It went much better than I anticipated. Students seemed to be completely different, at least for some of them. On the first day back, the 7th graders were extremely quiet, to the point where class discussion seemed a drag and most painful I've ever experienced. "It's the first day of school," DY sheepishly said on behalf of his classmates. After talking to other teachers, I realized that it was truly not me, but a widespread phenomenon shared by all educators in our school, if not across the whole country. That's one thing I have noticed about teaching, whenever I feel I'm doing something wrong, it generally is not the case with me, but rather is common event grieved by all other first-year teachers, sometimes even experienced teachers. In a way, it is a relief.
6th period students looked up and CC asked timidly, "Weren't you going to sing us that song?" "Oh yeah, huh (a lingo I picked up from my students). I thought you all forgot about it. Under their watchful eyes, I sang the National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner) in Navajo. At first, many kids covered their mouth and asked, "Can we laugh?" "NO! Otherwise I won't sing it!" I barked. However, the giggles at the beginning of the song turned to a silent and wistful audience. When I finished, they all applauded, and one student even commented, "You have a pretty voice, did you used to sing?" I was amazed at the calming effect the music had on the students, some of them were mouthing the words along with me. They all said it was great despite a few pronunciations. Nevertheless, it was a moment of glory. For this particular class, they will work hard now since I did my part of the deal.
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