Just Call Me a Zoo Animal

Well today was a day for the books. SPH commenced their two day long evaluation of triple accreditation. Our classrooms were deep cleaned, lesson plan books flawless, and anticipation for a surprise inspection visit was on our radar.

I was on my guard most of the day, hoping and praying that somehow grade 3 would be somehow opted out of the visitation schedule. No such luck. In fact, I was graced with the presence of over 20 men and women that were at school for a Biblical Studies conference, and a handful of men from the accreditation team. All at the same time! Talk about intimidating! There were more adults in my room than students. There is never more than three people over the age of 8 in my classroom at a time.

Thankfully my kids snapped into "be on your best behavior or you'll be in hot water" mode. Somehow Budi and I instilled this behavior into them - I'm still not quite sure how, but it was a relief. Sure, my kids know that we don't tolerate a lot of monkey business in the classroom, but when people come in to observe the classroom, they think they are the ones that are under the microscope. I think Budi and I will let them keep thinking that :)

Anyway, with all of these people in my room, cameras were whipped out like pistols in a shootout. Everyone wanted to interrupt my lesson to snap a picture with the bule (white girl). Of all the bules in the school, apparently I stick out like a sore thumb with my bright blonde hair and blue eyes.

One picture after another and I'm starting to get dizzy from all the camera flashes. It's like I'm a celebrity - actually no - like a zoo animal. Everyone just staring and pointing and snapping pictures. It's like they've never seen a white person before and they need documentation as proof. Okay, so I may be a little bit dramatic, but today I really felt like I belonged in a zoo.

What makes it even more comical is that information of my Dutch heritage oozes out and they begin asking if I speak Dutch and if I could speak it for them. The only Dutch words I know are cuss words, so I refrain from saying them and simply tell them that I cannot. You should see the disappointment on their faces. It's like a group of kids finding out that there is no such thing as Santa Clause (which from a heart wrenching personal experience is the very upsetting).

The pictures continue for quite some time. It is suffice to say that my lessons for the day landed in the porcelain express.

The moment all they stepped out of the classroom, there was total anarchy and chaos. Apparently bottling up all that rambunctious behavior can be explosive mayhem. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

Later on the staff got an email saying that day one of accreditation went extremely well and the school had a positive outlook on tomorrow's conclusion and results. I'll keep you all posted :)