Deaf goldmine!

We were taken to the goldmine of the Thanh Hoa Deaf on Tuesday only to be left crushed! Wednesday we were allowed to take up teaching with these students and by the end of the day we were told we were done. We don't really know for sure why but there are rumors among the staff and students that a teacher complained to administration that our style of teaching was not ok. We had all of the students sit on the floor in a half a circle (although they were so excited it was hard to keep them in place) instead of at their desks in rows. You deaf educators know what I'm talking about and why that's important. We had lots of interaction, communication, and learning taking place alllll day! The student's were just so motivated and eager to learn learn learn. 

Anyway long story longer, someone apparently wasn't ok with our style and decided to report us to the big boss...We are still wondering why, if that was an issue, we weren't just asked to change it and then continue. What I gather is that the students were having too much fun learning and that's not what education is about I guess. That doesn't only happen here- I've seen it in classes across the city, in San Jose and in the central valley. Some educators just feel that education should be a grueling task and situation. I've been hated on directly for engaging students in whatever I'm teaching- oh shame on me for teaching in a way that reaches someone :o( So Wednesday was a precious moment being among so many deaf students who were so eager to communicate with us. All of those students live at the school and come from extremely poor families who aren't able to care for them. There was a new gal there who was still trying to adjust- I can't imagine how these students must feel at first when they are taken from their families not knowing much about what's going on and moving away from what is familiar to them to a place with letters and numbers and strict rules to live by- I found out this gal still cries a lot and 1 of the aides there who is deaf tries to comfort her and explain to her that she is going to be ok. Do you think it's too late to get a bus and jack the kids from the school??? I have been wondering who benefits more from these students' works and how much do these students actually receive? Are they being exploited in exchange for a place to sleep and food to eat? What we heard over and over again was that these students were going to have a hard time learning and were going to be afraid of us. I guess since the faculty and admin. didn't get the reaction they expected they had to figure something out fast- so sitting on the floor is cause for termination :o( 

Wednesday was a super emotional day to say the least- super excited to arrive at the school and begin teaching and totally crushed at being told no more just 1 day. 

Thursday we were back at Thuy's and she had more students for us. This group is adorable and the set up is super flexible. Every moment is a teaching moment so even on our breaks we are having discussions and gesturing for the ones who don't read, write, hear, and/or speak. Thanh is still my favorite and Thuy (his mother) is still pushing for me to "bring him to america" to feed and educate him. Tomorrow is Friday (well in a few minutes actually) and we are going with Thuy's group to Sam Son to spend the morning at the beach. We leave here at 7am and that's about all I know. Our plans change every little while. Like on Tuesday for example, we were on our way back to Thuy's after lunch and our car made a U-turn in the parking lot and took off. Our students just stared and waved at us very confused and we too were very confused. That was the day we were taken to the deaf school to prepare for the next day. Nobody told us we were going to do that. I'm learning we have to just go with the flow around here. So someone just came knocking at our door a few minutes ago to tell us to be ready at 6:30 and that we will be teaching after lunch. Originally we were told we would teach in the morning at the beach and then play in the afternoon....just go with the flow self, just go with the flow.