What Teaching Teaches Me

We have been here for almost 2 months. That blows my mind! I can't believe how quickly time is passing.

As we are nearing the end of the school year (it ends the second week of October! what?!), we are all taking a step back to analyze our involvement with the schools: what's working, what's not, how can we improve? All of this analysis leads me to consider how I have changed as a result of teaching the past 2 months.

I have to say that teaching is quite humbling. Every Monday and Thursday, I put myself out there: I speak in a second language, try new activities/ways of teaching the vocabulary... and it's not always pretty. In fact, I'd say most of the time, it hasn't been pretty. Some days, I don't understand their questions. Other days, my oh-so-brilliant activity backfires and leaves even the most interested students begging for mercy. Most days, the 8th graders simply do not participate. They laugh at us, work on other assignments.

I'm not used to failing. I've always been a diligent worker, and 99% of the time, that pays off. When you work your butt off with less than favorable results, you tend to feel a bit of learned helplessness-- the mentality that no matter what you do, it will fail.

We keep reading through this Peace Corps document that gives suggestions on how to teach English in various countries. The document has many suggestions for doing a variety of activities, for making the class about so much more than English. To use English as a vehicle for talking about things that really matter, to explore and investigate various problems or themes. I would love to lead a class like that. However, when the students continually make the same grammatical mistakes, forget some of the vocabulary that's been taught previously, and most of all, refuse to participate in any activity you try with them, leading a class that is more about vocabulary and grammar seems impossible. How can you ask them about their culture if they don't have the words or semantic tools to express their ideas?

I think we had a bit of a breakthrough on Monday. Ja and I decided to try a writing activity for the first time. We had just taught them vocabulary about parts of the house, before that we taught about animals, and we knew that they had previously learned different members of the family. So we gave them a prompt to describe their family and their house. Which family members live with you? What rooms does your house have? Do you have pets? etc. In the first two classes (7A and 8), the activity went moderately well. Of course, some of our smarty 8th grade boys said they had no family members and lived alone in a big/small house, but at least they wrote something. The last class (7B), though, was magical. I don't know what happened, but it is probably my proudest moment in teaching. After they had written several sentences each, I bravely asked for a volunteer to write one of their sentences on the board. (Normally, it is pulling teeth to get them to come up and participate.)

To my surprise, a couple of girls ran forward eagerly. From then on, there was a constant stream of volunteers running forward, writing their sentences on the board. Many of them wrote at the same time, which was almost chaotic (in the best way possible)! As I watched them writing their sentences, helping correct them and asking them to read what they wrote, I realized that these sentences did provide a gateway into some cultural knowledge. I learned that some students had pigs in their house. Pigs! I saw how many bothers and sisters some of our students had. And all of it was in English! Who would have thought?!

It was such a beautiful moment. I made Ja take a few pictures of the board when we were finished.

That's what teaching languages is all about: the small victories. Seeing students, of their own accord, using what you taught them to express their own thoughts. It is so rewarding to see them create sentences about things that affect their lives, rather than translating words or sentences.

I'm still far from a perfect teacher. I'm still far from confident. But I think I am finally getting to a point where I can encourage my students to use the language I'm teaching them and have some fun in the process.

-Nicole

Someone Pinch me, Please!

Since my last blog we have seen and done so much! Now that we have all been assigned to teach certain classes, and have been traveling and becoming comfortable with our housemates, time seems to be flying by! I have been assigned to the 7^th and 8^th grade classes along with fellow volunteer Christina.  Our 7^th grade class is very large with 44 students, and for the first few weeks they were a bit challenging. But now, Christina and I, or “The Dynamic Duo” seem to have a system down that works.

Our 8^th grade class is quite a bit smaller with a total of 11 kids, this makes one-on-one teaching easier, and makes for a teaching environment that is a little more personal.  It is an incredible feeling to be able to teach all of these kids, and to walk away knowing that not only have you changed their lives, but they have more importantly, changed your own. When you see kids improve in class, and see their eyes light up when they know the correct answer--that's what this program is all about.

Travel has been a big part of my time here, we have made trips to nearby town such as Xela, Pana, and others. A big trip for me was when we went to Tikal, which was probably one of the best trips that I have ever been on. We saw beautiful Mayan ruins, hiked in the park, and had an absolute blast! We were able to watch the sunset and sunrise on top of the tallest temple and it was great to experience the animal kingdom prepare for sleep at sunset, then experience the awakening of the jungle at sunrise! Just this past weekend we traveled to San Pedro, where we stayed the night, ate delicious food and went to a small carnival where we rode a ferris wheel that was a little sketchy but fortunately, we all live to tell the tale! On Saturday we went kayaking, which was a big deal for me because I am terrified of water! But thanks to Dana and her support, not to mention her beautiful singing, I was able to face a fear and do something that I never thought I could.  It was a very powerful feeling to know that I could, it was so great!

