Thursday I had a terrible day. I'm pretty sure it started on Tuesday. We didn't have school on Monday so 1) my kids were thrown off and 2) I was thrown off. I usually use Fridays to plan everything, which I did, but I also use Mondays to put everything in order- copies, homeworks*,review my plans, blah blah blah. Suffice to say, without Monday, I just could not get it together! By Thursday I was back on track, but my kids still weren't. The day started off with me passing back tests and a girl telling me it was my fault that she didn't get a good grade. This is the third time (with three different students) this has happened, and it made me so mad! She also made a dirty face, AND it was in front of the other students. So... I marched her out into the hallway and talked her about being disrespectful. Good start. Another thing about Thursdays is that I don't have any breaks. Usually because of the Spanish classes or PE, I have time to work, but on Thursdays I teach all day with my sixth grade and the music classes. My kids were really obnoxious and talkative, so I knew it was going to be a long day with them if I didn't gain control soon, so I was pretty mean after asking them 3 times to stop talking. There's a saying in education that you should be a witch until Holloween- but I just don't enjoy that very much! However, I was too nice last year, so I decided to do the whole witch thing. Thursday.... it was easy :)
I had a bunch of kids with allergies that were sneezing- which is fine, I can't be mad about that. However, all the other kids in class decided the sneezing and coughing was a good way to get attention so I had a whole class of sneezers and coughers. One student decided to take it to the next level and started gagging over his desk... complete with spit dribbling out of his mouth onto the floor. He went out to the hall! (after bringing in paper towel to clean up his drool)
In reading, I had 6 students that hadn't done their homework. Common occurence (my kids do NOT do their homework!) so they got recess taken away. I also tried to read a story and have a discussion, and I had to stop every two minutes to write names on the board of people talking during the story... I got to 8 students on the board in 20 minutes(an average day is 2-5 in an entire morning).
In language class, we are learning about quotation marks so I had copies of a story with a lot of dialogue and I called 5 people up to the front to act out the drama The other students had to highlight the talking parts and add quotation marks.... didn't happen. The people in front tried to read and no one paid attention. I think I had 15 out of my 24 students talking. I had the drama kids sit down and everyone put their heads down. I'm pretty sure they had their heads down for a good five minutes and then I lectured. I told them how disappointed I was with their behavior throughout the week, and that I was very frustrated that I couldn't do fun things for a class. I told them I was going to be a mean teacher for the rest of the day so to look out!!
We had recess next, and then it was back to a three-hour block of class. I had scheduled to play a game for spelling, but instead just had them study silently at their desk and turn in a sheet with the words copied. In science, we are learning about insects and the different orders of insects. I had a poster board and had asked students to bring insects to put in the chart. IT WAS CHAOS. The kids were throwing bugs at each other, not getting their notebooks out to copy descriptions, and not paying attention to me yelling at the front of the board. So.... I took the chart down, put the insects away, and told them they had to do the chart on their own.
ANYWAY, it was just a bad day. I think I was most frustrated by the fact that I really wanted to do some great activities- not so my kids would like me, but because I really think it is better to learn through activities instead of just reading out of the book. So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fix that problem. I've done a lot of positive reinforcement, both individually and collectively; I've punished individually and as a group; I've had serious talks about respect.... nothing has really worked. It just looks like it's going to be a problem, and I don't think it's fair to the 6-7 students that are attentive and ready for class every day.
