Maya Bellamy
Brandi Neal
IDS
13 September 2018
Close Reading
A Day at School in Kyrgyzstan is a short story that sums up one day, from start to finish, in this particular country. Author, and teacher, Kathryn Hulick expresses her thoughts and emotions while dealing with such strong-willed students. She begins by setting the tone of the writing by describing the time of day as well as the weather. By emphasizing her “gigantic” coat, hat and scarf, I think she is also expressing this luxury she has in such a poor place. Although it is quite early in the day, Hulick is not the first one up. She helps the readers visualize the environment by using details like vendors setting up, donkey carts, and excited children. I respect the idea that she did not provide us with her societal role until after she set the tone. This lack of detail gave us, the audience, an unbiased perspective on morning life in Kyrgyzstan. It is not until then when she identifies herself as a Peace Corps volunteer teacher. She moved to a small country in the mountains to teach Asian children the English language. The next few lines describes the third floor classroom that is coated with posters and maps and an outdated black board. The decoration in my classrooms growing up was a key factor in the success of my learning. I found all white classrooms with little to no art on the walls were boring and I ended up resenting the teacher. Miss Hulick is sharing information that has allowed mw to view her as fun, involved, and an overall dedicated teacher. Just following that, the tone of the paper shifts. There is...
