Friday, February 19, 2010

¡Hola, Teacher Michelle! 

I can’t believe it, but Laura and I are about to start our 3rd week of classes this upcoming week!  It’s been an adventure so far…with there being no textbooks; Laura and I decided to be creative.  Traditionally, the “teacher” aka professor de Ingles or “voluntarías” spend most of their class time doing one of two things: writing on the board or asking the students to behave…these are unavoidable tasks that most teachers encounter, but we hoped to make our class a little more productive.  

The first problem we wanted to address, was not having books. A good 20+ minutes or more are wasted by writing parts of the lesson and vocabulary on the board - and because they misspelled BOTH the English and Spanish, an additional 15+ minutes was needed to check all the notebooks.  We had to make sure they were studying the correct information. Eeeek! So, Laura and I then concluded that having our lesson and vocabulary printed clearly on handouts would help tremendously.  The school lacked the funs for this as well, but thanks to family & friends we've been able to provide the handouts and folders for the students! Thank you! :)

And, in order to keep them in their seats, Laura and I made each student a “book” or rather a folder with their new English name, aka “Mike Ramirez”.  (I had a Spanish name for 10 years, Angela Balch, so I figured they could have fun with this! Muhaa! :) Inside their “book” includes each lesson, double sided with their new vocabulary and a practice activity.  As well as a double sided sheet for their “homework” or class work, which they complete in class…the concept of homework isn’t quite what it is in the States, therefore forcing them to complete the “homework” in class, forces them to WORK and if they fail to complete the small assignment, they receive a 0% - “¡lo siento!” This has helped tremendously with their behavior – of course they’re not always little lambs, but their getting there! Poco a Poco! :)

& while I teach, I always make sure to bring my mirth! ;)

“You must have mirth. If you do not have mirth you will certainly have madness.” - Chesterton (Thanks for the quote Mary! :)