My First Day : Dream, Hope, and Endless Possibilities

No matter how many times, I've taught, the first day at a new class and new school will always be a thrilling experience. Facing the things unknown, the students I've never met, the teachers I've never known, the lesson I've not mastered yet. That's why the D-1 for me is always the busiest day. I like to prepare my lesson beforehand over and over again.

Before, I usually asked google for help in founding new teaching method for the first day.  The results of my founding were ice-breaking techniques, latest energizer songs and making class rules methods. I've tried all of them in my classes, all of them worked okay. Yet, I still had this "missing pieces" kind of feeling, I believe like the first day of school is the foundation of the long learning process, I want it to be memorable and meaningful. I want to know what are their dreams, needs on the first day so, I can apply that in the learning process. So that I can make a correlation between the dreams of the students and the lesson. I want my students to be self-driven to learn. I want them to love learning because it will be beneficial for their own self.

This is important especially, for my special students in this new school Rumah Belajar Cinta Anak Bangsa part of the YCAB (http://www.ycabfoundation.org/en/). This school gives affordable education for children and youth from the bottom of the society. For those who are unable to access national school because don't have money to buy uniform or books; those who intelligently wise are rejected by national school but can't afford the pricey private school to help them; for those who are already neglected by their own parents and family and left to wander and survive by their own; for those who are already years left out from having their right to go to school because they are forced to make money legally or illegally.  

DREAMS

"hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly"Langston Hughes

That quote is aligned with my core values in teaching. I want my students brave to dream high. Dream high, dream big and work hard to achieve it. Imagine me, in my very first day being told that, "Don't ask them to dream they don't have one. They just hope for a small job that can help them live." Said by one the staffs to me. I was sad hearing it, I want them to dream. I want to be part of their journey to reach that dream.

I also believe that understanding the dreams of our students can help us a lot. Knowing their dreams; connect it with their lesson; explaining to them how this lesson could help them to reach their dreams will make them more enthusiastic about learning. Imagining that here and now they are in one of the steps to reach their dreams.

HOPES

Based on those ideas, I came up with this technique, I named Tree of hopes. Tree of hopes is a tree where the leaves are the students' dreams and hopes to be achieved after finishing the class. The hopes can be simple or big. The main point is for self-understanding and self-discovery. This method can be used for young learner, teenagers or young adult.

For the young learners, this method is more like self-discovery. What are their dreams? What things they want to achieve in later life? For teenager and young adult this method can be used as goals they want to achieve and self-reminder to their goals.

Starting our tree of hopes!

If the hopes and dreams are being posted and can be seen daily. It will be a reminder daily, what they wanted. Look at other people's dream as a reminder that at least "to be brave to dream, because we dream together."

In my first day at school, in every class,  I started with asking them to write down
"What is your hope for this class?" I said. My class is English for the foreign learners
.
"It can be anything simple or big."
"You can write anything."

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

Our future inspiring entrepreneur!

one of them wrote
"I hope, one day, I can go to school abroad (United States of America)" she wrote.

the others dare to write big things
"I hope I can get job international
"I want to go to school abroad"
"I hope to be international designer interior"

others show their personality
"I want to go to travel in Europa"
"I want to have wives from abroad"
"I want to teach my sisters English."

"I want to use it for work."

Others make me smile and laugh
"I want to have a wife from abroad.
"I want to talk to Obama."
"I want to be a police in Japan."

Reading it, for me, makes me excited for their endless possibilities. The possibilities of these "underdog" students to prove themselves to the world that they can be excellent, successful and powerful, one day. That from one single class of mine, I can see powerful entrepreneurs, respectful police, famous traveler-blogger, international scholar, a well-known interior designer, an inspiring mother, the possibility is endless. Dreams and hopes, I'd like to believe they can achieve no matter who is their parents, how much money in their pocket or their level of IQ. I choose to believe on their endless possibilities of great men in the future.

A note from a new teacher,
Nurul Bahirah
A naive dreamer and believer teacher