Con Los Niños Mayores [With the Older Kids]

Hoy era en la clase con los niños mayores. Today I was in the class with the older students. They were mostly 12 years old. I spent most of my time with Jossie y Jane (pictured above). They asked me to write a few things in Chinese. Luckily, (1 year of weekend Mandarin Chinese School lessons paid off! Thanks Mama! ) I knew a few characters. I wish I knew more... They asked how to write their names in Chinese... I definitely do not know how to do that. I was going to attempt to write it in Japanese Katakana, but I didn't want to mess with that. So I taught them how to write the numbers (one to ten), love 愛, I 找, you 你, star 星, and moon 月. Pretty basic, but fun to learn. I wish I knew MORE! I know I said that already, but I DO. :( 

One of the main reasons why I am passionate about traveling is the opportunity to learn from others...  about their lives/ experiences/ likes/ dislikes/ language/ culture... and in their sharing I learn more about myself as well. There's a correlation... connection... bond... I learned from these two 12-year-old girls that they like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, One Direction, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, SIA, and more. There was one Spanish singer that I learned that they like too! They are called Adexe y Nau. They said they are from Spain, and one boy is 10 years old and the other boy is 17 years old. :) https://m.youtube.com/user/AdexeOficial Check 'em out!!! They played for me the Spanish cover of "Sorry" by Justin Beieber. I also spoke to one of the boys named Cristopher, and I mentioned something about Japan, and he started naming a bunch of Anime that he likes: One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, etc. He doesn't like Attack on Titan though... Which is the one I like as well as Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. :) 

I wrote a note in English and translated it in Spanish to give to the teacher that I worked with last week. She asked to add her on Facebook, so I did... BUT I think it would be amazing if she could come to Seattle and come visit my school. Basically, in the letter I said how she is welcome to come visit me,  stay with me, and come to my school. I think it would be wonderful to have this kind of exchange between teachers around the world. There must be some kind of organization already developed that does this... if not... Maybe I should create my own!!

"When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are tools God uses to show us the way."

Lost in Translation {Perdido en la Traducción}

 

Today I was planning to go to one of the two classes with the older students, but I ended up going to the same class as last week with the 4 year olds. I was helping out with their breakfast, and then Profesora Ivet asked me to help walk them to class. She was trying to tell me something in Spanish, but I did not understand her... My Spanish level is low... Once I got to the classroom it clicked!!! She was telling me that her daughter was here!!! Once I got to the room the Profesora's hija (daughter)  hugged me and handed me a note. It said in English and Spanish "Could you please teach me origami?" So I spent my day (3.5 hours) teaching her origami and English... and she taught me Spanish. She is 9 years old... I wonder why she didn't go to school today... or did she have school... or does she go to school later? I don't know. I guess I can try asking tomorrow. BUT tomorrow I will definitely go the the class with the older students. There are 2 classes for 3 year olds (about 25 in each class!!), 1 class for 4 year olds (about 25), and 2 classes for older students. There are only 4 teachers at this school. I feel guilty leaving the Profesora with the 4 year olds because those students need more guidance and redirection than the clase with the older students... BUT I really want to work with the older students. Why? Because with the older students I can TRY to have more of a conversation (if only my Spanish was better!!!) with them and support them in their homework with school. I think I am pretty good at miming things or making communication happen without words... Non-verbal communication to the rescue!!

The school is called CEDIF, which stands for Centro de Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (Center of Integral Development for Familes). I believe it is ran by the government because it also says Municipal Provincial of Cusco on the banner in front of the school as well. And a quote about making a "beautiful/ better Cusco." I Googled it, and found an article/ bond/ document thing about supporting the children and adolescence in Cusco. 

One day last week the Profesora mentioned how terrible these kids are... and I tried saying... because they are 4 year old... and she said no, not all 4 year olds act like these kids. I said oh, my students are similar to these kids and they are 10 years old, and she laughed. At least this is what I thought was our conversation. :) I think even though my Spanish understanding and production is basic, we are still able to communicate... or at least I figure out what she said later on! Hahaha. or maybe something gets lost in our communication... but in the end we smile, hug, and kiss on the cheek. Abrazos y Besos!!

Volunteering in Cusco, Peru

Monday, July 11th was orientation/ first day of volunteering in a classroom with about 25 four year olds! I arrived around 11:30AM and I jumped right in helping the teacher (Profesora Ivet). A few things that surprised me were... 4 year olds in school, the teacher pulling the students hair to get them to listen, and how much food they were fed. I signed up for the "After-School Program" and in Cusco some students start school in the afternoon around 2PM and finish at 6PM. Other students start around 9AM and finish at 1PM. It varies. I also heard that some students finish school at 3PM. SO, I guess it just depends which school one attends. 

