New Schedule

Please forgive me as it’s been a while since I last updated my blog, but life has gotten much fuller for me since classes started two weeks ago. Since you’re all probably wondering what I’m up to, I’ll give you my typical schedule along with some commentary, too.

5:45-7:00: Wake up, have a cup of coffee, read scripture and Lenten passages for the day, pray a while, make my rounds through the house. This is the foundation for my day, so I’m really thankful that I don’t have to be at the school until later (most teachers’ schedules at the school start at 6:30). Once I get my fill of coffee, the Word, and a little bit of the Church Fathers, I’m ready to face whatever might come my way.

7:00-7:30: Run around the big block of our neighborhood a couple times. Shower. I’m trying to stay in shape, running off all the extra carbs I get from too much bread and rice and noodles. Showering is always a good idea after running in the tropical morning heat, when temperatures even this early can be in the mid to high humid 80s.

7:30-8:30: Get dressed. Plan out and review my lessons for the day. Go to school. A good lesson plan = a good teacher. I have four plans to make every day: 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades, along with conversation classes on topics of my choice with 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades.

8:30-8:50: Round up all the kids on recess who misbehaved in English class the day before so they can sit with me on the bench and serve their punishment time. I’m pretty strict and am not afraid to discipline the kids, who can be really unruly. The third time I tell a kid to be quiet or sit down in class, it’s already too late—they’ve lost some of their recess time the next day. I like the system, as it gives me the chance to spend quality time with misbehaving students.

8:50-9:30: Mill about the school socializing and making last-minute class preparations. I think parents and students like to see the English teacher out and about. I’ve heard a lot of moms and dads especially like Adonai for all the North Americans who come to visit and teach.

9:30-10:10: 2nd Grade. About 18 eight-year olds who are still learning how to control themselves. Most respect and maybe even fear my authority a little bit, but some don’t want to listen to or do a single thing. About half the class time is getting the class under control.

10:10-10:50: 3rd Grade. About 22 nine year olds, several who are related to one another, in one giant chaos of a class. This group definitely receives the brunt end of my disciplinary wrath. I’ve removed four of the worst students from the class (three of whom are cousins from the church) to write sentences outside the room, and more than half of the class has lost recess time to me. About 2/3 of the hour is spent getting the class under control.

10:50-11:30: 5th Grade. About 21 eleven-year olds who are much more fun and interesting than the younger kids, but still need correction and guidance often. They can take notes on their own and are already well on their way to becoming young adults, so it’s usually a pleasure staying with them.

11:30-12:10: Leave the school. Check my email. Eat lunch.

12:10-12:50: Weekly conversation class with the older grades. Some of the classes I like, some I don’t. Some are at really awkward and annoying ages, and some I’d like to consider my friends. All these classes consist of me speaking loudly and clearly in English, and I nearly pass out for all the breath I’ve lost in the tropical heat. Right now we’re doing a unit on American cities.

12:50-1:50. Leave the school. More lunch. Take a short nap.

1:50-2:30. Round 2. 2nd Grade. A lot smaller than the morning class- around eight kids. I’m still really sleepy from my siesta and it’s really hot in the middle of the afternoon. I and the kids just want to sleep, but it’s much easier to learn because the kids are so much quieter. As with all my afternoon classes, I often run out of things to do.

2:30-3:10: 5th Grade. Only 10 kids, mostly pretty good and laid-back. By this time, I’m not so sleepy anymore. The young bachelorette teacher of this class always smiles at me as she leaves the classroom in a wow!-she’s-got-a-great-smile-and-is-really-pretty-too sort of way.

3:10-4:10. Rest from classes. Tutor Caballero boys in the library. Brandon and Gabbie go to an all-English-speaking Christian school in Asuncion, so I help them out with their math in the English language. A young guy from the church recently asked me to help him with his math homework in Spanish, but I had no idea how to explain it in English. Tutoring in English brings down at least one barrier to understanding.

4:10-4:50: 3rd Grade, last class of the day. Although I’m nearly exhausted, this class is a lot of fun. A huge variety of personalities in only eight students. You might say a pray for one of them—Santiago--, who really acts as if he’s possessed by some demon spirit of disobedience and has missed school the past week for his actions. He scares the girls in the class.

4:50-Evening: Home. Home at last, home at last. Thank God, I’m home at last. I’m learning a lot from teaching, am enjoying it immensely, and am seeing the HUGE impact teachers can have on students’ lives, but it’s really tiring and I’m always thankful to have made it through another day.