First week and (almost) second...DONE!

WOW. I have officially finished my first week and almost my second of being a teacher. All I can say about that first week was....challenging and rewarding. First day of school came and I met my 21 sixth graders, who are absolutely amazing. I will be honest, there were times I wanted to scream in frustration, but once I learned how to control 21 11-14 years olds...it began to get easier, a bit. The thing you have to know about education in Honduras is that just because you are in a grade, doesn't mean you are a certain age. Kids here might have entered school later, so for example I have a 14 year old in my sixth grade class, where as I also have a 14 year old in my 9th grade World Geography class. It is definitely different.

Coming off of student teaching where I had all the technology I could imagine; projectors, TVs, elmo's, laptops/ipads for every student, etc, it has been such an adjustment coming here. The internet is shaky and not reliable. The school is one CD player, one TV, and one projector. Resources are limited and I found some of my curriculum books only a day or two before school even started. The other day I had to copy a six page packet for my 9th grade world geography class...I have 21 students in that class...if you do the math, that is over 100 pages..that I had to staple together all by myself because the copy machine doesn't do that for you, like it does in the states. I will never take technology for granted ever again after this year that is for sure.

Being a teacher is tiring and hard work, and sometimes all I want to do is go home and see my best friends again. Then some days I get card on my desk saying that I am the "best teacher ever" and that my students are praying for me. THAT is what makes all the late night planning worth it. I tell my students everyday that I believe in them and I know they can succeed as long as they try and never give up. One of my new students told me that that was the first time someone told them that they believed in them. When I asked my 9th graders where was the one place they wanted to go most in the world..they answered "America" because "that is where I can go to get more education and be able to provide for my family".  It's that kind of drive that these students have, and if they weren't at this school, they might not ever achieve their dreams.

More later...I have to get back to planning :)