A Day on the River

(This post should have been posted last Monday…sorry about the delay. More to come shortly)

What with my world history final exam being on Tuesday, I was able to complete all my grading and turn in my final grades by Friday. I even finished the majority of my lesson planning for the next quarter, so I had the whole weekend to myself!

This was fortuitous, as one of my students invited the volunteers to his birthday party on Sunday. We had previously attended the party of his younger brother, and were very excited to get to go again. The party took place out in the country, surrounded by trees and fields. There is a simple, two story wooden structure, which I think is only used for occasions such as this one. There is a bathroom with a shower, and a kitchen with a wood stove. The rooms are bare, and only really used for storage during the party, and to set up cribs for any little babies in need of a place to nap.

As before, a number of tables and chairs were set up under the overhang of the building. The place was bedecked with balloons and streamers, and the smell of grilling meat drifted out from the kitchen. We stopped for a quick snack, and then piled back into the truck to drive down to the river. Emerging from the trees, we were greeted by a sweeping flood plain of rock and sand, through which meandered a blue-green river. It must be the Honduran equivalent of spring, because there were blossoming trees in pink and yellow along the banks of the river. It was a pleasant 75 degrees, just warm enough to enjoy the swimming.

We played in the river a few hours, before returning to the lodge house for lunch (carne asada, homemade corn tortillas, pico de gaillo, and frijoles,) dancing, and horse riding. All in all, a pretty sweet day, as well as a great way to kick off the third quarter feeling pumped and refreshed.

Test Daze

Today was the first day of exams for the second quarter. My 8^th Grade world history exam was one of the first, and as anticipated, most of my kids did not turn in their homework or the two page research paper we have been working on ALL QUARTER. I actually turned one away because it was blatantly a copy/past job. I told the kid to re-write it tonight and hand it in in the morning for reduced credit…hopefully others will follow suit.

Many of the students came to me after the exam exclaiming how “easy” it was. I’ll be the judge of that! Grading shall commence…shortly (aka, as soon as I can bring myself to do it.) The plus side of having a lot of work to do is that I get my blogging done. And boy do I ever have work to do! Aside from needing to grade the world history finals…and papers…and late homeworks…just world history class in general, I also need to finalize my grades for art and activities classes (which are only slightly more promising than the world history grades) AND plan what I’m going to do for all three classes next quarter.

What is it going to take to motivate these kids? I even came into the review day dressed as a Celtic warrior, complete with torc, woad, spiked hair and kilt, and I still barely had anyone join me to study (I put the kilt on AT school, for fear of being shot for being a cross-dresser…you laugh, but it would probably happen)! I then got home early only to realize I had left my house keys at home (kilts don’t have pockets you see) and consequently spent the next three hours sitting on my front porch. I had to climb over the fence to do that, but it was worth it to get out of the sun.

It’s been warming up here you see. It’s actually very nice (mid seventies to eighties), and the cold bucket showers are now simply “brisk” instead of “oh look, a polar bear”. Just as well, because it took a long time to get all the hair gel out yesterday (spiked hair for the Celt costume remember? Are you paying attention?)

Anyway, this afternoon the faculty of the middle school sat down and discussed how to try and reach out to the kids. Maki and Angela are going to have day with the girls to try and teach them some self-respect and self-confidence (and boy do they need it), while Dan and I are trying to tackle the seemingly impossible task of teaching the boys a little self-control. I don’t want much from them (they are still in the throes of puberty after all), just enough to bring them up from “total anarchy” to “there’s light at the end of the tunnel”.

Dan suggested getting one of the local priests involved. I forget his name, but he is pretty young, and really good with the kids. We’re thinking of taking the guys for a day hike some place. There is some really nice scenery around here, and some male bonding would be good for these guys. Many have a poor, or no, father figure in their lives. Oh goodness, does that mean I have to be ready to fill that role? I think I could do an okay job, but many of these guy’s goal in life is to be on Jersey Shore, and I don’t know how to even begin to relate to that.

Two Bats with One Stone

As the quarterly exams loom ever closer, tensions continue to escalate. The battle is being waged on many fronts, and I would like to think that we are winning more than we are losing.

