SCHOOL:
Tonight we were exchanging info on what we'd been teaching our young students these past few weeks. The girls said they'd been teaching them opposites and school supply vocabulary and reading time. I said last week mine all made an American flag, learned that there were 50 states and 13 original "baby" states for the 50 stars and 13 stripes. They learned that Spain's flag is red and yellow and that the US's flag is red, white and blue. And this week? I had no idea what I would teach until I walked into the classroom and heard all the kids asking if they got to have me in their classroom. I was dreading it. I kept my head down in the hallway, but once I got to the first primary class, their big smiles and waves and asking if they got to be with me today and telling me that my hair looked beautiful today... it all made me calm down. It made me start to shift my perspective - if even just a tiny bit.
I pulled out some maps and told them it was map week. They all got excited. I asked if any of them had traveled to the USA and showed the class where their classmates had been. I told them to color in the map in anyway they wanted. I showed them how Spain is about the size of Texas and how Spain has 47 million people while the USA has over 311 million people. They were actually interested to learn about it. And began coloring in each state with a different color and reading the names and looking at the pictures.
So in two hour long classes with 5-8 year olds, we've covered the US Flag, the US Map and Spain vs. the US population and size wise. Compared to what I've been hearing from other people in my group teaching the same age range, I actually don't suck at being a teacher. And this is surprising news, considering I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing whatsoever.
In my mind, the grammar and the vocabulary and everything else will come in time, but the most important thing is getting little kids interested in exploring their world. Motivation. I remember one of the first French classes I had at the age of 15. We learned about what French people have at cafes. And I was instantly enchanted. I wanted to go to the streets of Paris to sip on their orange drink and feast on a croissant. And so I started studying French as earnestly as I could.
I want to do something similar for these kids. I want them to see America as an adventure and to see learning English as more or less a game. I don't know how to impliment these desires, but I guess I'm not totally starting off incorrectly.
After school it was tutoring time. I put words on sticky notes and tried to get the two kids to form questions and statements about age. It didn't work, but the girl said she really liked the game and could we do it next week. It's the most interest I've gotten out of her, so I guess it wasn't a complete fail of a session after all.
TEACHERS:
At lunch Sara glanced over at me and gasped. "What happened!?" she asked, with wide eyes. She scooted her tray closer to mine and moved over a seat. For having known the woman for two weeks, her ability to see that something was seriously up and her geniune concern and interest were amazing. <3
As the teachers were headed back to pick up the kids from recess, one of my favorite teachers to speak English with stopped to ask how my weekend had been. She told me she was going to religion class next, and that she hated teaching it because she wasn't religious herself and didn't believe any of it. She went on to say that she had to teach about creationism and nature and just wanted to tell the kids that if they didn't respect nature God would send them to hell. Hahaha. Her bluntness was absolutely hilarious. People that can be witty in English when it's not their first language get infinite brownie points with me. I wish I could be half that intelligent and quick-witted in Spanish!
AFTER SCHOOL:
Between being dropped off by the school bus and heading over to my tutoring session with the two kids, I sat on a bench in the sun and began conversation with myself. Usually not eating for 24 hours is a pretty good sign it's time to cut the crap with myself and listen. And what I heard made me smile. Sometimes I feel like I'm becoming an adult, and in doing so, write the little girl inside of me off as being too idealistic to understand anymore. Boy had that poor little girl been told to shut up for a long while. I felt weight falling from my shoulders as I listened to her telling me to please start living again. Last night I watched West Coast Swing videos for almost an hour and it reminded me of what it feels like when I'm passionate about something I'm confident in. Step by step - not by punishing myself, but by cultivating myself. <3
XOXO
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