peleando la directora...y mis alumnos (pero con papel!)

I had an interested first few days back from my vacation. First, i felt like my tummy was still churning from the numerous bus rides...and no food i ate sat well. Then, I had planning to do for the week following vacation. I needed to sleep. It was hard to get myself motivated, to unpack, and to get out of bed.

But thankfully i didnt have to go to school on Monday, or so i thought....Monday was reserved for a teacher meeting day. Our school would resume on Tuesday. I rested on Sunday and saved all of my work for Monday. I knew I would have sufficient time to complete what I needed to prepare.

But.
I received a call at 9 am Monday morning. The director (or principal) was asking why i wasnt at the meeting. The english professor i work with told me i didnt need to go. It didnt regard me. I can't understand much of the happenings of the school because im new and spanish isnt my first language. The other teachers treat me differently because i'm a volunteer. And I am different. I am not paid; I can only work 25 hrs a week; I have a life (one that is different from their culture and family life); and i speak a different language. The other teachers are intimidated to talk to me. Some even talk behind my back. Also, these meetings arent a part of my responsibility with the program.....so. I was a perturbed to get this call. (not to mention that i needed to convalesce and prepare my lessons)

Also, i thought it was unprofessional of the director to stop the meeting and ask Elisa where I was. Many people at school treat me like I am the daughter of Elisa, never talking to me directly but through Elisa. But out of respect, i made my presence at the meeting anyways.

When i showed up, I realized that the meetings are grounds for complaining. No one bothers to offer a solution. I dont have time for such grumblings, so i left. I would rather use my time preparing for my students. They are my priority.

And if i stayed, would i have understood most of the discussions? no. Would i have been able to offer input? unlikely.

After i left the meeting, I felt relieved. It took guts to show emotion, to not sit nicely against my will. The old Cori would have stayed because it was the "polite thing to do".

I did apologize to the director today for not staying. I explained how i was exhausted from my travels and she understood. She only wishes that I would make more of an impact on the school and the teachers. I agree with this, that I should be more actively involved in the school. I was spending my first month getting accustomed to teaching in a foreign country, speaking spanish, teaching 400 students a week, not having materials, discipline/classroom management, my schedule, ....what else......so i didnt have time to concentrate on the outer workings of my classroom.

Im sorry, but the issue of students running in the hall is the least of my worries.

I will try to make my english club leave a stamp on the school. From the director's requests, i will give my "taller" the project of labeling every item in the school. Also, she wants them to practice the "competitive dialogues", where 2 students can have a chance to win the school an award or trophy at the countrywide tournament in Santiago. These specific dialogues are affective only for pronunciation because the level is far too advanced for my students. I will try to incorporate these out of obligation, but it is better for them to practice dialogues made from our class vocabulary.

Speaking of homemade dialogues, I wrote one for our first week back at class. This conversation reviewed all of the vocabulary I taught for the 4 weeks prior to winter vacation. It was a hit. The kids got really into it. It was great to see that they could put their knowledge into practice.

I knew it would be difficult to make my students work today after a 2 week break. To encourage good behavior, I introduced the incentive: "mystery word". I told them that when i caught the entire class acting good (all participating, working hard, listening, etc) then they would receive a letter. The letters would spell a prize. So once they earned all of the letters, they would earn a prize.

I am a volunteer. I do not have money to buy even 400 pencils or 20 bags of candy! The mystery word was "PAPER".

So when i "caught them" all acting good (which is hard sometimes!), i would say "i like how you are working, you get a letter!" Then the class would learn how i expect them to work.

In the beginning of the class i gave the letters easily. Once they had 3-4 letters, it became harder to earn the rest. I have to say, my students have never been so eager to learn....

It was funny too to hear them guess what they thought the mystery word was:
"papas" (french fries) "party" "pizza" "pisco " (alcohol) haha. many more.

One class was able to earn the paper....fight. It was a riot. I let them fight for the last 5 min of class. Of course, i joined them.

And when it was time for the class to go, they whined and whined. I said, "ok, then help me pick up all the paper!"

They said, "Tia, mira!" (aunt, look!) and pointed.
When i turned my back, they all got me. I WAS HIT with about 20 paper balls.

and i died laughing.