Sunday, June 13, 2010

"Quote: No [teacher] of [English] in [rural Mexico] is cagey, crafty [Señorita Schultheis]. Un-quote. Close paragraph."

Well, week five was a success. In addition to going to the telesecundaria in Santa Rosa twice a week to observe/teach English classes, I got to teach 3 times this week in the primaria in El Encino. The kids are great. A little shy, but that will change with time. They were really eager to learn English. So were the teachers, since they will have to teach it next year and know about as much as the kids. I felt my personality come out for the first time when I was teaching the 4-6 graders. I made jokes in Spanish. They made jokes back at me. They had excellent pronunciation. It wasn't hard to keep them engaged. I really like this age. I'm going to be going to the 1-3 grade classroom MWF from 12-1 and to the 4-6 grade classroom on MWF 9:30-10:30. That's plenty of time for me go to back and eat some fruit with Liset, one of the 6th graders, while preparing for my next class before 12. It's really great experience, too. This is what I want to do with adults some day. Here I am, in another country, where the teachers almost beg me to come teach. It wouldn't happen in the States. We have forms to fill out. Liabilities to worry about. Kids parents to sign forms. Consultations with teacher and principals. I understand why we have that in the States, but it also borders psychotic in comparison to the ease of the system in these ranchos. 2 completely different worlds. When I went back to the 1-3 grade class the 2nd time, I brought candy for anyone who could say their numbers 1-10 by memory. I had asked Karina in advance what kind to buy, and she told me fruit-flavored caramels. I did it outside the classroom, one at a time, that way nobody would be embarrassed if they messed up. Several of them did it no problem. More than half needed a little help. A couple clearly had no idea, but saw the piña fruit taffy and decided to give it a go. It was good. I got to know a lot of kids names and talk to them each for a bit. They waited for me by the gate after school and tried to get me to give them more candy. They were hilarious. I told them if they could count to 20 they could have more. Since they couldn't, I told them I'd just have to bring more candy next time for anyone who could. They didn't seem so sad.
I realize that teaching kids how to count in English when there is a tangible reward is much different from my goal of some day teaching immigrants English to help them in the supermarket, to find their way to a job interview, or to talk to a doctor when their child is sick. But, through my experiences teaching these kids the alphabet and how to say please and thank you, I am being reassured that I love what I am doing. I love teaching people to understand one another. I love that moment when a child who has been struggling to translate a phrase suddenly "gets it." You can see the lightbulb go off in their head, and you're so proud of them when they rattle off every possible use of this newly acquired vocabulary. The brain is a wonderful thing. Truly.

3 comments:

  1. Natalie,FYI I think you're amazing and I admire you a lot! What you're doing down there is so cool!

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  2. Thanks, Lauryn! Sorry I'm so late in commenting back. It's a really great experience, and I'm loving every minute with the 1-3 grade kids. They're so funny.

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  3. Your description of your love of teaching, seeing the lightbulb come on and being proud of your kids is exactly why I loved teaching. Alice Wootton

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