First days of School

The start of school has been SO LONG! After the first day I was wondering why in the world I came down here and why I ever thought that teaching science, math, and computers to middle schoolers was better than first grade. I’ve never been a teacher and classroom management was not a top skill of mine. However, I talked to Susan on Monday night and that gave me a lot of good ideas for classroom management. Then I also talked to Tyler and some of the other teachers to gather even more ideas. I was pumped for the second day! After Tuesday I was plotting, “now, when I told them I would teach all year does that mean I have to stay all year? What if I claim there is a visa problem at Christmas and I can’t come back into Honduras?”

The kids were a terror and I was just about ready to quit on the spot. I talked to Emory right after school about science class (which is the cause of most stress) because we have one flask, one graduated cylinder, and a semi-broken balance. Sweet lab set-up for 26 7th graders, eh? Emory said that he finds reading out loud in class to work well with the students because they can practice reading comprehension, pronunciation, and science all in one. What a deal?!=) That lessened science stress a little. Then I was panicked about computer time. I have 26 7th graders, 14 8th, and 9 9th graders to occupy for 2 hours per week each in a computer lab with 3 medium speed working computers and a slow one that doesn’t really work. I talked with Norma (Honduran administrator) about the possibility of either getting help with that class or making it into a study hall time. “Our students are behind in math,” she tells me. So it looks like we will be spending 2 extra hours per week on math when we can, otherwise reading silently or working on other homework.

After more talking, preparing, and strategizing I was ready to implement my plan of action for classroom management with a zillion 7th graders. It started out great today! Until the school closed, that is. I’m now not so worried about teaching and gaining confidence daily to keep kids from playing soccer in the classroom. I can’t put a finger on what exactly I changed today, but the kids were more responsive and I am ready to face the students when school opens up again. Yay teaching!