Though Honduras is a violent country, Siguatepeque has always been peaceful as far as cities go, and I don't think the crime rate is higher than that in any given U.S. city. But lately, with the unrest in Honduras, I've been hearing more and more stories of crime. This time it happened to a friend - my 5th-grade assistant, Ana. A few hours ago, some men went into her apartment, looking for a drug dealer. When they realized it was the wrong house, they took her money and cell phone and tied her feet. They put a gun to her head and asked if she wanted to die. She said no, and they left her. She's very shook up but thankfully unharmed. Please pray for her and the rest of us in Honduras, for peace and safety. In anticipation of the responses to this post, I'll say that I don't think the situation is bad enough for me to leave the country. I wasn't called to be safe and comfortable - I got past that desire a long time ago. I'm safer in the place to which God has called me than in the safest city in the world.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. -Psalm 34:7
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Laughs
Our school needs prayer big time. So many staff members are out, and the rest of the staff is working double-time to compensate. Profe Edith's husband's surgery went well, but he will have to be in the hospital in Tegucigalpa for a while longer, and she has asked for another 15 days' leave. Profe Sonia, my counterpart, who is the elementary school teacher with the most experience working in this school and had become our go-to person in Profe Edith's leave, has been out since Monday. She will be out for a month, completing her practicum. The woman hired as Profe Sonia's substitute has been out for several days because her mother-in-law died. Yicel, our secretary, has taken over Profe Edith's duties and has been substituting in the 5th and 6th grade for Profe Sonia's substitute, but she was out for a day or two this week as well. My assistant, Ana, is rarely in my classroom because she is filling in for Profe Edith in other areas. Lindsay, the 1st and 2nd grade English teacher has been out sick this week with a virus. Stephanie, one of the high school teachers, was out for a couple of days with a virus, and Shelby, our special ed person who fills in everywhere, is just now getting over a sickness. Steve, another high school teacher, was also out for a couple of days. I came down with a cold (strep throat?) last week from the bacteria-carrying dust that pollutes all of Honduras because of unpaved roads. Last Friday was a tough day for teaching because I was losing my voice. On Saturday, I could barely speak, but thankfully by Monday I had my voice almost completely back. I didn't have to miss a day of teaching, but I'm still getting over the cold symptoms. Please pray for health and wholeness and a fully-staffed school.
Let me tell you how much I enjoy my 5th graders. They have such personality and so much love. There are times when they behave so well and are so engaged in a lesson, and there are times when they sorely disappoint me, but they always bring a smile to my face. For example, this week when I told them to take out their Science books, practically the whole class groaned. Blue Planet, the book we use, is pretty dry, and I'm doing my best to spice it up. I told them that they needed to choose to have a good attitude, and several students said, "Yes! Blue Planet! Woohoo!" So that's the new thing - now they'll groan when I ask them to take out a book they don't like, but it'll immediately be followed by an overcompensation of exaggerated excitement.
For both of my classes, when they've had a good day behavior-wise, I put a sticker on a paper I have posted on the whiteboard that is labeled "Game Time". When they have five stickers, I give them a class period to just play games as a reward. When the 5th graders are getting rowdy, several students will say, "Shhhh! Sticker day!" to remind them that they must behave if they want a sticker. At the end of the day, they ask me if it was a sticker day. If it was, I go to the board and start taking a sticker to place on the "Game Time" paper. Several 5th graders shush the class, and there is dead silence until I've placed the sticker, at which point the class erupts in "woohoos" and applause. They are hilarious.
The 5th graders' classwork and homework make me laugh, too. Here are some examples of things they've written:
Write a sentence with the word isn't: That man isn't a chicken, he is a human.
What connection can you make between the book and your life?: That is beautiful book and is very fun like my life.
Use the word "awesome" in a sentence: The classes of Miss Emily are awesome.
Was your hypothesis right? Yes, I win.
The other week, when parents came to pick up their students' grades, the mother of one of my brilliant 5th graders thanked me because her son is delighted with my class, and she and her husband are delighted with the way I run class and the way I discipline. That felt good :-)
My 6th graders are okay when the two troublemakers are removed, but those two really ruin it for the rest of the class. Please pray for them and me.
Both of my new students are doing well, though Daniela in 6th grade has a lot of catching up to do to reach the level of her classmates.
The Honduran presidential elections are coming up November 29th. We've been warned that there may be more unrest and more curfews around that time. Please pray for peace and for the right people to come into leadership in this country. Thank you.