This weekend we are going to travel to Antigua, where we will meet the new PDs that will be here for the next 13 months- so excited! After the PDs arrive on Saturday, all of us will be helping to train them and show them the ropes. Then we leave it in their hands to continue our programs. Another up-and-coming activity is mini-camp! We're going to have various activities perhaps including dance, sports, crafts, and English classes! What fun! I am really excited for this! It seems that my time here is rapidly coming to a close and I cannot believe that we only have two and a half weeks left! Someone pinch me!

I plan on soaking up every last bit of awesomeness that these last two and a half weeks have to offer, and enjoying every last second!

-Kylie Mosley

“We all die, the goal is not to live forever but to create or do something that will.” - Chuck Palahniuk

Learning 101

The other day while I was administering an exam to the 8^th grade Basico class, I started reflecting on my own experiences as a student. Attending a Jesuit University, my professors would often share the wise words of Saint Ignatius: “Go forth and set the world on fire.” My response? “Well, I’m trying to set this world on fire, but I feel like I’m just burning down the house.”

Nick and I at Sister Pats Camp 2007

It took four years of college and three years of post-graduate experiences for me to figure out what my calling actually was. After deciding to apply to graduate school for Social Work, I carefully started to put together the infamous “Personal Statement.” When I finally thought I had perfected it, I called my good friend and best critic, Nick, to get his opinion. “Yeah, it’s really, really good, but remember it’s not an autobiography. Think why you want to go to grad school and learn about this stuff. You’re so close! You just have to sit down and start over.”

Start over? Is this some kind of cruel joke?

A high school English teacher once told me “writing is re-writing.” I’ve come to realize that at the end of the day, anything we are good at takes hard work and patience. About 20 hours and lots of coffee later, I stared into the bright light of my computer screen and saw my honest thoughts. Like I wrote in my essay, "when compelled to work hard for something you care about, knowledge is easily absorbed, whether from literature, dialogue, people, or moments. Learning can be intentional or subconscious, but when we bridge our education with our true interests, we reach the ultimate fulfillment."

While I looked around at the quiet, focused, Basico classroom, I considered the educational goals of these students. Here I am in Guatemala, living out my hopes and dreams, but what I really want to do is help them find theirs. Many of these kids have not had the chance to recognize their full potential and what they are truly able to accomplish. I know myself and every other volunteer who comes through this country looks in the faces of these individuals and sees this blinding beauty that we wish we could shine over all of Guatemala. Unfortunately, that’s not up to us. But what we can do is share our knowledge and resources to guide them towards continual education and learning.

The relationships I have built during my time in Guatemala have showed me that when placed in a position to give, I gain a greater understanding about myself and my values. But more importantly, I gain the understanding of how much I have to learn from those around me. Author and activist Shane Claiborne shares,

Just as “believers” are a dime a dozen in the church, so are "activists" in social justice circles nowadays. But lovers are hard to come by. And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of--lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about.

That being said, I’m hopeful we are on our way to being really great lovers.

--Lorena

Sunday Snapshot

Class is back in session in Chaquijyá, and so are our programs!

Dora the Explora looks excited!

Second graders all lined up to go to class!

English Wrap Up

Oh, How Time Flies!

It almost feels surreal. The sudden realization that we’ve been in Guatemala for nearly three months and have been teaching English for over two months astounds me! Time has passed so quickly, and it is hard to believe that next week is the last of the current school year for our students. During the past eight weeks of class, we have formed new relationships and begun to bond with a number of students at La Primaria, come to recognize some of the joys and challenges of teaching, and learned so much from the wonderful people in Chaquijyá.

Because the English program at La Primaria was our inaugural, and has thus far been our only, program in Chaquijyá, it has been the focus of much of our efforts. When we began teaching English in early August, it quickly became clear that most all of our fourth, fifth and sixth grade students were at a very basic level. It seems as though our students had previously been exposed to a lot of material but that they had yet to master much of it. Nonetheless, the majority of students showed great enthusiasm for the subject, as did their teachers and parents, which I found very encouraging.

Despite everyone’s eagerness, the fact that we, being some of the few rare gringos seen in the community, were initially somewhat of a spectacle at the school made the first days of teaching a bit challenging. There is a definitely a balance between presenting yourself as an authority figure as a teacher and, at the same time, befriending your students, perhaps by playing basketball with them, as we did. While the team debated and searched for this balance at the beginning, I believe that we’ve done a good job at establishing ourselves as in control in the classroom and as teammates out on the courts.

