Summer is finally over which means Ken and I started our second school year here in Honduras this past Monday. It was a whirlwind of a week trying to get back on a regular sleeping schedule that allows us to get up at 5 AM while keeping up that high energy for our students and of course lesson planning. After being off for 2 months it was challenge to feel like you were on top of things like the year before but by the end of the week we were both feeling more confident.
This year, Ken has taken on the task of being the 11th grade (Senior) boys Homeroom teacher. He has 17 boys that he will be in charge of each morning before school starts and he'll have to use that creativity throughout the year to plan different events for their Christmas show, senior service hours, and of course graduation. He is also teaching World History, Philosophy, and Humanities. He definitely has a busy year ahead of him. There are a bunch of new teachers at his school this year too so he's been getting know each of them and it sounds like they will all add a lot of things to his school. The big goal for Ken, and the rest of the faculty this year, is to have students stop speaking Spanish during their English classes. This was hard in the past for many teachers to enforce since many of them used Spanish when teaching so it is a plus that the new hired teachers all have strong English and are ready to work together towards this goal.
Once again, I am teaching 4th grade at Mazapan School and have a completely different year ahead of me. I have gone from teaching 30 students to 19 students this year (HOLY MOLY!!!) and I have also gone from having a full time aide to having no one (WOWZERS!!!) Although my classroom has a lot more space in it with such fewer desks it was a transition for me to be the only adult in the classroom, especially when trying to collect all of their school supplies. It was overwhelming some days, that's for sure, but my students were very understanding and did a great job of working with me to get this task done. It also was a very different start to the school year this time around since all of my incoming 4th graders already knew me! Last year, I didn't know anyone at the school since we had just moved to La Ceiba. However throughout the school year last year I worked closely with the 3rd grade teacher to plan lessons, field trips, and other events, so her students knew me quite well. Instead of doing lots of ice breakers on the first day, we were able to have deeper conversations about each of our summers and dive right into the rules and procedures of 4th Grade. By the end of the week, it seemed as though they all understood what was expected of them and they were ready for the learning to begin :)
It is still crazy for me and Ken to believe that we are already underway with our second year of teaching. It still feels like just yesterday when we arrived here and we were both soooo nervous of what was to come. Now we feel so comfortable where we are at and its nice to know what is in store for us this year. Not only are we ready for a great year of teaching but we are also ready for all of our visitors to start coming :)
No comments:
Post a Comment