I slowly focus my mind on prayer for the 15 minute ride to Kelley's apartment, even though my driver always has the radio on to Venezuela's equivalent of KDWB (Minnesota's hip-hop and popular music station). I let my eyes glide over the fenced in apartments and houses in Valencia, even though I've seen them every day for 3 months. The pinks, greens and yellows of the stucco paint are as familiar to me now as the tan and white sidings of the houses in my neighborhood in Minnesota. I still wince occasionally when we enter intersections, knowing that we are lucky to avoid collisions every day.
We arrive at Kelley's apartment at 6:45, but must wait till the official 6:50 pick up time unless she's early. I look at the spiky Bismark palm tree, marveling over how its leaves can stick straight up day after day without getting notched or bent. I look up the street and feel like I'm downtown. Kelley's neighborhood is a mass of 15 story apartments, set next to each other like sardines. Looking up the street is looking into a fortress of these towers, all cream yellows and mild rusty orange colors. For some reason, nearly every apartment has that same color scheme.
Once the big green gate at the school slowly opens, the guard waves hello and lets us through. Kelley and I bid our driver and each other good bye. I walk to the elementary building, and Kelley walks up the steep hill to the secondary campus. I unlock the door to my classroom and begin the routine of my work day.
I turn on my computer, then put away my purse and unload my backpack while it sluggishly turns on. Most days I have some short errands to run before school starts: finding new books for reading groups, printing off my lesson plans for the day, filling my water bottle, sometimes asking a question next door to Craig (the other 2nd grade teacher) or Andrea (the 1st grade teacher who's class is nearest to me, and who also acts as the coordinator for for a variety of organizations and activities at CIC).
After I've been in and out of my classroom for about 10 minutes, the first student walks in. I say hi to him or her and ask them how they're doing. The kid puts away his or her backpack and then goes outside to play 4 square with the other kids. As I continue to run errands and get ready for the day; the rest of my kids filter in, put their things away and join the 4 square games.
The
first bell rings at 7:50am, signaling for the kids to come inside and go to
their classrooms. Our bell is “old school.” Instead of the speaker system, it
is an actual bell that sounds like the old fashioned fire alarms. It is so loud
that if you happen to be walking past it when it rings, your brain will send a
distress signal and you will reach to cover your ears!
Five
minutes later the bell rings again to signal the official start to the school
day. I step to the front of the class, looking to see who is reading a book so
I can clip them up for following directions. I have a behavior chart. Each
student has his or her own clip and can be clipped in “good,” “awesome,” “try
again,” “think about it,” or “meet with principal.”
The
first class of the day is Reading- a full 2 hour block! Of course I don’t have
the kids sit for that entire amount of time. I try to have them up and moving
around at least every half hour. We play the game “Sparkle” if the kids are
behaving well, or do jumping-jacks if they are not behaving well. Sparkle is a
game in which the kids get in a circle, I choose a topic and we will quiz on it.
I might choose words that rhyme with “bike,” or types of genres. The kids all
raise their like eager baby birds waiting for the first worm, all hoping to be
the first to have a chance at the game. Once the first student finds a word
that rhymes, the student next to him or her in the circle continues, and so on
until someone repeats a word that was already said or makes a mistake, then he
or she has to sit down. Almost all the kids love this game, and I like it too
;-)
Along
with word games, I also teach the kids through: read aloud, reading groups, and
of course formal instruction- teaching them new reading or grammar concepts. I
also have them practice handwriting and their spelling words for the week.
After 2 hours worth of work, the students charge out the door like a mob of
wild horses. I am almost as excited for the break, having spent a fair amount
of energy teaching.
The
kids play 4 square again at recess, or run to the field for soccer. Sometimes
the girls play with their American Girl dolls or just talk together, usually in
Spanish. We’re supposed to tell the kids to speak English if we catch them
speaking Spanish at recess, but I admit I usually turn a blind eye (ear?) when I
hear it at recess.