The "usual" schedule for these students is... line up in front of the dining hall around 8:30AM. Then greeting/ song/ prayer around 8:45. Students eat breakfast; some of them you have to help feed. We usually finish, clean-up, and go to the classroom by 9:15AM. In the morning there could be a lesson/ activity/ or just sitting around. One day I helped the teacher organize and file the students' work into their folders. Another morning the teacher read a story to the students and they drew a picture of the main character. Another morning they had to match four images (child to ball and chair to table). Around 10:45AM it is snack time and recess time!! The students go outside to play and are given a piece of fruit (grapes, oranges, melon, etc.). Then we come back to class. Lunch is at 12:30PM. Students line up and get ready to walk to the dining hall. They try to hold on to each others coats, but most of the time they are hitting each other or playing around with each other. This is my general impression of the schedule and students. I have only been there for 4 full days, and I think there would be more to learn and help with if I was there longer. 

On the first day the teacher had me do one activity with the children where we opened and closed our hands and said the words in Spanish (cerramos, abrimos). Then I sang the ABC song and the Itsy-Bitsy Spider song to them. They liked it. On Friday, July 15th I did some origami with them. I also went over 7 colors with them in English and Spanish. I chose the 7 colors from the Cusco Flag (Red-rojo, Orange-anaranjado, Yellow-amarillo, Green-verder, Blue-azul, Indigo-celeste, Violet-morado). I have been learning some Spanish from my experience here, and I am looking forward to this upcoming weeks volunteering. I will be changing classes and going to the class with the older students. I will report back!!! It is very interesting to be in an educational setting in a different culture, age of students, language, and teaching style! 

Summer Vacation 2o16

It has been a long time since I have blogged!!! 

I am currently on summer vacation... and I decided to continue another year working at Showalter Middle School in Tukwila, WA.  Now that I am on break and I have had time to reflect on my first year teaching... here are some learnings/musings:

+ My students and I are resilient. 

+ They are kids! They will react according to their emotions.

+ I do NOT have to grade everything.

+ Be myself.

+ Be firm, and loving.

+ Be consistent.

+ Be honest in a creative way.

+ Be ahead of the "game."

+ Hold them to high expectations.

+ State the behavior I want and give them choices when the behavior they choose isn't working.

I definitely was going to call it quits in January. I was ready to pack up and move back abroad. I was exhausted and at my wits end of being a teacher in the public school system. BUT something clicked. Something changed. I was putting too much pressure on myself to be the "perfect" teacher as a FIRST YEAR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER. I finally gave myself permission to make mistakes, and to be a learner as well. I've always been the type of person with a growth mindset, but at times... I do find myself caught up in a fixed mindset. How could I expect my students to make mistakes and learn if I myself was not willing to do the same? 

I am looking forward to year 2. As Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus would say, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" AND I intend to do so with year 2.

There is Good...

Some days I feel like I did everything wrong...
I need to remember to find the good, and try again tomorrow.

Teaching is hard.

Lately, I have been having a rough time with work and life. I am not sure what's bothering me... is it the struggle that most students aren't understanding the material? Is it the image I placed on having a perfect class that is making me feel bad? Is it that I am being too hard on myself about my lessons? Am I focusing on the little things rather than the big picture? Today, I gave myself permission to make mistakes. I know no one is perfect, and yet I was giving myself a hard time. I am my worst critic. I always struggled with finding positive things to say about myself, and maybe that was part of my upbringing... but it's not healthy... It's my first year teaching in PUBLIC SCHOOL. There's a whole lot of stuff I do not know... I have faith that things will get better, and I will learn how to adjust my lessons to meet the needs of my students. I also need to give myself room to breathe and not be so hard on myself. I need to remember to ...

Lesson Planning is FUN!

Dining/ Work Table

This was my table this afternoon as I was working on my lesson plans for tomorrow. It looks a bit overwhelming, but don't fret... it was the perfect set up for me. I have a nice open window that looks out to several trees, a river, the big blue sky, soft fluffy clouds, and two main roads. It turned out to be a nice day after all.  I should have worked more, but I took a break and went Labor Day shopping. Oh my... the stores looked like a tornado went through it!!! Thankfully, I was able to make it out with the items I purchased for my home and for my work without being tossed around too much. This is going to be my third week staying in this condo. It's quite nice, and I have a lovely neighbor who I hope to go on evening walks with. She owns several vending machines in Bellevue and stocks them on Sundays. I was able to go swimming yesterday at the local community pool, and it was amazing! Swimming is such a great exercise. I hope I can go at least once a week... The pool is actually located right next to where I work. The only thing is that the times for lap swimming are a bit later in the evening on the weekdays than I would like... I don't think I would like to stick around after work for 3 hours... We'll see what happens. Maybe I can make it a Friday and Sunday thing to do. 

Did I mention how my first two days of teaching went? Well, the first day was chaotic! Students coming in and out. Students lost. I was lost, and I didn't even need to change rooms. :) Overall, it was not the worse... Day 2 went more smoothly and it was really nice to get to see students again and get to talk to them a bit more. I think it'll get better as time goes on... granted there will always be an off day here and there. Cheers to finishing two days out of 180 school days! 

Bring on Week #2 of teaching!!! :)