Rustavi Mesame Sajaro Skola

(Rustavi Public School #3) 

This, ladies and gentleman, is my school. It is located in "Old Rustavi" which is about a 15 minute marshutka ride away from my apartment. It was finnnnallly sunny the other day, so I took a few pictures on my walk to the marshutka stop and near my house. First I would like to comment on the Georgian (or at least in my school... haha I shouldn't say Georgian) way of learning/attending school. The concept of sitting still for the whole class period and paying attention the whole time only exists for MAYBE 1-3 students in your class. And I'm not talking 1-3 students are stellar, I'm talking 1-3 students have ANY idea of what's going on. Haha. There's actually a word in Georgian to describe the fact that you didn't do your work because you were too lazy, and students genuinely respond with that when the teacher asks them why they didn't do their homework. HA! At least they're honest?? One of the teachers asked me what this word was in English and I told her it didn't exist, to which she responded, "Well then how do the students tell the teacher they didn't do their homework because they're too lazy?" And of course I told her no good American student would EVER come to school without some horribly lame excuse for why they didn't do their homework. Haha. Even the worst students wouldn't flat out admit their laziness. So that always makes me laugh. The other crazy thing I can't get over is the fact that EVERYONE wants to be called on... no matter if they know the answer or not. When I was in elementary school I distinctly remember ONLY wanting to be called upon if I knew the answer, and I'm pretty positive every other student shared my sentiment. Yes, this was 10+ years ago, HOWEVER, I am fairly certain I was not as eager as these kids to get in front of the class and go "uhh...." and stare at the book as if I was reading some ancient text in a language no one has spoken for millennia.  I actually had a problem with a student today who kept interrupting my explanation of the comparative going "MOJHA MOJHA" (can I? can I?) over and over because she wanted to be called on. Keep in mind I literally had no text for her to read, no question for her to answer, and was legitimately having trouble explaining how to compare the size of 2 things because she kept trying to get me to call on her! Haha oh the perils of teaching children.