ENCA here I come!

Wow, I will be going back to work tomorrow.  Yay!  The profe and I will be trying out team teaching.  We met with Sandra (our program director) last Fri and she agrees this is the way to go.  It will definitely help to test run it now.  Next year, we will be starting out with about 17 - 20 sections of about 45 students each for three hours a week per section....that means 765 - 900 students....34 - 40 hours of English lessons a week....so, 8 hours a day without a break!  Of course we have to arrange for some time off during the week since I dedicate my Saturdays to my other counterpart.  Not to mention I will most likely be running two TEAM classes with current teachers in the evenings.  All this boils down to a lot of English teaching experience. =)

I started a Yo Merezco group this past Weds...that will run through summer vacation.  The first day did not go as planned but the girls seemed really interested and excited for it.  I was happy to see the girls from the family home in a new light.

BTW the girls have been working hard on producing a ton of accessories from pop tab tops.  We signed up for a artisans craft fair organized by business volunteers.  It will be taking place early Dec at the US Embassy.  We hope to sell a ton of goodies so that we can develop a micro-enterprise for the family home.  Please let me now if you are interested in anything.  I'll hopefully be flying home in January and can mail it out to you then.

The profe and I received some help with the planning of our TEAM classes.  The ladies from the technical department at the local school district office organized an induction meeting for local English teachers.  See the government has recently added English class to 4th - 6th grades without proper teacher development training in this area.  Many schools have decided to hire one English teacher to fulfill this requirement...in some cases charging the students to cover his/her salary.  We hope to help improve the teaching practices of these individuals given they will have the greatest impact in the community as a whole.


My meetings with the library staff are still getting canceled so I'm considering modifying my literacy efforts.  I'll be vising the local elementary schools to recruit kids for small literacy circles.  I continued my work with the third year students in getting together their proposal presentation ready.  They get really excited about creating things but struggle to stay motivated in actually analyzing/understanding what they are proposing.  In many ways, their work is very low level; however, I realize this is (in many ways) a reflection of the overall education they've received so far.  It saddens me to accept that the cycle with continue to repeat itself as they soon become the next generation of teachers.

I had my first night out in the city this past weekend...lol.  A friend and I went out dancing at one of the local nightclubs.  It was interesting because the crowd ranged from a high school aged crowd (yes, including some of my own students) to an older (didn't think they would be out that late) crowd. Turns out celebrating Halloween is prohibited ....so no costumes were allowed.  The place itself is beautiful...an old Spanish style home....with a central patio, fountain, and fruit trees.


I still can't believe it's November already.  At one time, 27 months seemed like forever, but now that work is underway...it seems like the remaining 22 months won't be enough.