Gifts...

Our students are notorious for giving us random gifts when they feel generous (or when their family has produce that they cannot eat before it spoils).  Lately, Sarah and I have been on the receiving end of quite a few gifts.

This week is finals week and on Tuesday, we received the biggest pineapple we have yet to receive – no joke, this pineapple was as big as my head.  We cut it up and ended up giving half to the children in our neighborhood; there is just no way the both of us could eat all that pineapple!  Another student gave us ten bananas on Tuesday, so we have been eating fruit like it’s going out of style.  We question whether they expect to pass their exams now that they have given us gifts…the answer to that, of course, is no, but we’re grateful for their generosity :)

The weirdest thing that I have had happen to me concerning gifts, though, came when a female student dropped $20 LD in my lap on her way to recess a few weeks ago.  I was helping another student, and when I noticed she had dropped something in my lap, I looked down to find this money.  Now, $20 LD is only about $0.25 American, but it can buy you something to eat here.  When she was walking back to class, I stopped her and asked why she gave me money.

Her response was that it was her gift to me, “from her heart.”  I explained that it is not correct for a teacher to accept money from a student, even if it is just small money for something to eat at recess.  I told her I appreciated the gesture but that I could not accept it.  She was very confused, as many teachers here still work on the bribe system – many times I have seen students slip $50 or $100 LD into a copy book for a good grade on a quiz or assignment – but I hope that she understood where I was coming from.

I don’t expect to completely change the culture surrounding teacher conduct while I am here, but if I can educate a few students on what is acceptable and what should never be done by teachers, then I guess I’m doing an okay job.  My stories about teacher conduct are plenty, and maybe one day, I will elaborate, but until then, just know that Sarah and I are the odd ones out at school some days.  That is fine, though.  I’d much rather be fair and disliked for not “helping a student” and changing their grade, than be a teacher who only works for small money here and there.

So until then, we will accept pineapples and bananas as gifts from our students, and maybe even sweet bread and juice at recess time.  I appreciate the relationship that we have with our students, and I hope that they are learning as much from me as I am learning from them.