The most recent victory came in the form of a new classroom policy crafted by Maki. Following the visit of Jess, a volunteer from prior years, it was noted that our 7^th and 8^th grades are being out-Englished by the 5^th graders at the elementary school. This is not through any lack of intelligence on our student’s part, but a lack of drive. In all of their English-speaking classes, they speak Spanish unless addressing the teacher…and even then many of them don’t try very hard. I’ve had kids translating for their classmates before, or just walk away from me in disgust when I refuse to reply to them in Spanish. This laziness has resulted in increasingly bad English comprehension…which is a problem when you are supposed to be a bi-lingual school.

So Maki decided to bring down the hammer. From now on, the first time a student speaks Spanish in an English speaking class they get a warning. After that, if it happens again, the student has to stay in at recess and write 50 to 100 different sentences in English. All the spelling and grammar must then be corrected.  This new policy has been implemented with all the surgical precision of a tactical nuke, and the effects have been immediate.

The classroom suddenly feels more under control. Simply by walking past student, in a slow, ominous stroll, they busy themselves with their work and stop talking. I know they still talk Spanish when I’m not peering over their shoulder, but that just keeps me circulating the classroom. Another unexpected side effect is that the students talk a lot less than they used to. So not only is the classroom more orderly, but it’s quieter too!

Another resent windfall has been the discovery of the local movie theater! Well, it’s not so much a discovery (the place was pointed out to us the first week here), but we have found out that almost all of the movies are in English with Spanish subtitles! The kids movies are in Spanish, so no Megamind (unless I really feel like working on my Spanish), but I did get to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which I missed over my Christmas break.

Inside the theatre, one could almost believe that you were back in the United States, apart from two things. One is that the movies are definitely bootlegged (you can pick up a bootlegged move at any roadside stall…not that I have). The other thing is the nature watching. The theatre is quite large, and the ceiling is missing a few tiles. During the movie, you can watch small dark objects flitting across the screen.

There are bats in the cinema. At least you can enjoy the air conditioning mosquito-free!

Run Ratty, Run

Time to tie up some loose ends from earlier this week. First up, I do in fact now have a front door that both locks AND unlocks. It’s also really shiny and looks very out of place on our dingy old wooden door. Secondly, the teachers have had “the talk” regarding our problem students. They are getting one last chance to prove they are going to turn themselves around.

Each kid has to give an individual presentation to Maki, telling her why they should be allowed to stay at the school. They also have to show a marked improvement in their classes (as reported by ALL their teachers), and cannot fail as many, or more classes than they did last quarter. If they don’t change, then Maki has the transfer forms to the other schools in the city. Lucky for us, the Honduran school year starts in about three weeks (running from February through October), so now is an opportune moment to make our trouble-makers someone else’s problem. It seems a little harsh, but at least this way they are still getting a chance at furthering their education, and they might even fair better at an all-Spanish speaking school.

The first week back after Christmas was surprisingly good actually. The kids were surprisingly sedate, and we actually managed to get work done! Several of the problem kids are actually making an effort, which is probably the best belated Christmas present I could have asked for. Friday even managed to end on a high note, with a record number of kids shoeing up for art club, and all of them actually PARTICIPATING!

So now it’s Saturday. The sun is shining, it is a blissful 82 degrees outside, with low humidity, and the air is relatively dust free (thank goodness for all the rain over Christmas break.)

But just so as you don’t think I’m becoming complacent, check out this little misadventure I had one unsuspecting night before Christmas. Lacey got a call around 10pm from a hysterical Brigit, insisting that Jeff and I came over at once. Watch the video to find out why…

Oh, and yes, I am dual-wielding a short sword and a machete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyCNPxC6zkY

Inverse problem

I’m free…kinda. Carlos sent some people over, who managed to get the door open. I am now free to leave the house. Or at least I would be if it were not for the gaping hole in my door where the lock once was. You see, to get the door to yield to us, we had to utilize a finely tuned instrument of surgical precision…a hammer. I intend to keep the pieces of the lock as a trophy.

So now the door is open for all to come and go…which is now the problem. I can’t exactly leave the house like this for anyone to enter and pillage. So now I have to stay and wait for the crew to come back with a new lock. One of the guys stayed behind, but as I don’t speak Spanish, and he can’t understand English, we aren’t exactly good company.

My English nature is compelling me to offer the bloke a cup of tea, but I have no way to offer him one short of mime!

I'm Trapped and I can't get Out!!!

No really, I cannot physically leave the house. I woke up late this morning, as the career-improvement day doesn’t start until 10am. My housemates had already left for school as the elementary classes did start today. I enjoyed a leisurely lie in, brushed my teeth, made a pot of tea, and then finally decided to open the front door to allow in the unusually fair morning.

