The last few weeks have been full. This week is the end of the first quarter, so the end of grades and a lot of paperwork. I've been on top of my grades, but I did just get back a big, multi-faceted project from my kids. The individual comments take the longest, but we also have to grade the students on morality, punctuality, attitude, organization, and sociability. I think the school is being more organized about how grades are turned in this year, and that should help smooth things out for everyone, especially darling Marisol who is in charge of putting it all together and translating all the comments. We also have our year long plans to finish up for Friday.
Last weekend was Kyle (and my Daddy's!) birthday. I was the pinata lady and followed through with his request for a bird. Most of us were still tired after the short 3 week from the depths of horror. It wasn't really so bad, but we had observed during the month of October that each 4 day week was worse than the one before. The students were all off their rhythm, we also were off our game, and the 3 day week, started with a spelling bee for Library Week (which was a lot of fun and I was really proud of my students), was the hardest. It didn't help any that we arrived back in Copan late at night the night before we went back to school after 12 hours of traveling to Belize.
I know I won't get much sympathy for that one, and I don't expect to. Belize was incredible. It would be wonderful if we could spend more than one day there for the 24 hours of round trip traveling, alternating between boat and bus. I love Belize, and I adore Placencia. I got to go snorkeling for the first time and it blew me away. I got see a barracuda, a tarpin, two nurse sharks (I spotted one before anyone else. It was sleeping in the reef and our guide pulled him out and he swam away), a variety of sea cucumbers, urchins, anemones, different types of seastars, coral, and a host of tropical fish. It was an overcast day, so the water wasn't that shocking blue I saw the year before, but it did keep us from getting burnt.
The trip was great, I have no complaints. Plus we got to meet some locals (including Robinson Crusoe. He showed me three forms of ID, he's actually a Jr.). But I maintain it's brutal to travel 12 hours, get back late, and wake up for school the next day.
This week has been worlds better. I actually caught up on cleaning, laundry, and some of my schoolwork over the weekend, which losing a weekend meant I hadn't really done much for about 2 weeks. Plus, and most importantly, I caught up on sleep. I've been making it to bed at a beyond-reasonable hour (for me, you might judge my 8, 8:30 bedtime.) I've had more energy in class and my kids have been very responsive. I've been working after school on my plans, and I've gotten a lot done. However, most of the work I've been doing is not actually what should or will go into my year long plans. It's very useful for me, and therefore good to have done, but not so good for what I need to get done for Friday.
This weekend is Halloween, which is another reason I need to be sleeping now. All of the Peace Corps volunteers in Honduras will be here in Copan for this “satantic cult festival”. It's times like this I'm particularly glad that I live in Copan, because Mayors around the country are being encouraged to shut down any celebration of Halloween. Copan is touristy, and they make a lot of money this weekend. Plus, there is a more liberal side to this town that understands that just because people dress up, doesn't mean they are worshiping Satan.
I look forward to seeing many of the friends I met last year and figuring out what exactly I'm going to be. Kat and I have been out costume hunting once already and will go again this afternoon. I'm also looking for things I can re-wear and reuse. I might try to borrow something, but if it's something I need to buy, then it has to be worth the money.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Writing, hiking, building
The last few weeks have been trying. It's just been one of those “when it rains, it pours” times. So, in an effort to not get taken under, I've been trying to keep my focus on the things going well, because there are many.
I haven't really been getting much sleep this week. That's mostly my fault, but the nights I did actually go to bed at a good hour, I was unable to sleep and when I did sleep I dreamed poorly, but yesterday I took a two hour nap and last night I slept for 9 hours. Catching up is upon us.
I know I still have a long way to go with my teaching, but I am worlds better than I was a year ago, and better, even, than I was at the end of last year. Teaching a new class for science is giving me a different perspective too. When they came in, I had to adjust to them, and they've had to adjust to me. This class has a different personality than my class and I find myself having to teach them differently to keep their attention as a whole. This class, however, only has 5 students passing because almost no one turns in my homework. Emily is having similar issues with my class for Math. We've tried expressing that, yes, you do get a grade for this class, but they just don't get motivated. We make them write it down, when they go back to homeroom, I remind them of Math work they have and Emily reminds hers of Science. When they don't bring it in, remind them daily for a week, sometimes a few will bring it in then. I fear that it's going to take quarter grades, a lot of parent-teacher conferences, and about 15 science recuperation tests for anything to really change. But, if if it works, then I'll take it. I should probably just prepare a statement in Spanish to share with each parents I need to meet with about Science. The kids also had a chance to make up their quiz grades, and most did not.