Let me tell you how much I enjoy my 5th graders. They have such personality and so much love. There are times when they behave so well and are so engaged in a lesson, and there are times when they sorely disappoint me, but they always bring a smile to my face. For example, this week when I told them to take out their Science books, practically the whole class groaned. Blue Planet, the book we use, is pretty dry, and I'm doing my best to spice it up. I told them that they needed to choose to have a good attitude, and several students said, "Yes! Blue Planet! Woohoo!" So that's the new thing - now they'll groan when I ask them to take out a book they don't like, but it'll immediately be followed by an overcompensation of exaggerated excitement.
For both of my classes, when they've had a good day behavior-wise, I put a sticker on a paper I have posted on the whiteboard that is labeled "Game Time". When they have five stickers, I give them a class period to just play games as a reward. When the 5th graders are getting rowdy, several students will say, "Shhhh! Sticker day!" to remind them that they must behave if they want a sticker. At the end of the day, they ask me if it was a sticker day. If it was, I go to the board and start taking a sticker to place on the "Game Time" paper. Several 5th graders shush the class, and there is dead silence until I've placed the sticker, at which point the class erupts in "woohoos" and applause. They are hilarious.
The 5th graders' classwork and homework make me laugh, too. Here are some examples of things they've written:
Write a sentence with the word isn't: That man isn't a chicken, he is a human.
What connection can you make between the book and your life?: That is beautiful book and is very fun like my life.
Use the word "awesome" in a sentence: The classes of Miss Emily are awesome.
Was your hypothesis right? Yes, I win.
The other week, when parents came to pick up their students' grades, the mother of one of my brilliant 5th graders thanked me because her son is delighted with my class, and she and her husband are delighted with the way I run class and the way I discipline. That felt good :-)
My 6th graders are okay when the two troublemakers are removed, but those two really ruin it for the rest of the class. Please pray for them and me.
Both of my new students are doing well, though Daniela in 6th grade has a lot of catching up to do to reach the level of her classmates.
The Honduran presidential elections are coming up November 29th. We've been warned that there may be more unrest and more curfews around that time. Please pray for peace and for the right people to come into leadership in this country. Thank you.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Changes
I've really been enjoying my students lately. We still have good days and bad days, but the 5th graders are always so eager to learn, and the 6th graders have started coming to school some days eager to learn. I was teaching my 5th graders about surface tension - how water molecules stick together. I demonstrated it by getting two cups of water, and pouring the water from one cup into the other, little by little, until the water bulged above the brim of the cup. They thought it was the coolest thing ever and were exuberant at the chance to do the experiment in partners. They were so engaged that when the bell rang for recess, no one ran from class. Some of them stayed several minutes, experimenting and excitedly showing me their brimming cups. It was a teacher's dream lesson :o)
I had the chance last weekend to go to one of the 5th-grade girl's birthday parties. I played Twister Moves and Hide-And-Seek with her and her friends from 5th grade. They loved having their teacher there - they're still at that age. Not the 6th graders.
I was sick this week from food poisoning, and several 5th graders were obviously concerned for me and kept asking me how I was feeling. Monday through Wednesday, I felt horrible. Thursday was the first day I felt well. Thank God, because that day I had to teach every class from 7:30-2:15 without any breaks (Monday, Tuesday and Friday I have prep time while the students are at Gym, Music, or Computer class). I also had a meeting with a 5th grader's parents at lunchtime. They were upset at how his English grades had slipped since last year and were placing the blame on me for not letting them know every time he failed to pass in his homework, and they questioned my grading methods. Thankfully, with the help of other staff members, they came to the realization that expectations are higher this year because he is in upper elementary school and because the English department is being revamped.
I had a new student, Daniela, join the 6th grade on Monday. Her English skills are very basic, and she's been accepted to the school on a conditional basis with the help of a tutor every day after school. But she has a good attitude, and every day she thanks me for giving her class and tells me that she only understood a little but will learn in time. She's become good friends with the outcast of the class, which has helped the dynamics a bit. Tomorrow, I have a new student joining the 5th grade. Her name is Yvonne. She is from a children's home on scholarship and was in this school before but got pulled out for a year or so because of an attitude problem. Please pray for these two girls and my ability to integrate them into the classroom.
More changes are coming in the staff, as well. Profe Sonia, my Honduran counterpart, has been taking education courses for four years, and now she has to do her practicum, for which she will be on leave from her job during a month. A week from tomorrow, the day that Profe Edith comes back, will be Profe Sonia's first day of leave. Thank God they won't both be gone at the same time, but it's going to be hard not to have Profe Sonia's support for a month and for my students to have their regular Spanish teacher replaced with a substitute for that amount of time. Please pray for the right substitute to be found and for a smooth transition.
