What a sweetheart! I received a "detail" from one of my students. She didn't know this, but I have been trying to collect seashells or other memorable pieces from the places I visit. I've been a little sad because everyone says that some of the prettiest beaches are in Guanacaste, but I don't think I'll make it there because it's so far away from where I'm staying in Tres Rios. Melania, one of the fourth graders, raised her hand in science class today, so I went over to see what her question was. Instead of asking me a question, she gave me a very distinct and beautiful seashell from a beach in Guanacaste. Did you know that a seashell can make a person's day? Because it did :) That, and the pictures my parents sent me of my princess and prince - Holly and Buddy, my puppies.
Star students
Spicing things up a bit with the fourth graders because the discipline system, well, hardly exists really. I thought up another idea based from something my mentor, Kim, did with her first graders. I've been trying a reward system, but it needs more structure. I decided and got approved by my cooperating teacher, is called Star Students. I made a big poster that has this title at the top, and then each of the 25 students' names. Each student will get 3 stars at the beginning of each day, but if they misbehave, they get a star taken down. If at the end of the day they have no more stars left, I think they should have to talk to the director (which is a big deal around here, but honestly, some of these kids need a reality check). The next day they will get a fresh start. By the end of the week, if they managed to keep at least 10 stars, they get a reward (maybe something different each week). The students who kept all 15 of their stars throughout the week will get an extra reward or privilege. Today I hung up this poster, without the stars yet, but there was a stir in the classroom - yep, a little spice and hopefully resulting in something very nice.
Scraping the bottom
I just had a nice three day weekend, and today, my first day back at school again, I'm already so exhausted. I've been working so hard that at times I'm scraping the bottom. Today was supposed to be a somewhat easier week because the students are reviewing for their exams, which are next week. In other words, I'm putting myself to use by coming up with review activities. Today I came up with a "Hurricane and Tornado Search", front to back - a lot of information, but I added little drawings and things to make it more interesting. The students were working on them in small groups today and it was awesome to see them thinking so hard. I taught them how to become experts at searching for key words to help fill in the missing information. I loved seeing their faces light up when they learned the art of skimming and finding the answers. Some of the kids even made guesses based on the drawings, which means two things: they're making sense of the information... and, I'm an excellent artist - ha. They've been wanting to do another science experiment for awhile now, but I haven't been teaching science lately - however, I brought up the idea to Viviana and it's a go for Friday! I told her what I needed and she pointed to four big buckets above their lockers in the classroom and said to look in there for the materials... She said she didn't know what was even in there because she hasn't looked. Here's where I have to pull a Dane Cook and say, "UMMM HELLO?? UM, HIIII??" I didn't know that all of those science materials were there!!!! I found so much in there, Friday is going to be dedicated to experiments in science. If my kids don't love me now, they're going to love me by the end of the week, for sure. Anyway, I made a math review today too, which is for tomorrow, and I'm still working on some more activities.. I definitely make more work for myself, I make myself so exhausted that I'm in bed as soon as I can at night. I feel like I'm close to being a work-aholic, but at the same time, I love it. It's tiring, but I can hardly call it work; it's more of a passion, more of a dedication to my students.
