First Teaching Week!

   The first week of student teaching is done. Wow. What a week of many challenges and lots of learning. This past week I was in charge of both Spanish II (11th grade) and III (12th grade). I also helped with some elementary Spanish by going to the elementary building and helping teach a 20 minutes lesson once a day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This week I taught a cultural unit for the TULIP requirement. I gave five lessons about several topics like pre-conceptions about Latin America and Hispanics, a presentation about Paraguay, culture, cultural barriers, and immigration. In the last lesson of my unit, students gave presentations about relevant aspects of Latin American countries.
   Something interesting about this first teaching week is that the 11th grade group is very different than the 12th grade one. On one hand, the 11th graders are seventeen in total. The majority of them are shy or not very participative with the exception of 3-4 students. Also, not many of them are super interested in learning Spanish, but they need to take it in order to go to a 4-years college. On the other hand, the 12th graders are a group of ten students who are interested in Spanish and most of them are very participative. Since I was giving a cultural unit, I was teaching the same content to both groups of students, but I used more Spanish words with Spanish III. 
   I discovered that the Spanish II group works better in small groups. If I would like them to share information with the whole group, then it works best if they can first pre-process the information within a small group. I also had a Bible verse or short reflection in Spanish on the board and also the schedule for the lesson. This helps me to stay organized and it helps the students so that they can refer to the schedule to know what is coming next and also stay organized and on task.
   Something that was very helpful was the pre-assessment. I was able to plan my lesson keeping in mind my students' needs. For example, when I asked them what they would want to learn from me most of them said that they wanted to know about Paraguay and about my perceptions of people from the States. Because of that, I gave a presentation about Paraguay and shared with them some of my experiences. The students also said that they learn better using technology and visuals/short films. In response to their inputs, I presented a short film, visuals and used technology. I realize that it is extremely important to let the students give inputs about how they like to learn and respect their responses by acknowledging them in the teaching practice.
   I appreciated getting to know the students and their unique personalities (I am still learning!). I feel that I connect with most of them and I pray God will give me more insight about how to connect with everyone. Communication and respect are key aspects of teaching and crucial in the process of learning about my students.
   This coming week I will be teaching Spanish I, II, and II. I am excited and nervous about what is ahead. I pray God will give me strength and courage for this coming week. =) 

More Insight

   This second week of teaching has given me more insight about the students, the school sub culture, my cooperating teacher, and a sense of belonging and acceptance related to this place. I feel privileged to be here. Yesterday I told some teachers that I think I could not have started my teaching career in better place than this school. The environment reminds me of Dordt. It is a small school, students and teachers know each other pretty well, and there is a supporting community among teachers and outside of school (and there is a small Dordt-Northwestern competition gong on too!). This school also reminds me of my high school because I was in a private christian school that had around 300 students. I feel more acquainted with the students because I am learning many names and also information about them and their personalities. Each morning during prep time, Mrs. Pollema and I have one student that we pray for. Before we pray, Mrs. Pollema gives me some insight about the student so that we can pray for them with understanding. I love how God works in this way.

   On Tuesday I was able to play guitar and sing a worship song in Spanish with SPAN II. I also had the opportunity of connecting with a student because he is related to a couple I know. He started to talk to me about his family and how he is involved with his church and school. I enjoy opportunities like this to establish good relationships with students.

   On Thursday I also had the opportunity of connecting with the students through chapel. I gave a short message on relationships and God's desire to have a relationship with us. I talked about God's characteristics (loving, caring, gracious, forgiving, etc.) and ended the message with a song. Many students came to me afterward and thanked me for the message. I praise God for letting me express a bit of His heart for them. I truly felt as if all those students (7th-12th grades) were my children and I was talking to them as a mother and from my heart.

   I have several comments and observations about my cooperating teacher:

<> She connects words in English and Spanish that sound alike to help the students remember them.
<> She uses student's knowledge to build more knowledge (she constructs knowledge!).
<> She shares with her students various resources like a webpage, videos about mission trips she made to Belize, Spain, and Italy, fun videos, and useful links.
<> I really like that she has a Spanish website. In that website she shares links and resources, information about me (a picture and and introduction of myself), assignments, announcements, etc.
<> She teaches in a very calmed, relaxed, and fun way. This helps students feel safe and relaxed too.
<> She connects her class and activities in her class with how to live a Christian life, applying it to our everyday lives. Ex: she said that once in a while we can have fiestas "just because" in the same way that God freely gives us grace and we don't need to earn it. =)
<> She used the "Macarena" dance to review the months of the year. We moved our bodies and learned using TPR. Great!

   The time for me to teach is coming (next week!) and I am feeling really excited and a little nervous. How can I meet my students' needs is the biggest question right now. Will I be adequate for teaching? How will I practically demonstrate to my students that I care for them? My career as a teacher seems to be more "serious" right now. I pray God will give me strength, courage, and wisdom for this new season in my life.

   To finish, I am posting a video that I shared with Mrs. Pollema and later she shared with the students. FUN!