space travel

Today launched my English 1 class into a whole new world: outer space. We have begun a two week unit on space travel, which is supposed to simply introduce them to the vocabulary they already know in Creole. However, as I quickly realized today, these guys don't KNOW any space vocabulary. They don't know anything about space. They don't have any CONCEPT of space.

We started with an awesome chart that my sister sent me of all of the planets in orbit around the sun. They were blown away by the sun.

"Why is it so big on the picture?" one student asked. "It is only actually THIS big" he motioned towared the space between his thumb and forefinger.

So, we talked about the sun, and how it is actually a star, and about how big it really is, and I showed them some photos of this huge ball of fire.

"Sooo," one guy finally said, "If we walk on the sun, we must be very careful!"

"We learned in school that there is only the moon, the sun, and the earth, and that the sun and moon simply rotate around the earth," another guy said. "So what is all this other stuff?"

"Earth is three from the sun, so Venus and Mercury are inside of the earth?"

"The difference between a space shuttle and a rocket is that one flies flat and one goes BOOM."

and the best question..."Is this poster the only thing there is published and known about space?"

I am in over my head! We had a blast, however, and they are so thirsty to understand some of this stuff. We didn't, however, learn much English. It's hard to explain something my guys have no concept of in a language they are just beginning to learn!

I think on Monday I will try to show them a clip or two from Apollo 13 or something. Thankfully, a semi-understanding of space travel will not hurt their ministries or churches. One thing that blessed us all, however, was a bigger concept of our God.

"If the earth was just a little closer, or a little bit farther from the sun, we could not exist," I told them. We talked about the other planets, incapable of housing life. We talked about the air, and the water on the earth.

Finally, a fellow professor that sits in on my class every day started to nod. "God," he said, "God is truly God. He knows what He's doing. It is perfect, because of Him."

With joy I watched the realization of this appear on each guys face.

"Look there at little little earth!" another student said. "And then think of little little Haiti on the little earth. And then think of little little me on little Haiti on little Earth."

"Yeah, and..." everyone said...

"...AND," he finished, "When I talk to God, God of all this, He listens to me! He hears me and He cares. THAT is something BIG."

And it is...

(pictured: my first year class standing in front of their new poster. Thank you, Lisa!)