However! For the first time in my teaching career, I gave a test that actually appears to have grades that completely reflect the student's understanding. The kids who get it, got good grades, the kids who don't get it and don't try, got very poor grades, and the kids who struggle, but work hard, got decent grades. Which, I can and will also share with the parents when it's meeting time.
I've also really been missing writing recently. I've been trying to get some of my old writing buddies to edit some of my work, but it's slow as they have no motivation to get it done and have other lives going
on. Plus, I just don't have that much to give because I haven't been writing much.
I found a word generator, that gives you 60 seconds to write the first things that come to mind, and I've started doing that a couple times a day. I'm also going back through my old notebooks where I wrote down ideas that never came to anything and looking up journals online to submit to/read their works. Kat and Emily are fiction writers, and Emily actually started a website for free expression concerning
domestic violence. She's printing an issue and is still working on it from here and I've volunteered my services since I worked in editing for two years at the Dos Passos Review and I miss it. Even though we're different genres, we've started playing with the idea of starting a mini-workshop here. I think that'd be great.
I've really gotten into stumbleupon.com and have spent the last couple of days just going through the categories “writing” and “poetry.” I've been reading more, writing more, and saving journals that I think I might like, or other tools (like a cliché finder, though it only does word-for-word cliches, not whole images, but that's okay).
I've also been hiking a lot recently. Yesterday a few of us went up searching for illusive waterfalls that we never found, but we did learn a little more about the flora and got to stretch the legs. Plus, Kat and I were able to geek out of the obsidian sprinkled road we were walking on. We just walked really slowly and picked up all the pieces we could find. Some were very clearly a part of tools, and the others are just pretty. We're thinking about going back up tomorrow and taking it more slowly.
I think, sometimes if you're missing something, you need to build it where you are. The tools are here.
I haven't really been getting much sleep this week. That's mostly my fault, but the nights I did actually go to bed at a good hour, I was unable to sleep and when I did sleep I dreamed poorly, but yesterday I took a two hour nap and last night I slept for 9 hours. Catching up is upon us.
I know I still have a long way to go with my teaching, but I am worlds better than I was a year ago, and better, even, than I was at the end of last year. Teaching a new class for science is giving me a different perspective too. When they came in, I had to adjust to them, and they've had to adjust to me. This class has a different personality than my class and I find myself having to teach them differently to keep their attention as a whole. This class, however, only has 5 students passing because almost no one turns in my homework. Emily is having similar issues with my class for Math. We've tried expressing that, yes, you do get a grade for this class, but they just don't get motivated. We make them write it down, when they go back to homeroom, I remind them of Math work they have and Emily reminds hers of Science. When they don't bring it in, remind them daily for a week, sometimes a few will bring it in then. I fear that it's going to take quarter grades, a lot of parent-teacher conferences, and about 15 science recuperation tests for anything to really change. But, if if it works, then I'll take it. I should probably just prepare a statement in Spanish to share with each parents I need to meet with about Science. The kids also had a chance to make up their quiz grades, and most did not.
However! For the first time in my teaching career, I gave a test that actually appears to have grades that completely reflect the student's understanding. The kids who get it, got good grades, the kids who don't get it and don't try, got very poor grades, and the kids who struggle, but work hard, got decent grades. Which, I can and will also share with the parents when it's meeting time.
I've also really been missing writing recently. I've been trying to get some of my old writing buddies to edit some of my work, but it's slow as they have no motivation to get it done and have other lives going
on. Plus, I just don't have that much to give because I haven't been writing much.
