2nd Class in the Middle School

In order to prepare for class this time, I made a lesson plan. Last time the teacher said that I could pretty much do whatever I wanted. Overall the class went rather well. What I learned is that if you want to recieve individual student answers from all the class you need the answer to be no longer than a sentence.

Other than this, the class went off without a hitch. They are good students. We played a card game in order to see how well they memorized their homework. The students were split into two groups then called up to say in English a word that I would say in Spanish. If they lost a card was added to their team pile. When their team pile had 3 cards they had to build a tower on one side of a small desk. When the cards on one side of the desk fell the other team won. 

I think I need some new ideas.

3rd Class

So, we did a big recruiting announcement before this class and our efforts paid off with the assistance of one new student this week.

Every week near the church there is a dance class. This isn´t just any dance class. This class is a class for those aged 65+. Almost all of the elderly ladies and many of the elderly men attend this class. It is run through the health clinic and is taught by a middle aged Mexican man whose name I didn´t catch. We attended on invitation from Lupita. Chris had the wonderful idea to ask the instructor if we could make an announcement at the end of the class. The instructor aproved and we made our announcement at the end of class.

What was unexpected was the inspirational talk that the instructor gave afterward. I have so much respect for this man. He is passionate about his work, loves what he does, and recognizes its importance. He spoke to these elderly men with their wooden broom handle canes, and these older women dancing in dresses and aprons about their importance. He talked about how when they first came to class they had felt old and feeble and were unable to move much. Moving on, he talked about how coming to class made them stronger and able to move. With true passion, he talked about how they need to exercise their minds just as much and take care of themselves.

The result was a lot of talk and 1 new student.

Our class was lovely, from last time I had learned that it would be a good idea to print some papers to keep some of the students occupied in order to give more attention to those that need it. This really helped, and I was able to sucessfully juggle helping 3 students with full one-on-one attention.

All of the students are progressing, and I am so proud of them. I learned that subtraction is hard to teach without visual aids, and I will be printing some to bring to the next class.

Later, in the week we passed by the instructor Conce´s house. We will be picking up a book next week in order to better plan our lessons. 

1st class in the Middle School

The field we walk through to get home from the school.

So, teaching at the middle school was a lot of fun. I feel comfortable teaching, because it is something that I do regularly.

After yelling "alo" at the gate in order to get into the school, I was directed by an adult hanging-out by the lunch tables to the correct classroom. Upon entering the room, the teacher, Minerva, handed over to me the classroom. I asked her where they were studying, and was told that they were learning directions.

The class has roughly 30 students all around the age of 12. Upon seeing them, my first thought was that I am never going to be able to keep all of their names straight.

I asked the students to introduce themselves in English. After a significant amount of coaxing 4 students presented themselves in English. No one else felt confident enough. So, I told them they didn´t have to, but that I wouldn´t learn their names until we worked on this.

Minerva had told me that they were working on directions.
So, we learned some basic orientation frases.

Where do you live?
What is your address?
North, South, East, and West
City, street, town, community, country, state

We then played the chalkboard game War that I learned at the MTC. It is a fun whiteboard game, and I love to use it in classrooms as it breaks the awkwardness barrier and helps pick out the leaders and troublemakers in a classroom.

Class passed quickly as we learned the days of the week song and the first verse of the James Blunt song "You´re Beautiful." They will be singing this song in a month for a graduation ceremony.

School was then let out a half-hour early for a celebration. I didn´t know that so, I didn´t have a chance to go over introductions. We will do that next time.

The moment I reflected on the most happened as I was walking back to the house from the school with the other students. One of the boys in the class told me that I have a very open expressive face. I loved this compliment. I remember when I first was learning Spanish on my mission. This was one of the biggest complaints of my companion. She told me that I wasn´t very expressive. I think it is one area where I have grown.