Am I just beating the teacher-horse dead? :)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
copan ruinas
Sorry I haven't written for awhile. I always get to the stage where I've opened up my computer, gotten myself situated to write a blog (in bed, itunes, something to drink), and opened my blog page and then... I just sit here. I feel like I have nothing to write- or too much to write :) I think the second year around thing is difficult because most of my experiences are basically the same (well at least the exciting ones), so they don't seem blog-worthy :) This last weekend for example- I visited Copan Ruinas for the fourth time (the town that has the Mayan Ruins). It was a really wonderful trip- we had Monday off from school, so Shelly, Catelin, Jennifer, Tyler, Maggie and I were able to take a trip. It was actually kind of fun because I was able to be the little tour guide as far as setting up a place to stay and giving options for what we could do while we were there. We ended up staying at my favorite hostel, Iguana Azul, going to the ruins (with a tour guide... I memorized everything he said so when all my friends and family come to visit me, we don't have to pay more :)), and going on a horse tour with a silent, walking guide. (little disappointing :)) It was a nice way to relax and hang out with all the teachers without talking about school all the time. :) I've held off on sharing my innermost secrets with this group of teachers for awhile (which, I know, is a huge surprise to anyone that knows me!) but this weekend was a nice time for all of us to open up a little bit more and just enjoy the company!
Copan Ruinas is a big tourist pull for Honduras, so there's actually a lot of people (shopkeepers, hotel and restaurant owners, moto taxi drivers) that speak English. That part of the touristyness (yes, I know that's not a real word) of the town was pleasant, but one thing I did not enjoy was the tourist side of things. There were big groups of English speakers (Americans or Europeans) everywhere and it made me so uncomfortable! I think the reason is that I want to fit into the culture and prove that I'm kind of a part of Honduran culture :) So, I tried to do things that would prove I had been in the country longer than a week :) The funniest part was that I didn't realize I was being so 'defensive' until the end of the trip. In Honduras, when you passed someone on the street you always say, "Adios" instead of "Hola" and anytime you see someone eat (doesn't matter if you know them, if you're walking to your table at a restaurant, or if they're eating on the side of the street) you always say "Buen Provecho" (Have a good meal). So, I tried to excessively greet people while walking around town. Also, they have all their prices in dollars, but I insisted on only being told the Lempira price (well that one was reasonable; I don't have any dollars here :)). I even asked if they had pataste at one of the restaurants, which is a kind of vegetable that I'd never heard of until coming here. :) SO, it was an experience. I wasn't expecting to feel such a loyalty toward the Honduran side of things :)
Speaking of, I bought some typical (I don't know what this translates into in English, the kind of things they had in the olden-days haha. So in the US, maybe hoop skirts or bonnets or something :)) sandals to wear for our Fiesta Tipica next weekend. We sell typical food, the kids do typical dances, and we wear typical costumes! Should be fun :)
Copan Ruinas is a big tourist pull for Honduras, so there's actually a lot of people (shopkeepers, hotel and restaurant owners, moto taxi drivers) that speak English. That part of the touristyness (yes, I know that's not a real word) of the town was pleasant, but one thing I did not enjoy was the tourist side of things. There were big groups of English speakers (Americans or Europeans) everywhere and it made me so uncomfortable! I think the reason is that I want to fit into the culture and prove that I'm kind of a part of Honduran culture :) So, I tried to do things that would prove I had been in the country longer than a week :) The funniest part was that I didn't realize I was being so 'defensive' until the end of the trip. In Honduras, when you passed someone on the street you always say, "Adios" instead of "Hola" and anytime you see someone eat (doesn't matter if you know them, if you're walking to your table at a restaurant, or if they're eating on the side of the street) you always say "Buen Provecho" (Have a good meal). So, I tried to excessively greet people while walking around town. Also, they have all their prices in dollars, but I insisted on only being told the Lempira price (well that one was reasonable; I don't have any dollars here :)). I even asked if they had pataste at one of the restaurants, which is a kind of vegetable that I'd never heard of until coming here. :) SO, it was an experience. I wasn't expecting to feel such a loyalty toward the Honduran side of things :)
Speaking of, I bought some typical (I don't know what this translates into in English, the kind of things they had in the olden-days haha. So in the US, maybe hoop skirts or bonnets or something :)) sandals to wear for our Fiesta Tipica next weekend. We sell typical food, the kids do typical dances, and we wear typical costumes! Should be fun :)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
girls just wanna have fun
I learned two new words/phrases this week that will forever remind me of fall.
leche de burra (donkey's milk) or if you prefer...
leche de ornitorrinco (platypus milk!)