I found a word generator, that gives you 60 seconds to write the first things that come to mind, and I've started doing that a couple times a day. I'm also going back through my old notebooks where I wrote down ideas that never came to anything and looking up journals online to submit to/read their works. Kat and Emily are fiction writers, and Emily actually started a website for free expression concerning
domestic violence. She's printing an issue and is still working on it from here and I've volunteered my services since I worked in editing for two years at the Dos Passos Review and I miss it. Even though we're different genres, we've started playing with the idea of starting a mini-workshop here. I think that'd be great.
I've really gotten into stumbleupon.com and have spent the last couple of days just going through the categories “writing” and “poetry.” I've been reading more, writing more, and saving journals that I think I might like, or other tools (like a cliché finder, though it only does word-for-word cliches, not whole images, but that's okay).
I've also been hiking a lot recently. Yesterday a few of us went up searching for illusive waterfalls that we never found, but we did learn a little more about the flora and got to stretch the legs. Plus, Kat and I were able to geek out of the obsidian sprinkled road we were walking on. We just walked really slowly and picked up all the pieces we could find. Some were very clearly a part of tools, and the others are just pretty. We're thinking about going back up tomorrow and taking it more slowly.
I think, sometimes if you're missing something, you need to build it where you are. The tools are here.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A Random Mix, Ending on a Serious Note
Fun Facts:
*It's the tail end of the rainy season and I haven't bothered to replace my lost umbrella since I got here
*Fly bites lend to interesting results
*I'm finally breaking out of my Spanish-nervous-shell
Things I've been considering:
~I have a tv this year, and some of the shows are in Spanish, but there are a few channels that are almost exclusively English with Spanish Subtitles. When I watch these channels, I always read the subtitles. For a while, I was coming to the conclusion that Spanish isn't as dynamic as English. Subtleties to the language were being lost in translation. Otherwise, the translations were good. I couldn't figure why they would leave out the equivalent phrases unless they didn't exist. It's recently occurred to me that there are many different “Spanishes.” Guatemalan-Spanish is different from Honduran-Spanish, is different from Spain-Spanish, is different from Ecuadorian-Spanish. So, I'm now taking comfort in that the subtitles probably use the most direct and simple form of what is being said so it can be understood by a broader audience instead of choosing the colloquialisms that may only work for a couple of countries.
~I love taking pictures. I love the act of taking pictures. I love cropping them down to just capture the best parts of the scene. I have really enjoyed playing with space and light in my pictures. Feel free to give me tips!
~Probably the most important is: No sex ed leads to absolutely incredible rumors and beliefs among the students. Things you or I wouldn't even consider.
In a sixth grade classroom discussion, HIV/AIDS came up and the teacher was quickly informed that men, or boys, cannot get HIV. Every student in the room believed it was true.
The seventh grader boys, during their library time, all gather around the book called “Where Babies Come From” but refuse to check it out because they don't want anyone else to know they are curious.
There's a lot of controversy about how sex ed is taught, or what it should entail. In this conservative society, it always been strongly suggested to me that I just avoid all topics that could lead to those topics (though, I do teach younger children, but they are getting old enough to start being very curious.) But nothing is not good enough. It never occurred to be how little is understood if no one at school OR home will talk about it. It is not okay.
The teachers have begun to get very concerned about the lack of sex ed. With so little understanding of how things work that an entire class can believe that males cannot contract HIV, the consequences have the potential to be horrible. We've started to push the administration to allow a sex ed class, starting in 6th grade and continuing into secondary. Someone needs to teach these kids the facts of live, or at least, the consequences.
*It's the tail end of the rainy season and I haven't bothered to replace my lost umbrella since I got here
*Fly bites lend to interesting results
*I'm finally breaking out of my Spanish-nervous-shell
Things I've been considering:
~I have a tv this year, and some of the shows are in Spanish, but there are a few channels that are almost exclusively English with Spanish Subtitles. When I watch these channels, I always read the subtitles. For a while, I was coming to the conclusion that Spanish isn't as dynamic as English. Subtleties to the language were being lost in translation. Otherwise, the translations were good. I couldn't figure why they would leave out the equivalent phrases unless they didn't exist. It's recently occurred to me that there are many different “Spanishes.” Guatemalan-Spanish is different from Honduran-Spanish, is different from Spain-Spanish, is different from Ecuadorian-Spanish. So, I'm now taking comfort in that the subtitles probably use the most direct and simple form of what is being said so it can be understood by a broader audience instead of choosing the colloquialisms that may only work for a couple of countries.
