2 Days in.... (THE CLASSROOM!!!)

Hey Ready Readers! (sorry... getting into 5th grade mode)

Here's an overview of my professional schedule down here (as opposed to my personal):

We have Summer Institute, a 6 week span of teacher training, before school starts. This is my third week so far. For the first two weeks we had pretty intense pedagogical theory and practical techniques workshops for many hours a day. We have two trainers fly in from Tegucigalpa, the capital, and they're doing a really great job giving us all a crash course on teaching and helping us feel prepared. They're gringas and both have been working in Honduras and the states for a good number of years. That's one of the many things I really appreciate about BECA (an impressively well-run non-profit), just having them here to guide us because sometimes I feel so lost and unqualified. Here's my schedule:

2 weeks of workshops (check)
2 weeks of practice teaching (current): Summer Academy
1 week of individual preparation time
1 week of working at school (to prepare the classroom, get the final touches ready for the big first day and first units of class)

Yesterday was the first day of the Summer Academy. The Academy just two classes, one for the teachers who will teach the younger grades to practice in, and the other for the teachers of the older students (including me--5th grade). In my class, we have about 15 students who are risng 6th and 7th graders come everyday from 1-4pm. I teach most of the Language Arts periods and will also be guess teaching Math and Science before the end of the Academy so I get practice in all the core subjects. As yesterday was the first day of the Academy, we (me and 3 other teachers) did a lot of ice breakers and introductions. I had the whole class to myself for the first time today and it went much better than I expected.

Notes about my theme and today's activities:
-Unit Goal: prepare students to present to new teachers at the first assembly!
-Major themes: different types of questions, interview techniques, presentation techniques
-Today: Intro of topic, flow chart of what's to come, intro of new vocab, puppet show of gossip conversation, circle discussion of puppet show, and idea storm of topics to ask new teachers
-My feelings: FUN!!! I had a really good time interacting with the kids, trying to keep them engaged, and doing my best to spark conversation. They got really excited about one of the vocab words: flirting, and really enjoyed the puppet show. Excited about having my own class and creating a class culture!!!! yay!

I was feeling pretty overwhelmed a few days ago about teaching in general and about being observed during the academy but today went really well. I'm learning how to engage kids at the 11-13 age group and didn't even really notice the observers.

That's all for now. Some preview of awesome topics you'll enjoy reading about:
1. how i chipped my front tooth
2. honduran wedding + national curfew = ???
3. and other general things about my life here....

Oh, and yesterday when I was walking home, I ran into 6 people I knew. First time I felt a part of the community.

Nos vemos,

Jess