This week can be described in three words: Three Ring Circus. Monday was relatively calm, with the teachers mostly just going over plans for the third semester. I reviewed the materials the kids would need for Art and Activities, which was more work than I had anticipated, as I have made different lesson plans for each grade this quarter. This means that I am now having to juggle what equates to five different classes (World History, 7th grade Activities, 7th grade art, 8th grade activities, and 8th grade art…but who’s counting?) I guess it’s really more like four, since I decided to make 8th grade activities a part of their world history class this time. It gives me a great deal more direction with their projects, rather than giving the kids random assignments to do.
Tuesday was Day of the Woman. This is a Honduran tradition which I can only describe as something between Mother’s Day and Veteran’s Day. This, I discovered, was why Maki had wanted to take the girls aside and talk about stuff with them. I’m glad things went well for them, because it make the headache I got from babysitting the boys somewhat worth it. None the less, I was ready to throw some of the boys out for their behavior and attitude that day. I really need to accept the fact that I am teaching at what, in the States, would be considered a school of behavioral problems and troubled youths.
I should have known the day would be rough when, on the ride to school, I saw the monkey with the lollypop. Um…I should probably explain that. You see, on the way to school, there is one house that has a pet monkey. It will sometimes sit on the roof in the morning, and we have be using it to “predicted” what sort of day we are going to have (goofy I know, but it makes the bus ride a little more bearable). If the monkey is sitting and looking about cheerfully, it’s going to be a good day. If the monkey shows us its butt, it’s gonna’ be a…well, you know. This day however, the monkey was sitting there, licking a lollypop. I kid you not. I figured this could only mean one of two things. Today would be “sweet”, or we were F@$!#&. Alas, it was the latter.
We (tried) to watch the movie “Into the Wild”, and discuss themes like growing up and what really matters in life. The only question the guys really put any effort into was the one regarding sex…and their responses weren’t exactly encouraging. We asked “why did Chris (the main character of the movie) choose not to have sex with the girl in the trailer park (see movie for details)? One kid actually got up and said, in all seriousness, that “any guy who passes up an opportunity to have sex with a woman is gay.” That would have been the end of a very unpleasant day, had little Jose Carlos not stood up and countered the other boy, saying that “he (the main character) had chosen not to have sex with the girl, because she was young, and he didn’t want to mess up her life.” I guess there is some hope for our kids.
Wednesday and Thursday continued to go downhill, the students slowly getting more and more hormonal and ornery. I’m pretty sure that in the States a student would have been expelled, or at least suspended, for the disrespect some of these ones show to their teachers. To make matters worse, we the teachers saw almost nothing of our fearless leader, Maki, who has been embroiled in meeting after meeting with irate parents and deranged students.
Friday was actually a little better…at least the school didn’t burn down during my cooking class! I’m doing Italian with the seventh graders in Activities, and we made ravioli from scratch (yup, even the pasta.) The kids even cleaned up after themselves (with minimal “encouragement”.) Of course, 7B then lied to me later in the day, in order to sneak out of my art class and run amuck in the halls (I thought they had to go to a choir rehearsal).
Friday was also the last day we had Michael. You remember Michael, our blind student? Well his mother has finally decided that it would be better for him to be in an all-Spanish-speaking school, so he is transferring out. It’s kind of sad to see him go (no, that was not a pun, I’m not that mean), but I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. That’s one less lesson plan I have to worry about.
Are the students speaking more English now and no Spanish in class?
ReplyDeleteyes and no. THey are getting better at switching back to English when they see me comming.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar victory, but not with languages. In the hallways at my school we are very adamant about students having their hoods down because it's a dress code rule. Last week one of my students was walking down the hall with his hood up, and halfway down the hall he saw me and pulled it back down- without me saying anything! Either he's getting better behaved, or I'm getting a reputation. :)
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