Every Monday morning the students (in their uniforms) start off in an assembly singing the National, educational and school anthems, followed by a speech from the principal about the values expected in each student. Each grade level is divided into sections with which the students attend all classes in their assigned room. They stay put and different teachers come to them to give class. Many classes have up to 50 students with one teacher. The rooms are small, so there is not room for activities and little room even for the teacher to walk around and monitor. With so many students crammed into a room combined with the outside temperature, the situation quickly turns from hot to miserable. Students have to decide whether to write in their notebooks or fan themselves with it.
Due to the lack of space and the absence of books, much of the class is spent copying information from the board or listening to a lecture. Sometimes teachers are asked to teach two or three classrooms at the same time. This happens when another teacher does not come to school and their class is unattended. No money exists to hire substitutes, so either the students have a free period or another teacher has to cover an additional class.
There are two shifts at the school to accommodate the number of students. Students in grades 7-8 come to school from 7am to 12pm, and students in grades 9-11 come from 12:30-5:30pm. There is no lunchroom, only a snack stand that sells chips, sodas, and typical Nicaraguan home-cooked food at break times. Each class is taught twice a week, one 90 minute class and one 45minute class. They have the same classes all year (February through November). If they fail a class, they must take a make-up test at the beginning of the following February. If they pass, they move on to the next grade, but if not they remain in the same grade for all their classes.
To go to public University (which are all free), students must take an entrance exam. In 2008, 2% of Nicaraguan high school seniors passed it. Most students who want to attend a university must pay to enroll in a private one. Oftentimes, the quality of education received here is subpar, because anyone can enter and as long as they pay, they advance.
I have seen some differences between teaching in the U.S. and Nicaragua. In Nicaragua:
•The students are in the habit of sharing information in all activities, including quizzes and test.
•Importance is put on neatness, not correctness. A straight line is never drawn without a ruler and their handwriting is usually remarkable, but oftentimes the information is faulty.
•Students rarely do more than recite and memorize. Problem solving is difficult for them.
There are also similarities among students. They usually:
• Want to be stylish.
• Smile, laugh, and have fun.
• Groan when a quiz or test is mentioned.
• Are eager to please.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
February
Every time I sit down to write a blog I think the same thing: where do I begin… so much has happened!
Let’s see, work- I recently went to the TEFL 51 Reconnect where all 18 volunteers in my group and our bosses got together on Ometepe Island to catch up. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how others are doing and ask how they handled different situations. We also received information on how to apply for grants to fund projects, and general information on our responsibilities and how to solve certain common issues. For example, I have been planning with a group of 8 teachers (4 of which are my counterparts) and had some concerns. Two of the teachers seem to be worlds more advanced in English than the others and are doing most of the work. The others seem to be riding on their coattails and to make matters worse; the sessions are now in SPANISH because not everyone can keep up in English. After talking things through with my boss, we decided that I will have to have two different planning sessions separating the two ability levels. Everyone seems to understand the reasoning for the change, except for my counterpart that is the head of the English department. We’ll see what happens.
The classes with students are going pretty well. We do have issues, like keeping students interested and keeping discipline under control. Currently, the teachers don’t even know the students’ names and tend to punish with a heavy hand. I firmly believe that everything is related. This week I’m proposing that the students make laminated nametags to wear in class that will act as the basis of a positive reinforcement program. First of all, students can be called by name and be given the attention they are seeking. Second, for every good thing they do, they receive a sticker as reinforcement. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was presented to us by the older TEFL group during training. I hope it works… keep your fingers crossed.
In addition, I have been getting psyched up about teaching a 3rd year writing class and a 2nd year conversation class at the university. I’ll be teaching alone, so the opportunity is there to really make the class dynamic and beneficial to the students without having to teach methodology to another teacher. The students are English majors wanting to be either teachers or translators. Even though these are two different careers with vastly different abilities, they still lump them into one class. Interesting, huh?
I’ve also been having lots of fun with my community class. There are 15 professionals between the ages of 22 and 67. They meet on my back porch twice a week for two hours in the evening. The students bought the copies I made of a good English book and one student even brought over a white board to use. Generally everyone is upbeat and it’s a pretty close group. We have now been together since January.
So that’s about it for work. Let’s see, spare time- most of my spare time is spent with my Nica boyfriend. Yep, after much discussion of expectations and motives, we decided that we do indeed like each other for all the right reasons. His name is Douglas and he was introduced to me by my site mate at a soccer game. The night that I went dancing in the blue sequined tank top and then the dog ate my glasses, I was with him (which I still blame him for). When I had no glasses for a week, he acted as my Seeing Eye dog. Now that we have been dating for over a month, we are slowly introducing each other to all our friends and acquaintances. It’s silly, but I feel butterflies every time he calls me his girlfriend.
