Hi:) So there have been many changes at the school in the past two months. Aside from the mural and the painting of the walls in the library, the school has been appointed a new Director and also celebrated its 7th Anniversary last Sunday.
The kids have been learning a lot, and I'm really happy with their behavior (most of the time). The 6th graders had a test on Question Words (5 W's and How) as well as pronouns and classroom vocabulary words. Many of them did well, and very few failed. The real triumph is that they completed the exam very quietly and I didn't have to make it open book. 5th grade is still a struggle, but many of them excel at art and look forward to doing it. I'm doing basic painting with them, how to mix colors, how to use a paintbrush, how to create dimension (most of which the local artist who did the mural told me is very effective with children about their age). 6th grade continues to struggle with drawing - with the exception of two or three who aren't terrible- but I've decided to move on to recreations of famous drawings by Peruvian artists for this coming week. 4th grade is amazing, as usual. They soak up everything I teach and enjoy every minute of both English and Art. 3rd grade is getting much better in terms of behavioral issues, but I have also decided to take an extreme positive reinforcement approach. I saturate their lessons with songs and games as well as rewards for participation and obedience. 2nd grade is moving along quite nicely in all areas- good behavior, motivation, retention skills- and they are becoming one of my favorite classes. 1st grade is also doing well, but their attention span definitely presents obstacles.
The real issues I am having revolve around all the recent transitions that the school has undergone and still undergoing. In particular, the absence of a Director for the past two weeks and the new relationship between the NGOs at the school has directly affected my teaching schedule and my efforts of implementing a functioning library and reading program. The teachers have been rearranging the school day schedule in such a way that the very block that I teach, last block of the day, starts later and ends earlier. To counter the poor effects this obviously would have on the children and their class time, I have stuck to the original schedule and called them in even earlier (so around 11:45 instead of 11:50) so that we can start right away. It is very difficult to get all of them to come into class before the rest of the children go to their classes, so I just begin English warm up exercises with the door open until all or most of them come to class. The library program has come to a halt, because the teachers thought it best to wait for some decisions to be made by the other NGO, Kindness Connection, and to speak with the new Director. The new Director is said to arrive this Tuesday, so I hope some progress can be made concerning the plans to move forward with the library and reading program.
Each grade presented a dance at the Anniversary celebration. I was so impressed with all the traditional dress outfits and how well the kids performed. They constantly inspire me with how talented they are...Hope you enjoyed the update!
