Frustrating Day

Some schools are organized - with a plan that is clearly communicated.

Other schools...

...are not.

So here we are, on a Friday, waiting. With the start of classes coming, teachers are hanging. We are hanging because the school hasn't decided what rooms each teacher will have (so we can't organize or decorate our rooms) they haven't established which classes each teacher will teach, because they are missing several teachers so haven't figured out how to cover everything (yeas, you know that you will be teaching English Lit, but will it be Juniors or Sophomores? It makes a difference).

So you do waht you can, then wait. Next week our time is supposed to be taken up in workshops, so no doubt the decisions will be made at the worst possible time, causing the teachers to scramble to get ready for classes.

So much for having lots of time to get ready for school to start.

First Day in the Books!

Mar 22 is back to school for teachers so here I am back into a work routine. If this statement seems funny coming in March, remember that school calendars in South America generally run from April to January. We are up early enough to get our animals taken care of and lunches packed. Then my wife gets on her bus and I get on mine. First day for teachers, of course is fairly simple. We get a couple of meetings, spend some time networking with the other teachers and seeing what everybody did on their vacations. Then we check out our rooms - I got a new desk! We got the schedule for the next two weeks - filled with requirements for turning in curriculum plans, developing diagnostic tests and teaching workshops. On April 5 the 1st Course (US equivalent is 7th Grade) begins classes, while the rest of the secondary school, including myself, begins on 6 April.

After school was over I changed and did a cardio session on the school track. While doing that I heard a yell. Some of my oncoming seniors were at basketball practice. While the ladies had a water break we talked a bit and briefly got caught up. Fun! This has been my best group the last two years, and now they are seniors. I have big expectations for them - and me - for this year, they are such good kids, and strong students.

First Day For Teachers - Ecuador Style!

I know it sounds funny to Northern Hemisphere teachers but today - 22 March - is the first day back for teachers on a new school year. The first week is on reduced hours - no classes starting at 7:15 - so for this week we come in an hour later. For me and the others who don't have a car, the school sends around an expreso (a private bus). Lisa was just picked up by her school's bus, since InterAmericano goes by the North-american school calendar, so I have about an hour to kill.

Excited? Yeah! But it is raining outside, and I have two bags of stuff I'm carrying in to get started organizing. Bleah! Maybe I'll get lucky and the rain will pass by?

Vacation Winding Down

Yes, those sad words for a teacher, vacation is almost over. Since my school runs on the South American schedule - April to January, teachers come back March 22 to start getting ready. That's Monday! Actually, today is really my last day of vacation, because I told my wife I'd come into her class and give a presentation (her school works on the North American calendar, August to May).

Of course, it really isn't bad. It has been long enough that i'm missing the kids and getting eager for the new year to start. I am especially excited about my seniors this year. there are a bunch of good, dedicated students in this group and I expect good things from them. As a comparison, with last year's seniors I only had four out of 32 students take their IB exams in Business, and it was a struggle to help them get ready, while the senior projects from all of them were of poorer quality than I expect.

Frustrating, but then that senior class had the lowest overall academic scores in the 80-year history of our school. Just one of those things where we had a large concentration of under performing students in one year. There were a lot of smart kids in that class, they just would rather party than do their work. I never could find a way to really connect with that group, few teachers in our school did, and that is what was so frustrating.

This year, however, I'll have about 42-44 students, with around 25 going for their IB exams. A large group of these kids are extremely dedicated and competitive academically. A lot of them think it is a failure if they score a 95 on an assignment. I can't wait to see what they will be doing on their projects.

Back to School!