"Dear Maadam Jimmy"

Here at Tirrim Secondary we only have two classrooms - one classroom for Form 1 and one classroom for Form 2. As a result, students stay in the same classroom all day - instead of students switching classrooms for each class, the teachers rotate into the single classroom when it's their time to teach. The kids get two breaks each morning before lunch - one 5 minute break after period 3 and one 25 minute break after period 5 for chai.

Lately, most of the teachers have been having some trouble with students showing up late to class. (Side note: we have a student prefect who is in charge of ringing an actual bell to signal the end/start of class. A real bell! Love. It.) My rule has always been this: if I beat you in the door to the classroom, you are late. Since we don't have tardy sweep or d-halls at Tirrim, it's up to the teacher to decide on acceptable punishment for being late to his/her own class.

Alicia, Claire and I have all adopted pretty much the same policy for tardiness: if a student is late, they have two choices: they can either sit outside the classroom for the remainder of the class, or they may come into class and write me one paragraph on why it is disrespectful to me, their teacher, and the rest of their fellow classmates, to be tardy to class.

Last week was a hum-dinger: I had at least TEN students run past me into math class on Wednesday well after the bell had rung - and then THREE more students late on Thursday to geography class. Seeing as there are only 32 students in each class...I had a LOT of students late! I told everybody who was tardy that they owed me one paragraph on respectfulness - however, since Claire had just taught them the proper format for a letter in English class, I received 10 well-intentioned letters instead.

But, this is rural Kenya: our students don't have access to computers, let alone extra paper. We have to carefully ration exercise books out to them because we don't want to excessively waste paper when it is so hard (and expensive!) to get more. So most of my apology letters were written on carefully folded scrap notebook paper they tore out of the back of their exercise book.

One letter from Elias, a Form 1 student:

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Jimmie Backnight

APOLOGY FOR LATE COMING

I am hoply here by writing to you this apology letter on the behave of the mistake I have done to you. Madaam please forgive for what I have done to you and entire school rules. I didn't have intension to break your heart is all about the time of short break and I have to ran to the toilet. Please madaam I do promise that you will never and ever see me doing such mistake in front of you and entire school rules. I will alway respect you and follow your class rule. But madaam I know that I have done a mistake but mistake is not a mistake but when repeated. I will alway follow you rule to the day you will fly back to loving home (TEXAS)

Yours kindly,

Student Ne-yo Elias

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Elias (or Ne-yo, as he likes to be called...yes, after the American R&B singer that he loves) is a good student, and although you can't tell from his apology letter, his English is quite good. Most of our students can speak it pretty well, but writing it down is something they are still perfecting.

The next apology letter is from Jonathan, a Form 2 student. I LOVE Jonathan...he's smart, kindhearted, and very respectful. If you can picture Alicia as a male Kenyan...that's Jonathan. Meaning, while he is all of these things, he's got a bit of sass to him as well :)

(The address he used is the actual address for the Tirrim Project up here in Korr - and our mailing address. Really, it's the mailing address for anybody who lives in Korr...even though it's in Nairobi.)

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Tirrim Secondary School

P.O. Box 21028

Nairobi 00505

Kenya

Madam Jamie B

P.O. Box 21028

Nairobi 00505

Kenya

Dear Madam

RE: APOLOGY FOR COMING LATE TO YOUR CLASS

I would like to apologise to you for coming late to your class. I never intended to come late. It was not something that I deed intentionally but I was talking to a teacher when the bell rang.

Surely Madam I am very sorry for what I did. I know that you will not be happy when students come to your class late. Please Madam forgive me for what I did and I promise that I will not come late to your class unless with a strong reason that you can understand. Thank you for considering my apology.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan

R.S.V.P. (Please Reply)

Jonathan M.

P.O. Box 21028

Nairobi 00505

Kenya

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Ahahahahaha...besides the fact that he asked me to RSVP, this is my favorite part: "I promise that I will not come late to your class unless with a strong reason that you can understand."Not, "I promise it will never happen again," but "I promise it won't happen unless I've got a really REALLY good reason."

Eh, well...at least I know that he's being honest and that he'll keep that promise!

(Also...I've been here over 4 months and Jonathan is the ONLY student who spelled my name correctly. Hmm...)