Monday, October 20, 2008

Back into the Classroom

It feels so awesome to be back in the classroom!!!  I really miss that part of my life and I am so happy to be back in that role again, even if it is pretty crazy and hectic!  Because of they way our visas are written, we cannot earn a salary/money while we are living in Peru, so all of our work has to be volunteer.  It is a ministry to the schools, as they don't have to pay a salary and they get a well-qualified teacher.  So happy to be teaching:
  • On Mondays and Wednesdays, I am A SCIENCE TEACHER AGAIN!!!  Hallelujah!!!  I have 18 students in a multi-age classroom (2nd-5th graders all in the same room).  It is fantastic to again teach about vertebrates and invertebrates, animal classifications, life cycles, etc., even if it is in a different language.  I have to do as much studying as the kids do to prepare for my lessons because the vocabulary is all new to me!
  • On Wednesday mornings, I teach English at Sarah's school.  I have 22 students, ages 3-6 years old.  Preschool/kindergarten teaching all over again!
  • On Thursday afternoons, Billy and I have 2 kids who come to the house to learn English.  One is 13 years old and one is 8.  They asked if they could bring siblings or friends, so we'll see how many we have this week....
  • Also on Thursday afternoons, we have Maria.  Maria is a widow/mother of 7 children who is "illiterate" (she cannot read or write, even her own name).  She has decided to try to learn, although she is convinced that she cannot.  So far, she can write her name!!!  She is very excited with this accomplishment and we see her spirit growing with empowerment! She is ready to learn to read and write her children's names now.
It is great to be teaching again!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome! Busy lady! Ditto to us! We are thinking of teaching English in the local school in Armenia Bonito. It's only a 2-classroom schoolroom, but looks like it's in serious need! Way to go girl!

Sean Moore said...

Hey guys. I am at ILE for the week and I just met the guy whose family is going to be your partners. We talked all about you guys and it made me miss you. Hope everything is going well, it's awesome that you get to teach again. Later