Hmmm… what else? The house is looking pretty good. I finally bought two tables and some chairs. One table holds my stovetop, dishes, and 5 gallon tank of purified water. Most of the house is painted sky blue and chocolate brown. I’m considering having someone paint the rest. Every time I come home, painting is the last think I want to do. My porch looks good. We laid a cement floor, built a wooden table and added extra light. All of this was done so that classes would run smoother out there. Tomorrow a guy is coming to close the space between the walls and ceiling. Currently I have a bat issue… eek!
OH YEAH! I’m coming home for an 11 day visit at the end of March! Here’s a list of all the things I’m looking forward to: tackling my mom and hearing her giggle, hugging my dad and having him kiss me on the head, staying up at night to talk with my sister, BOOK CLUB, Bekah’s full body laugh, frappachinos from Panera Bread, sharing wine with Sherb, wearing a sweater, watching a movie at the theater, perusing the book store, margaritas, salmon fresh off the grill, Fajitas from Chili’s, GOOD BEER, visiting my students at school, seeing the Smokey Mountains, driving while singing to the radio, falling asleep on the couch, Cracker Barrel’s country breakfast. This is definitely just to name a few things. The list is pretty long and I’m hoping that I don’t get over there and forget to come back to Nicaragua. I’m not hoping for it, but am fully expecting a few tears to be shed on the flight to Managua.
Let’s see, work- I recently went to the TEFL 51 Reconnect where all 18 volunteers in my group and our bosses got together on Ometepe Island to catch up. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how others are doing and ask how they handled different situations. We also received information on how to apply for grants to fund projects, and general information on our responsibilities and how to solve certain common issues. For example, I have been planning with a group of 8 teachers (4 of which are my counterparts) and had some concerns. Two of the teachers seem to be worlds more advanced in English than the others and are doing most of the work. The others seem to be riding on their coattails and to make matters worse; the sessions are now in SPANISH because not everyone can keep up in English. After talking things through with my boss, we decided that I will have to have two different planning sessions separating the two ability levels. Everyone seems to understand the reasoning for the change, except for my counterpart that is the head of the English department. We’ll see what happens.
The classes with students are going pretty well. We do have issues, like keeping students interested and keeping discipline under control. Currently, the teachers don’t even know the students’ names and tend to punish with a heavy hand. I firmly believe that everything is related. This week I’m proposing that the students make laminated nametags to wear in class that will act as the basis of a positive reinforcement program. First of all, students can be called by name and be given the attention they are seeking. Second, for every good thing they do, they receive a sticker as reinforcement. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it was presented to us by the older TEFL group during training. I hope it works… keep your fingers crossed.
In addition, I have been getting psyched up about teaching a 3rd year writing class and a 2nd year conversation class at the university. I’ll be teaching alone, so the opportunity is there to really make the class dynamic and beneficial to the students without having to teach methodology to another teacher. The students are English majors wanting to be either teachers or translators. Even though these are two different careers with vastly different abilities, they still lump them into one class. Interesting, huh?
I’ve also been having lots of fun with my community class. There are 15 professionals between the ages of 22 and 67. They meet on my back porch twice a week for two hours in the evening. The students bought the copies I made of a good English book and one student even brought over a white board to use. Generally everyone is upbeat and it’s a pretty close group. We have now been together since January.
So that’s about it for work. Let’s see, spare time- most of my spare time is spent with my Nica boyfriend. Yep, after much discussion of expectations and motives, we decided that we do indeed like each other for all the right reasons. His name is Douglas and he was introduced to me by my site mate at a soccer game. The night that I went dancing in the blue sequined tank top and then the dog ate my glasses, I was with him (which I still blame him for). When I had no glasses for a week, he acted as my Seeing Eye dog. Now that we have been dating for over a month, we are slowly introducing each other to all our friends and acquaintances. It’s silly, but I feel butterflies every time he calls me his girlfriend.
Hmmm… what else? The house is looking pretty good. I finally bought two tables and some chairs. One table holds my stovetop, dishes, and 5 gallon tank of purified water. Most of the house is painted sky blue and chocolate brown. I’m considering having someone paint the rest. Every time I come home, painting is the last think I want to do. My porch looks good. We laid a cement floor, built a wooden table and added extra light. All of this was done so that classes would run smoother out there. Tomorrow a guy is coming to close the space between the walls and ceiling. Currently I have a bat issue… eek!
OH YEAH! I’m coming home for an 11 day visit at the end of March! Here’s a list of all the things I’m looking forward to: tackling my mom and hearing her giggle, hugging my dad and having him kiss me on the head, staying up at night to talk with my sister, BOOK CLUB, Bekah’s full body laugh, frappachinos from Panera Bread, sharing wine with Sherb, wearing a sweater, watching a movie at the theater, perusing the book store, margaritas, salmon fresh off the grill, Fajitas from Chili’s, GOOD BEER, visiting my students at school, seeing the Smokey Mountains, driving while singing to the radio, falling asleep on the couch, Cracker Barrel’s country breakfast. This is definitely just to name a few things. The list is pretty long and I’m hoping that I don’t get over there and forget to come back to Nicaragua. I’m not hoping for it, but am fully expecting a few tears to be shed on the flight to Managua.
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