There are three students in 5th grade who seem to have ADHD, besides the one in 6th grade. They are a huge disruption to the class, and the school isn't fully equipped to deal with learning disabilities. We do have a teacher who devotes some of her time to special education, and she has started pulling these 5th graders out during Reading class to work with them. Pray for these students and us, their teachers. We're meeting individually with their parents this week because they have each had three detentions - the next step is an in-school suspension.
Just to let you know a little about what life is like in Siguatepeque... The weather has turned cool and rainy. I haven't heard any news of the political situation lately, and life is carrying on as normal. Things in general are just not as dependable in an underdeveloped country... Since we have well water at the school, we at the teacher's house always have water when we turn on the faucet. But our coworkers who live down the street often take showers over here because they have running water only once every few days. Their water situation is worse than mine was in my first house in Honduras. Also, it's not rare to lose electricity at least once a week. Sometimes it's out for an hour, sometimes for a day. Yesterday and today have been worse than usual. The electricity has been turning off and on all day long for a few minutes or a few hours at a time. I don't know what's wrong, but I hope the problem gets fixed pronto! It's hard to get work done without electricity.
Please pray for my ability to relax and rest and receive God's grace in every aspect of my life, to empower me to do what He has called me to do. Thank you so much.
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. -Ephesians 3:7
I had the chance last weekend to go to one of the 5th-grade girl's birthday parties. I played Twister Moves and Hide-And-Seek with her and her friends from 5th grade. They loved having their teacher there - they're still at that age. Not the 6th graders.
I was sick this week from food poisoning, and several 5th graders were obviously concerned for me and kept asking me how I was feeling. Monday through Wednesday, I felt horrible. Thursday was the first day I felt well. Thank God, because that day I had to teach every class from 7:30-2:15 without any breaks (Monday, Tuesday and Friday I have prep time while the students are at Gym, Music, or Computer class). I also had a meeting with a 5th grader's parents at lunchtime. They were upset at how his English grades had slipped since last year and were placing the blame on me for not letting them know every time he failed to pass in his homework, and they questioned my grading methods. Thankfully, with the help of other staff members, they came to the realization that expectations are higher this year because he is in upper elementary school and because the English department is being revamped.
I had a new student, Daniela, join the 6th grade on Monday. Her English skills are very basic, and she's been accepted to the school on a conditional basis with the help of a tutor every day after school. But she has a good attitude, and every day she thanks me for giving her class and tells me that she only understood a little but will learn in time. She's become good friends with the outcast of the class, which has helped the dynamics a bit. Tomorrow, I have a new student joining the 5th grade. Her name is Yvonne. She is from a children's home on scholarship and was in this school before but got pulled out for a year or so because of an attitude problem. Please pray for these two girls and my ability to integrate them into the classroom.
More changes are coming in the staff, as well. Profe Sonia, my Honduran counterpart, has been taking education courses for four years, and now she has to do her practicum, for which she will be on leave from her job during a month. A week from tomorrow, the day that Profe Edith comes back, will be Profe Sonia's first day of leave. Thank God they won't both be gone at the same time, but it's going to be hard not to have Profe Sonia's support for a month and for my students to have their regular Spanish teacher replaced with a substitute for that amount of time. Please pray for the right substitute to be found and for a smooth transition.
There are three students in 5th grade who seem to have ADHD, besides the one in 6th grade. They are a huge disruption to the class, and the school isn't fully equipped to deal with learning disabilities. We do have a teacher who devotes some of her time to special education, and she has started pulling these 5th graders out during Reading class to work with them. Pray for these students and us, their teachers. We're meeting individually with their parents this week because they have each had three detentions - the next step is an in-school suspension.
Just to let you know a little about what life is like in Siguatepeque... The weather has turned cool and rainy. I haven't heard any news of the political situation lately, and life is carrying on as normal. Things in general are just not as dependable in an underdeveloped country... Since we have well water at the school, we at the teacher's house always have water when we turn on the faucet. But our coworkers who live down the street often take showers over here because they have running water only once every few days. Their water situation is worse than mine was in my first house in Honduras. Also, it's not rare to lose electricity at least once a week. Sometimes it's out for an hour, sometimes for a day. Yesterday and today have been worse than usual. The electricity has been turning off and on all day long for a few minutes or a few hours at a time. I don't know what's wrong, but I hope the problem gets fixed pronto! It's hard to get work done without electricity.
Please pray for my ability to relax and rest and receive God's grace in every aspect of my life, to empower me to do what He has called me to do. Thank you so much.
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. -Ephesians 3:7
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