I
should really go out and play with the kids, but I almost always stay inside
and do more prep. Sometimes I serve as detention monitor when my kids have already
reached “think about it” on the behavior chart during the reading block.
After
recess, the kids have snack time. I pull out my snack too and watch as the kids
talk to one another, making sure no one starts a quarrel.
Math
comes after snack. Thankfully the curriculum includes plenty of games for the
kids to practice facts, so the kids enjoy that. However, there is plenty of
instruction and there are plenty of workbook pages involved as well.
After Math,
we all go to lunch. My TA, Jess, takes the kids to lunch while I retreat for a
much-needed break from the kids in the teacher’s lounge.
Once
the bell rings again after lunch, the students go to their first specialist
class: PE, Library, Music, Computers or Art. I accompany them if they are going
to library, so that I can help them pick out appropriately leveled books and
help with crowd control. If they are going to any of the other specialists,
Jess or I drop them off and I use that time to run errands and prepare any
science materials for later in the day, or start lessons for the upcoming week.
At this time of the day, I often have to fight that nagging little devil on my
shoulder that says, “Why don’t you rest your eyes a bit?” Of course I don’t
succumb to the notion, especially since my TA is usually in the room as well.
The
rest of the afternoon depends on the day. Sometimes I teach the kids Science or
Social Studies, other times they have more specialist classes. I always teach
at least one subject in the afternoons, though usually 2 or three (the third
being 2nd Step- a class for character education or another language
arts block).
Our
science curriculum is very hands-on. The kids love it, but it requires a lot of
prep work for the teacher and crowd control. Occasionally I throw out
activities or scrap them when I see the kids are getting out of control, but
usually they kids love them and follow instructions better than I anticipate.
It amazes me how engrossed they are over things that have long since lost their
excitement for me: sorting rocks, flying kites (to see the effect of air
resistance ;-), or simply using a magnifying lens.
The
social studies curriculum is pretty much what most people remember from their
experiences in school, except that it is much more adapted to the kids’
developmental level. Concepts are boiled down to their basics and related to
family or school life so that a 2nd grader can grasp the idea.
The end
of the day feels like turning a drawer upside down: kids scurrying around the
room, getting their mail and packing their backpacks to line up, me trying to
keep order and remember those last minute things I meant to tell the kids
earlier in the day. When most of the kids are ready to go, I have Jess lead
them towards the dismissal area while I stay behind to nag the kids who are
have dawdled and are not packed up yet. Finally we are all waiting for parents
to arrive in the dismissal. Cars do a slow merry-go-round action as they pull
up one by one, pick up their child and leave, always being replaced by new cars
until there are just one or two stragglers left.
At that
point, Jess and I make our way back to the classroom. Any stragglers have to
wait in the office till their tardy parents arrive. The official end of the work
day for teachers and assistants is 3:40, but the van doesn’t come for me until
5:15 because both Kelley and I have after school activities on one day or
another. Until that time, she and I both work on lesson plans in our different
areas of campus.
When it
seems like 5:15 should have come and gone an hour ago, it’s time to leave. I
turn off the AC and my computer, back my backpack again, and lock up the
classroom on my way out. I look at the quiet campus, bathed in the westering
sun. I often feel a gentle breeze, reminding me of the blessing I live under:
perpetual summer!
As I
approach the parking lot, my eyes survey the upper hill to see if Kelley is on
her way, or I look towards the front gate to see if the van has arrived.
Usually I spot the van first. Once I get close enough to see, I often find
Victor (our driver) chatting with Kelley, who has beat me to the van. Then we
are off home, first to Kelley’s, then to my apartment.
I watch
as the same buildings pass before my eyes, although now they are cast in the
half-light of a sun that is fighting through the gaps between buildings. Often our
way is blocked by traffic, but Victor
has a way of maneuvering through intersections without having to come to a full
stop most of the time. I see the familiar yogurt and doughnut stands, then the
vegetable market. My mind often drifts to the groceries that I need to buy and
the distance between my apartment and the vegetable stand.