Typical new kid story
Felipe is a new boy at school. The first couple of days, he was like a new toy to the students. They all wanted to see what he was all about and he got so much attention. Slowly, and now a few weeks later, it's as though he's hardly even in the classroom. He's shy, knows very little English, and isn't very athletic... and he's not a spoiled brat, he's the exact opposite. The poor kid was in tears last week and trying to sit in class without anyone else seeing, even though I hardly think anyone else noticed. I didn't want to bring too much attention to him, but this was one of those moments where I had a flashback of being a kid myself. I remember noticing kids who felt sad, left out, or hurt, and I remember feeling too shy most of the times to do anything to make them feel better. I thought, "How can the teacher not see this? Why can't the teacher, who has all this power, do something to make it all better?" Too often kids get left behind (no pun intended there) and they go under the radar, academically and socially speaking. This is why kids might feel like failures, give up, or feel they need to get revenge. As a kid, I had the power to help out those kinds of kids, but I was too scared most of the time. As a teacher, I have even more power to help those kinds of kids and I promise not to look past it, I promise to do something about it, I promise to make the other kids aware of it. I'm not trying to make myself sound like such a big super hero, but I went over and talked to Felipe for a bit, gave him a couple pieces of get-better candy and of course gave him an understanding smile. Wow, big deal, right? A couple seconds later I was back to working on something at the teacher's desk, when he called across the room, "Hey teacher... thank you" and he was all smiles. Some of the students, I noticed, looked a little guilty, and some, maybe even felt relieved that their teacher did something about it - that's fine, but next time hopefully they will realize it can be their turn to do something about it.
Happy Independence Day Costa Rica!
I bet you're wondering what I did - I went to Puerto Viejo! My first time on the Caribbean side, and it was gorgeous to say the very least. I went with three of the other student teachers here right now. As the only girl, I have to say I did a good job of being pretty motherly; but also, as the only girl, they did a good job being like big brothers to me. So that sounds messed up, but it wasn't, it was very fun. I got my own cute little room right below their room at this hotel with a huge garden inside of it. Just for the record, whenever we were getting ready to leave the hotel, I was always the one outside the boys' door waiting for them... interestingggg. Anyway, we hiked on the trail that was in between the beach and the road; and of course, we spent as much time as possible on the beach. The boys were surfing and I was taking pictures because these currents are very strong, it's even hard to just swim here at times. Call me crazy for not taking this opportunity to learn how to surf, but I was perfectly content watching this time around. Actually, you can call me something else, because I have another new nickname.. believe it.
Saturday night, one of the places we stopped at had a live band. So we sat down and listened, and we had this random guy sit down with us. None of us realized that he was going to stay the whole time with us. He kept talking about how he doesn't like to talk a lot... ironic? The other thing is, he kept looking at me and saying, "you have sharp eyes, your eyes are so sharp". So I officially have another new nickname - "Sharp Eyes"... which I guess automatically gives me a super power of being able to cut people with my sharp eyes. Don't worry, I won't use it unless it's for self-defense.
Beauty in the Ugly
You know when people say that there is beauty in the ugly? (It's similar to when some of my friends and I say that a shirt or something is so ugly it's cute). Well anyway, it sounds like it doesn't really make sense, but here, it makes sense to me. This country is not very rich in terms of materials, such as fancy, big houses or really nice, expensive cars... however, they are so wealthy with landscapes. Every day when I walk outside to school or look out the window of the bus, it's so interesting to see the contrast of poor homes and rich nature. The homes that are put together with scraps and look like they're falling apart, are so sad that it's almost beautiful thinking of the work that went into building it and thinking of the people who must live there - living so simply. Not everyone's house is like this of course, but most of them are not exactly mansions by any means, yet they are elaborately decorated with the prettiest gardens or brightly colored paint. Even the people are beautiful here with their generosity; so many of them are so giving and kind - I can tell this just by passing them by on the street when they say greet me or each other. The saddest thing is seeing the people who really have nothing to give because they don't possess anything besides a coat as a blanket and a place to lay on the sidewalk. Some people would turn their heads in disgust, but you have to wonder how they ended up there. What's their story? What happened with their family? Are they hateful or resentful? Are they full of fear or sadness? Are they hopeful and faithful? It's easy for me to say that it's unfortunate for them, but then again, maybe they have more than meets the eye. Maybe all they have in this world is faith, and faith alone. To me, this is beauty in what would otherwise be thought of as ugly.
The ocean is filled with stories as each wave carries an unspoken tale. I, too, scrawl messages in the sand, only to be swept away by the sea. These words are left behind, secrets known only to the ocean and me.
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