~I love taking pictures. I love the act of taking pictures. I love cropping them down to just capture the best parts of the scene. I have really enjoyed playing with space and light in my pictures. Feel free to give me tips!
~Probably the most important is: No sex ed leads to absolutely incredible rumors and beliefs among the students. Things you or I wouldn't even consider.
In a sixth grade classroom discussion, HIV/AIDS came up and the teacher was quickly informed that men, or boys, cannot get HIV. Every student in the room believed it was true.
The seventh grader boys, during their library time, all gather around the book called “Where Babies Come From” but refuse to check it out because they don't want anyone else to know they are curious.
There's a lot of controversy about how sex ed is taught, or what it should entail. In this conservative society, it always been strongly suggested to me that I just avoid all topics that could lead to those topics (though, I do teach younger children, but they are getting old enough to start being very curious.) But nothing is not good enough. It never occurred to be how little is understood if no one at school OR home will talk about it. It is not okay.
The teachers have begun to get very concerned about the lack of sex ed. With so little understanding of how things work that an entire class can believe that males cannot contract HIV, the consequences have the potential to be horrible. We've started to push the administration to allow a sex ed class, starting in 6th grade and continuing into secondary. Someone needs to teach these kids the facts of live, or at least, the consequences.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Three Day Weekend
This weekend had another hike up to Yanatios to see Dona Lucas. This time with 4 new teachers. We told her that we would be back up in 3 weeks. Hopefully that will work out. I find it incredibly refreshing to go up there.
Sunday, we went on a horse tour up to another aldea for Sarah Harrington's 30th birthday. This was a couple of first for me. I haven't been on a horse tour and I haven't been to this aldea. The only downside was that my camera died within 5 minutes of us starting out.
When I first got on my horse, I was worthless. My horse only moved when the guide, Enrique, told it to. Every time Enrique was away helping someone else, my horse, Lito, would stop or slow down again. I got to chat with Enrique a bit in Spanish, which was fun. He asked if we knew any songs, but I don't know any sing-alongs in Spanish.
On the way back down, I was good at directing my horse, and having him listen, and slowing him down (since it was downhill). Enrique was adamant about the importance of going slow on the downhill, especially for those of us who hadn't known what we were doing when we got started. When we got back to flat, we started testing going faster. After I'd been experimenting
some, and even galloped a few steps, he asked if I wanted to gallop again and I did and we went a little ways like that. It was a lot of fun. The whole extravaganza was less than $10.
Enrique also says they're going to be starting up a school for riding in November. He hasn't worked out logistics or pricing, but he'll come up to Mayatan to talk to us about it later in October. I can see
being interesting and so are 4 or 5 other teachers. It might actually be cheap enough here for it to be worth it to me, but we'll see.
Sunday, we went on a horse tour up to another aldea for Sarah Harrington's 30th birthday. This was a couple of first for me. I haven't been on a horse tour and I haven't been to this aldea. The only downside was that my camera died within 5 minutes of us starting out.
When I first got on my horse, I was worthless. My horse only moved when the guide, Enrique, told it to. Every time Enrique was away helping someone else, my horse, Lito, would stop or slow down again. I got to chat with Enrique a bit in Spanish, which was fun. He asked if we knew any songs, but I don't know any sing-alongs in Spanish.
On the way back down, I was good at directing my horse, and having him listen, and slowing him down (since it was downhill). Enrique was adamant about the importance of going slow on the downhill, especially for those of us who hadn't known what we were doing when we got started. When we got back to flat, we started testing going faster. After I'd been experimenting
some, and even galloped a few steps, he asked if I wanted to gallop again and I did and we went a little ways like that. It was a lot of fun. The whole extravaganza was less than $10.
Enrique also says they're going to be starting up a school for riding in November. He hasn't worked out logistics or pricing, but he'll come up to Mayatan to talk to us about it later in October. I can see
being interesting and so are 4 or 5 other teachers. It might actually be cheap enough here for it to be worth it to me, but we'll see.
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