Why do these remind me of fall? Well, my parents sent me a birthday package (that got here right on my birthday!) that included, among other things of delight, caramel apple suckers. YUMMM. I was eating one at the neighbor's the other day and apparently a slang way to say caramel is donkey or platypus milk. I did not know the word ornitorrinco (the way they were saying it, I thought they were talking about ornito Ringo so I was trying to figure out how the conversation had gotten on the Beetles!) but eventually they were able to describe it to me ... the animal that lives in the sea that has a face of a duck but its a mammal... and then I finally made the connection that they were talking about my sucker. :)
I've really been enjoying my time with the neighbors. Now that I can actually understand most of the conversation and participate a little bit, I like to just go next door or down the road and sit in the kitchen at night with the other women and socialize. It's actually a new experience for me because I don't really talk that much... I just listen. I've noticed in my English conversations that I have a very 'I can top that story!' attitude and I ALWAYS have something to say. I don't think I would have noticed that flaw about myself if I hadn't been forced to sit and realize that I can enjoy the conversation even if I'm not joining in. I've actually done quite a few things in the last couple weeks. I made baleadas in Sonja's kitchen (not very well, they made fun of my slowness but hey... it's a start :)), and then we just sat around and talked after supper while eating oranges with a yummy sauce (pepper, salt, hot chile sauce, a little garlic). This weekend we had a birthday party for one of my friends/another teacher Ana and a girl in K5 named Ana Sugey (sue-hey). The women prepared plates of food for everyone at the party.... we had yucca (which is a root that tastes kind of like potato), cabbage, fried pork, a lemon slice and a tomato slice. I helped out at the house instead of really doing much at the party and it was so fun. The women just joked around and completely include me in their life. Last night, Sonja, her sister Sandra, and her cousin Ellie came over to 'play' beauty salon- they painted all our nails and straightened our hair- just for fun, and just to enjoy one another's company.
I'm happy I'm able to have better relationships with my neighbors this year. :)
leche de burra (donkey's milk) or if you prefer...
leche de ornitorrinco (platypus milk!)
Why do these remind me of fall? Well, my parents sent me a birthday package (that got here right on my birthday!) that included, among other things of delight, caramel apple suckers. YUMMM. I was eating one at the neighbor's the other day and apparently a slang way to say caramel is donkey or platypus milk. I did not know the word ornitorrinco (the way they were saying it, I thought they were talking about ornito Ringo so I was trying to figure out how the conversation had gotten on the Beetles!) but eventually they were able to describe it to me ... the animal that lives in the sea that has a face of a duck but its a mammal... and then I finally made the connection that they were talking about my sucker. :)
I've really been enjoying my time with the neighbors. Now that I can actually understand most of the conversation and participate a little bit, I like to just go next door or down the road and sit in the kitchen at night with the other women and socialize. It's actually a new experience for me because I don't really talk that much... I just listen. I've noticed in my English conversations that I have a very 'I can top that story!' attitude and I ALWAYS have something to say. I don't think I would have noticed that flaw about myself if I hadn't been forced to sit and realize that I can enjoy the conversation even if I'm not joining in. I've actually done quite a few things in the last couple weeks. I made baleadas in Sonja's kitchen (not very well, they made fun of my slowness but hey... it's a start :)), and then we just sat around and talked after supper while eating oranges with a yummy sauce (pepper, salt, hot chile sauce, a little garlic). This weekend we had a birthday party for one of my friends/another teacher Ana and a girl in K5 named Ana Sugey (sue-hey). The women prepared plates of food for everyone at the party.... we had yucca (which is a root that tastes kind of like potato), cabbage, fried pork, a lemon slice and a tomato slice. I helped out at the house instead of really doing much at the party and it was so fun. The women just joked around and completely include me in their life. Last night, Sonja, her sister Sandra, and her cousin Ellie came over to 'play' beauty salon- they painted all our nails and straightened our hair- just for fun, and just to enjoy one another's company.
I'm happy I'm able to have better relationships with my neighbors this year. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