Even
though the repetitive music station is still playing and I’m tired and hungry,
part of me is often disappointed when I see that I am nearing the street where
I live. Riding in the van allows me to think and pray, but I know as soon as I
step out of the van there will be things to do: supper to prepare, lunch to make
for tomorrow and so on.
Once I
walk through the lobby, ride the elevator to the 7th floor, and put
my key in the lock of my door, the disappointment has disappeared and I become
excited to fill my empty tummy and sit on my couch to relax while I eat. When I
open the door, I am welcomed by the “home” smell: that mixture of soaps, clean clothes
and yesterday’s breezes which have ruminated throughout the day.
After I
have seated my backpack on the dining room chair and put my purse on the table,
I warm up or cook up supper for myself. While the supper is cooking, I turn on
my laptop and prepare the movie to play where I left off the day before.
Often I
will open the windows, letting the refreshing night breezes wash through my
apartment and keep me from getting too warm as I take big bites of my supper,
hungry from a full day’s work. I watch the movie while I eat, happily
interrupted by friends of family who message me on Skpe. I keep my Skype open
whenever I’m home, never knowing when I might be able to chat with someone in a
different time zone.
When I’m
done eating, I wash the dishes, make my sandwich for the next day, and do my
devotions before going to bed. I make sure my living room windows are locked,
despite the fact that no one will ever attempt to break in from that entrance. I’m
on the 7th floor. During this cooler season, I just put the fan on
at night, no need for air conditioning. The fan serves to muffle the noises of
car alarms (they are overly sensitive here, going off at the slightest
provocation), music from parties going on in the buildings next door, or the loud
squawking of parrots and other tropical birds during the night.
Morning
comes all too soon, and the process starts over again.
Above is a view out my window and to the left.
This view and the ones following go in order if you were to peak out my window and look from left to right.
Here you can just barely see the soccer field in which there is almost always a game going on.
Here you can catch a glimpse of the tops of tents in the wooded camp. My neighbors in the apartment with the gray balconies told me that the camp is for special needs children, but I admit that the only living things I've seen in the camp are roosters! They squawk every morning, and at most other times of the day as well.
Here is my most constant view. The buildings are actually much closer to me than this, but I wanted to catch more of the background with my camera.
I relish the times I spend perched on my tiny balcony. The balcony is really just there for putting plants plants, but I find I can fit a chair on it and dangle my feet over the railing quite comfortably.
One of my favorite parts of the day is right at suppertime, not only because that is my biggest meal of the day but also because it is the time when a group of horse riders comes trotting past my apartment! It never ceases to surprise me that these riders trot their horses through the roads as if we lived in the country. They simply move to the side of the road if a car comes, and thankfully the horses are trained so that they don't get frightened when this happens. There are sometimes up to 4 horses in the group. I have only seen one of the horses stalled in the neighborhood, but I expect the others are stabled somewhere nearby that I have yet to discover. I plan to ask these riders if they will give me lessons some time!
CIC (the school) puts up a Christmas tree every year, and the kids get to make ornaments to put on it. I thought this one was incredibly unique and pretty. I believe a girl from my class was making a type of desert or soup to be eaten with fancy chopsticks ;-)
When I saw this little diagram I was reminded that students learn things beyond what I teach. I taught the kids about land forms in Social Studies. One of their math homework assignments was to build a triangular pyramid. One of the sharpest kids in the class brought his pyramid to school and proudly presented it to me. He asked, "Where should I put it?" I said for him to put it on his desk, then I promptly forgot all about it. At one point during the day I saw that he had glued it to a piece of paper. When I asked the kids to take out their math journals, Attila said, "But it will crush my triangle!" I told him to put his paper on the round table in our classroom which holds a myriad of random objects. When the kids went home, I went over to take a look. Imagine my surprise when I saw that he had synthesized what we were learning! If you look carefully, you can see that he marked "desert: land form" and that the triangular pyramid found its place in his desert wilderness. The camel and thirsty man complete the picture. Moments like these are what feed my motivation to continue teaching!
