I haven't posted anything since February 24th and, boy, there is a lot to talk about. I am going to try to summarize the past month in three parts over the next three nights. If I feel as good Tuesday and Wednesday night as I do tonight I won't have any problems getting this done. If, for some strange reason, I am dog tired after work I hope you will forgive me if it takes a bit longer.
I began school on the 1st of March. I am teaching all of 6th grade English and science and, in total, I have 48 alumnos (students). I have been with them almost a month now and, all in all, everything is going well. Most of the students speak and understand English well, but I still try to speak slowly and clearly just to make sure that very little is lost in translation. My biggest task with the students is controlling the extra side chatter. It is amazing how much the kids love to talk; and it is even more amazing how much they love to talk when I am talking! As of now, it is not where I want it to be, but I can, definitely, tell there has been an improvement. It seems to me that the constant chatter is a part of their culture and is accepted by many adults, so it will be difficult to curb. But, I guarantee that it will not continue with me. Luckily, I have a lot of support from administration and other, veteran, teachers at Fleming. It feels good to have other teachers give you their nod of approval, especially, when you are new to the profession and new to the school. I understand that being very strict is the best policy in the classroom, but I really don't like it and it gets very exhausting. Regardless, I can't stop now. If I do I will have a tough year ahead of me.
The others areas of my school day are going very well. I really enjoy the folks I work with. There is always a joke to be told (even if I don't really get it because it's in Spanish) and always someone willing to answer a question for me.
In so many ways, Fleming is very much like any other school in the US. Students are always moving about, going to art, P.E., or the computer lab. Kids run in the hallways, wear hats indoors, and don't pick up their trash after lunch. Sometimes, everything around me feels so normal that I don't feel like I am in another country, at all. That, quickly, changes when another teacher comes up to me and tells me something in Spanish that I don't understand and walks away before I have a chance to conjure up a "si, gracias" or "ya, entinendo"(yes, thank you and ok, i understand).
There are, also, many ways that it is different. I have never been to a school where students eat their lunch 9:45am during their 15min break and play during their 45min lunch. Students are encouraged to play basketball, soccer, volleyball, and just have fun during their lunch time. We have a cafeteria, but it is not, widely, used by the students. This is the total opposite end of the spectrum from public schools in NC where students sit, quietly, with their class in the lunchroom. I am sure they, both, have their pros and cons, but my students are much more docile when they return from lunch. Another way the school is different from what I am used to is the fact that I can leave for lunch, if I wish. There are five to ten restaurants with in walking distance of the school where I can get a delicious meal for 7soles($2.65), or less. 7soles is about what it costs for me to eat in a lunchroom in NC. If I were teaching in an elementary school in NC right now my day would be very different. I would not leave my students unless they went to specials (art, P.E., music). I would not change classes or get a chance to use the restroom. I don't, necessarily, believe Fleming does it better than anyone else; it is just different and that's one of the reasons I came down here. I wanted something different.
Tune in next time and hear Mr. Jewell say, "No, no, no, no, no. We will not have any of that in this class."
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| Right after the end of the first day of school. The walls are not that bare now. I have done my best to fill them up with student work. |
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| This is the view from my classroom. I really like the it, but it gets very loud out there where students are moving up and down the stairs and P.E. class is being held on the basketball court. |
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| This is called "pancito con hamburgesa" and it is the closest thing I have found to a sausage biscuit in Peru. It is a small, crusty bun with a type of spicy hanmburger in it. Most mornings this is my breakfast, along with a big glass of fresh juice. Three pancitos and juice costs about 5soles ($1.88). |
