Off Topic - Teaching at El Alba #2

I consider myself extremely lucky to have landed a teaching job here in Honduras a couple of weeks after I got off the plane in Tegus. After our tearful goodbyes, I perused the newspaper I had grabbed earlier in the day and looked up potential jobs. Saw an article calling for teachers in Siguatepeque and here I am.

Teaching, is what I had wanted to do for a long time. I still remember that day that made me seriously think about teaching. It was a video on PBS about a teacher who unconventionally taught his classes with very good results. The video must have been made in the fifties or earlier because I remember the film being in black and white. The way he took his students outside and interacted with them and the results he got by teaching differently than his peers made me think that the profession was worthwile. I am sure things are different nowadays what with "teaching to the test" and things of that nature and such (as Arnold will say). I am sure I'll be somewhat disappointed to teach in California specially given this first year experience teaching in El Alba.

First of all, I found that teacher that inspired me to teach, here in Honduras. Well, not exactly him, but he reminds me a lot of the teacher on tv. Mr Cierra as he known by all, is a caring individual, knowledgeable, patient and loved by all students. I remember the first day that I met him. I was given a few books to teach from and was pretty much told "go teach." You can imagine how I felt, but there have been many "sink or swim" situations in my life so I knew how to respond - I needed a guide and I needed someone right away because classes were waiting for me! Of course, I began asking around for the previous science, reading or spelling teachers and no surprise! I had taken their place so they were gone! Who to turn to? Who?

At first, Mr Cierra just brushed me off. I was told to go to him because I would be teaching his homeroom classes and I needed to talk to the guide teacher. My first days were hectic, the same for Mr Cierra back-to-work preparations and so he was too busy for me. Somehow, he gathered that I really needed help and recanted. He sat in my few first classes and gave me pointers. I was nervous throughout this scrutiny. Told me that I was not teaching to college kids and needed to tone down the science for the sixth graders. He showed me how to prepare the weekly and term plans. Taught me to look ahead upcoming months and take out holidays or event days and that I will never finish class books given to me but to go ahead and give it a try. When it came to dealing with parents he said "Think of the conversation like a sandwhich. The soft part comes first where you applaud their child and then you get to the meat of it where you discuss the reason for their visit, lastly you leave the parent with additional praise for the kid." This last advice has come useful since I've had many visits from parents or sibblings throughout the school year. It's not that they do bad (some do), but it's because here at El Alba most parents are concerned about how their kid is doing and drop once in a while to check in - I know! Concerned parents are hard to come by in California public schools.

One last thing that he said lately is "have fun, it's a job but you should be having fun doing it." He'd caught me scolding my class for their refusal to work, I was probably too upset to notice how I was behaving, but that comment pulled me out completely. He was right, so far I'd been having fun, but you know how it is. Some kids get you riled up and the majority pays. In summary I've tried to be understanding with them like I've seen Mr Cierra does, but when they misbehave I've to be strict with them. And in some situations, I know that it's a daily struggle but if you know me you know that I only see it as a challenge to look forward to.