As far as English goes, our students have, for the most part, seemed to respond increasingly well to lessons, especially as we become more familiar with the teaching methods most effective in our respective classes. Similarly, some of the students, specifically some of the girls, in my and Dana’s sixth grade class who were once shy and timid about speaking up have become more extroverted and now sometimes even volunteer answers during activities. Likewise, there are several boys who once had a “too cool for school attitude” that have become more and more engaged in class. For example, Josúe, one of my students who sits in the very back of the room and on occasion needs to be reminded that we’re having class, became a voluntary contestant when we played a few rounds of review jeopardy recently (a game that was a surprising success – the students loved it). I could tell he was a little nervous, but with a little encouragement, he did great!

It is those little moments we have in class that make teaching so exciting and fun. Even though the official school year in Guatemala is coming to a close, I feel that we’ve made some solid new relationships and are on our way to earning the confianza (trust and confidence) of our students. This will be very beneficial when we implement future programs in Chaquijyá.

And, speaking of future programs, we’ve all been working hard to get ready for summer camp! We will be running a six-week camp for a group of first through sixth grade students in Chaquijyá during the vacation they have between late-October and January. We’ve chosen an “Around the World” theme for camp and will offer science, art, English and sports programs, as well as a variety of special community-oriented activities. I’ll be heading up art and can’t wait to break out the glitter glue and watercolors to teach our students about ancient Egypt and Japanese traditions, as well as about the cultures and customs of other countries.

So, in these past few months, we have already had such a good time living, serving, and learning down here in Guatemala, and we have so much more to look forward to in the weeks to come.  Check back with us again soon to see how camp is going!

Until next time,

Karen and the MPI-G Team

31 Flavors of Success

Kat explaining our first exercise.

Surprisingly, it went off without a hitch.  Teaching elementary school English wasn’t as daunting as I first imagined.   As I reflect, fresh from my second class in what will be an eight-week section in English, I’m torn in my appraisal of our success.

To bring you up to speed, I’m teaching 5^th graders with Kat and we’re thrilled by the voracity and joy they bring to the classroom.  In our first lesson on Tuesday we reviewed their names, identified colors, ran around the room labeling common objects, and divided into two teams (Messi y España) to test their recollection of the objects they just learned.  The kids were engaged and attentive, willingly bending their tongues to our strange pronunciation and transcribing everything we spoke into already crowded notebooks.  The experience was much the same for the other four PDs and the three classes they taught.  But did we meet our expectations?

In our lesson plan we hoped to measure their pronunciation, retention, and level of understanding.  However, as soon as the bell rang and class began that goal quickly became impossible.  My job of scribe morphed into chaperone and cheer leader, and the carefully planned activities changed with the drifting attention spans of the students.  The good, nay great news, is we adapted and kept the kids engaged.  They learned exactly what we hoped they would.  But, at the same time, we didn’t ascertain as much data as we hoped.

Checking the students' homework.

                The experience made me think there are two kinds of success, for on one level, we exceeded our expectations.  We proved ourselves able and engaging teachers.  We earned the respect of Willy, their daily teacher, who practiced the same material as the students from his desk in the back.  But still, on another level, we missed the mark.  None of the information we intended to gather was collected, nor was it in the two sections of 4th graders that Jared and Ginny taught.  Dana and Karen, teaching 6th grade English, had more luck by asking each student to repeat two short phrases, then tallying the number of correctly pronounced words to land upon a quantifiable percentage.  So while that didn’t work for us, it did for them.

Rigoberto sharing his excitement with the other 6th graders.

We agree as a team that we need to reevaluate our assessment methodsas we reevaluate this week.  Recording base measurements from which to compare our progress is vital to the measurability of the time we spend in our programs.  So we try again.  We dust off our caps, and come to terms with the fact that no matter how much time and energy we put into our lessons, flexibility is key.  Still encouraged by the positive reception, we want to meet a higher standard.

            The same could be said about the troop withdraw from Iraq as the sun set on Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Whatever your convictions, the goals we set for ourselves and the expectations we all held in our hearts at the beginning of the mission changed as the years wore on.  We had many praise-worthy successes, unexpected setbacks, and times of reflection where we asked ourselves, as a nation, what it was we wanted to achieve.  There's no question we succeeded, but what kind of success was it, and was it the success we intended? 

               This duality of expectation, rejoicing  yet ever striving, seems a fitting analogy for the year ahead.  Assuredly, in many areas, our best laid plans will dissolve in the midst of application.  But we will adapt, highlighting the small successes all the while continually working towards our long-term objectives.  While we want those objectives to be realistic, we expect excellence in our programs and approaches.

              Now, we need to work smart and work together.  We need your advice; we need the community.  We need two barometers for our own success – one in the moment, in the smiles, in the relationships.  And another in the legacy we leave behind, in the hard data and imparted knowledge.  Both must be at the forefront of our thoughts, both are of utmost importance.


Until next time,
Hudson