But the door wouldn't budge.

Something must have happened when Jeff and Lacey left for school this morning, because the deadbolt simply will not unlock! I even tried taking the whole contraption apart and turning it with a screwdriver...still it refused to move.

I called Maki over to see if she would have any better luck from the outside. She first had to climb over the fence, as the gate was locked as well, and then we had to co-ordinate putting the lock back together. Finally all was in place, and I handed Maki the key through the window. She inserted it into the lock and turned...and turned...and turned...

We are pretty sure that the lock is bust.

So here I am, sitting alone on the sofa with a cup of tea, unable to leave the house. Carlos is supposedly trying to find a carpenter, but according to Maki, he doesn’t currently have his truck, so I don't expect recue any time soon. Maki had to leave to go to the career-improvement thingy, so I'm all on my lonesome now.

I suppose I'll do some lesson planning, although it is VERY tempting to put on a movie (thanks to Dad my laptop now plays movies, WOOHOO!) I was moaning about Christmas break ending too soon. I really should learn to be more careful about what I wish for.

Mr. Grinch

So here I am again. After a much needed Christmas vacation, I and the other volunteers are back in dusty old Juticalpa for the spring go around.

Christmas was wonderful! I ate fancy food (not an egg in sight!), took long, hot showers, and relished every dirt-free breath. I also found myself complaining whenever the subject of Honduras came up. Even by the end of my two week reprieve (especially by the end of the two weeks, as the start of school loomed ever closer,) I found myself hard pressed for nice things to say about my experiences to date. During the flight back I felt quite guilty about my whole attitude towards Honduras.

It didn’t help that my flight took me on a brief tour of Central America, stopping at both El Salvador and Guatemala airports. I couldn’t help but notice that both places seemed much cleaner and better organized than Honduras. From the air, the cities looked quite pleasant, especially Guatemala City with its modern looking skyscrapers and fountains. The city streets fanned out in an open, inviting manner, and I found myself wishing that I had the time to stop and look about the city. Tegucigalpa in contrast grew out from the landing strip like a grimy fungus, buildings sometimes literally overlapping each other on the mountain slopes. There doesn’t seem to be any plan to the city, just dingy, grey structures piled haphazardly one on the other.

When we finally arrived back in Juticalpa, it looked as though the house had been abandoned for months. Spider webs filled the corners of the rooms, and everything was covered in a thick layer of brown dust. It took all Monday to clean it up and make the place livable. Thankfully it was raining the day before, so we are able to breathe…for the meantime at least.

I really wish I could get excited about being back. The next two weeks are going to be crazy, with the end of the second quarter nearly hear already! Art and Activities shouldn’t be too hard to get going again, but World History is going to be a mad dash to the finish line. While the group projects are going great (overall), I’m not sure if the kids are really going to be ready for the final. I haven’t been giving them worksheets like I was last quarter, since they’ve been researching for their projects, and I didn’t want to do their work for them. But now I’m worried that they aren’t actually learning the stuff outside their own topics.

You see, last year didn’t really end on a good note, which I’m guessing is why I was such a Grinch about school over Christmas break. While many of the groups did a good job on their presentations, it mostly felt like regurgitated information. Nobody (with a few exceptions) actually KNEW their topic, and many of the kids didn’t listen to the presentations (which was how they were supposed to learn the other topics). And then there were the handful of students who simply didn’t care about the project. I had about five students who simply didn’t present, refusing to get up to help their group. A couple even walked off during the presentations, leaving their teammates to pick up the slack.

How do you cope with that? When you have done everything you can think of to make the class interesting, you’ve spent hours making rubrics and direction sheets to help the students, and then they just walk out on you, telling you they don’t care? Just thinking about it is soul draining.

I try to think of the students that did work hard, of how great their presentations were. But I know that they could have done so much better if these other students hadn’t eaten up so much of my time, simply trying to get them to crack a book or pick up a pencil.

The end of the second quarter is almost here, and a hard decision MUST be made. Do we go against every instinct as an educator and cut these students loose? Or do we give them another chance, and try to step up our game in the next quarter?

I have already made my decision, as much as I don’t like it. Tomorrow we have a day to prepare for the start of school, and I am going to try and force the issue. For the sake of the other students, someone has got to be the mean one.