​In this week’s Mustard Seed I share some of the things I learned from my students.
I taught English to sixteen to eighteen year-old Iranian naval students. In their first level there was a lesson about food. The book posed the question, "Do you like rice?"
The response given was, "Yes, I do. I do like rice."
Ask anyone beyond that level whether they like rice and they'd respond, "Yes, I do. I do like rice."
      Pressing for thoughtful responses rather than rote answers from their text. I said, "Come on. You eat rice three times a day, seven days a week. Do you really still like it?"
      One term I taught a second level group. All the students were new to me except Mahmoud, who was in my previous first level class. I asked each in turn whether they like rice and, sure enough, each responded, "Yes, I do. I do like rice."
      After asking all the other students, I asked Mahmoud, "How about you? Do you like rice?"
      "No," he replied with a broad smile. "I hate it! I like girls."
    That set the tone for the rest of the term. "See," I said, "the rest of you were reciting a lesson. Mahmoud answered the question."
      I encouraged my students to review their lessons before coming to class paying particular attention to the vocabulary list. Rather than just read back and forth, I'd describe a scene appropriate for the day's lesson and assign roles. Teenage boys become very creative when encouraged. We had lots of fun and the boys learned much more than they otherwise would have.
      My classes were very popular. Students from other classes would come to ask me questions during breaks. My students did well in their exams because they were interested in the classes. The school administrators decided that I would be a good teacher for the naughty students.
      At the start of the next term a lieutenant came to my class. "These boys are all very bad," he said. "If any of them misbehave in class, send them to my office and I will beat them."
      I also had a note with my attendance book saying one of the students must get seventy percent on his term exam or he would be kicked out of school. I looked at Rasoul's transcript – seventeen percent.
      That lunch hour I asked the opinion of Rasoul's teacher from the previous term. He said Rasoul was respected in his home town because his father was the mayor. Here, he opined, Rasoul became class clown because he was too stupid to earn the respect he was used to.
      As I assessed my class over the next few days I found most boys did respect Rasoul. Rasoul wasn't prepared for each day's vocabulary, but he picked the words up fairly quickly and participated well by midday. His low score on his quizzes didn't match his class activity. I reasoned Rasoul wasn't doing well because he couldn't read or write English. The course was conversational English but the text and exams were written.
     I appointed Rasoul class president. I asked him to stay in during the next break to discuss his position. With the other boys away, I confronted Rasoul about his reading and writing. He confirmed my suspicions. We began private lessons during breaks.
     Rasoul's attitude changed. He exercised his authority well. With tutoring, he scored sixty-seven percent on the final exam. I spoke to the academic director about Rasoul's progress but he insisted sixty-seven percent is not seventy percent. I pleaded Rasoul's case but the director suggested Rassoul probably cheated. I assured him that I had paid attention to Rasoul as I envidulated the exam and was sure he hadn't cheated. The director finally relented and allowed Rasoul to retake the exam with a different envidulator. Rasoul repeated his sixty-seven percent score. It still wasn't seventy percent. I stressed that Rasoul surpassed several of his classmates who were allowed to stay, yet he was still expelled and sent home in shame.
       I survived my disappointment. I was assigned another class of bad boys. I preferred to think of them as more active students.

        Next week: Murmurs. 
                                                                God bless.

​​In this week’s Mustard Seed my sister heads back home and I head back to school.
Throughout our travels we sent many letters and postcards home describing our adventures. Uncle David's Bandar Pahlavi address was the first opportunity for us to receive return correspondence. There were several letters waiting upon our arrival, one was from our mother.
Mom was so alarmed by our adventures that she sent airfare for my sister to return home. I prefer to think she believed I was resourceful enough to fend for myself, but I rather think she felt I deserved my fate for dragging my sister into all of our adventures.
     My sister was more than ready to comply. Even if the offer had been  extended to me, there was the matter of our van and the Iranian auto import taxes. Uncle David was due to leave three days hence for two weeks' working in CEDA's Tehran office. He would arranged for Hilda's journey home from there. Aunt Louise and cousin Ianine would travel with him to Tehran and return to Canada. Our younger cousins, Christopher and Jennifer, would remain with us under our care. With her return home assured – and planning in Uncle David's hands rather than mine – my sister relaxed.
     We had a nice visit over the next three days, familiarizing ourselves with the area and meeting some of our uncle's coworkers. Uncle David lived in a small community of Canadian and American workers. Each family had a two-bedroom bungalow. It was nice to settle in one place for more than just a few nights – with indoor plumbing and a kitchen. As guests of our uncle we were welcome to attend all expat facilities.
In due time we bid farewell to Uncle David, Aunt Louise, and cousin Ianine. One of the amenities for expats was a weekly family movie night. That was our entertainment plan for the first day as our cousins' guardians. We got popcorn, found our seats, and the lights dimmed. Donald Sutherland played a detective and Jane Fonda played his mysterious neighbour. As the movie progressed it became apparent she was a prostitute. Fortunately, we caught on and were able to leave before any explicit scenes.
    The next day Christopher asked why lots of men visited her but didn't stay very long. My sister avoided the issue by explaining he would understand when he was older. We decided it would be safer for me to read to them for their entertainment. We found a copy of The Hobbit. They listened intently and seemed to enjoy my reading even though I wasn't sure they understood.
    It became our routine to eat dinner, clean up and snuggle on the couch; me in the middle with the book and a cousin on each side. After Bilbo Baggins returned safely to the Shire we dug out The Lord of the Rings.
     I can't recall whether Uncle David returned from Tehran before or after Bilbo returned from the Misty Mountains. While he was gone I learned that many relatives of expat workers found employment teaching English to Iranian Naval cadets. One of the wives introduced me and I was hired to start at the beginning of the next term.
     Uncle David returned with tickets for Hilda's trip back to Canada via Baku, Moscow, St Petersberg, Helsinki, London, and, finally, Vancouver. I was able to finish reading Lord of the Rings before moving to a rented house in Rasht that I shared with four other teachers. 
     Almost thirty years later Jennifer, the youngest of my cousins, told me she preferred my Gollum  voice to Andy Serkis' rendering.

     Next week: I Learn by Teaching. 
                                                               God bless.