from underneath door of the empty room across the hall from mine. The problem was spreading.

water was pouring out of the ceiling

Around two in the afternoon, three or four gentlemen showed up. They took a look at the water rushing from my ceiling, talked things over, made a few phone calls, asked me what time I left work and, when I said 4pm, they told me that the guy would be there in an hour. Now that this entire thing is over, I still have no idea what the purpose of those three men were. Who were they? Why were they there? I have no idea. I also have no idea what happened to that guy that was supposed to show up at 4. I spent the entire two hours moving all of my supplies, desks, and chairs to the opposite side of the room but, when 4 o’clock came around and no one had showed, I had no choice but to leave my room with water pouring out of it.

The next morning, I came to school earlier than I ever have before. I knew that I was either going to have to set my classroom back up or start bailing. Unfortunately, it was the latter. The minute I walked in the building, all my department head could say was, “it is worse”. Not only had the water from my room leaked underneath the brick wall and filled the entire hallway but the pipe in the office next to my room had also broken and drenched all of the textbooks that had been stored in there.

Luckily, I had the first period off which gave me a chance to collect myself and figure out a plan of action. The first thing I needed was a place to teach. After consulting one of the other VPs, it was decided I would teach in the foyer of the building. So, with the help of a few students, I moved all of my desks, my chairs, and my tiny rolling whiteboard out to the foyer. Once that was all set, some students, two other teachers and I took cleaning up the mess. This included trying to push the water out the front door, setting the textbooks out in the sun to dry, and laying cardboard down to keep students from slipping. Right around the time we were finishing this, the building’s contract and his men showed up to get to work on fixing the pipes (after all, this building had only been renovate 9 months ago and was still under warranty…YEAH!).

Classroom in the foyer

drying out the textbooks

It took two whole days to get my classroom back to an acceptable state. My students were a little disappointed to be back in the classroom. I really can’t blame them. The foyer is spacious, has huge windows with a great view and, for some reason which I can only begin to guess, helped my students to really stay focused. If it weren’t for the constant distraction of other students walking through, I’d think about staying out there for the rest of the year.

As frustrating as this was; as many time as I said to myself, ‘if the drip gets worse, I’m just going home”; my students and I powered through it. We definitely had our down days but if there is one thing my students have known for a long time and that I have recently learned it is that you just have roll with the punches.