Hold Up!

So I am back at school full time again and working through the roller coaster that each day of teaching brings. There are countless ways schools in the US differ from schools in Colombia, and some are more important differences than others. Some are actually enjoyable, like the fact that students here are much more affectionate and overall more caring than the typical US teenager. But some are annoying like the degrading playboy bunny notebooks all the boys have and the fact that all notebook paper is graph paper (seriously, no lines!). But one thing I think all the volunteers have experienced is just how often class gets interrupted. We’re talking big scale and small scale here. Here’s a list of my top ten favorites so far:

1.       Today was Dia del Saber, del Hacer, y de la Sana Convivencia. Don’t ask me what that exactly translates too but it means the math, science, social studies, religion/ethics, and Spanish teachers all programed different activities for the entire school to do today. This is great, because those subjects deserve special attention (and English Day comes in September), but this means I had to supervise my kids taking a math test today instead of teaching them future tense.  My classes are already all behind and at different levels. These special days are pretty unusual in the US.

2.       Dia this, Dia that! There’s always a day of something we need to celebrate. Language Day is celebrated through a field trip to the theater next week. You already know about Women’s Day and we had day of the student and child as well. Next week is Teacher’s Day and I can’t wait to see what goodies I get from this! Alas, I will miss more classes though…

3.       Our classrooms are outdoor style, meaning all hallways are outside and there aren't screens on the windows. This is sort of silly for Bogota considering the amount of rain we get. A few weeks ago we had a minor tornado run through sixth period. Many classes flooded and my ninth grade boys were screaming like babies over the lightning and wind whipping through the courtyard.

4.       Outdoor hallways mean pigeons in my room. Not often, but enough.

5.       Then there was the time my ninth graders moved into a fifth grade classroom because their wing is now under construction. About two days after the move, eight fifth-graders knocked on the door. They asked to take down their decorations and in the middle of my lesson the kids were removing posters from the walls. Needless to say I couldn’t get much done.

6.       Mass/Pastoral activities. Heck, this is the same as Catholic schools in the US.

7.       For the boys classes, anytime a girl enters the room there’s a solid to minutes of whistling.

8.       Sex education class. (And other psychological related things.) I remember having Life Skills class in middle school but they take psychology and mental health very seriously here, which is great! I was really tempted to go to the sex ed class when my students were pulled out but it was all in Spanish and I had grading to do.

9.       The last few weeks have been school-wide Olyimpics (Why they are not waiting until the REAL Olympics in July to learn about this I do not know and it boggles my mind!) So naturally we dedicated an entire day of school to the opening ceremonies and periodically students get pulled out of class early for games. This week about ten girls were pulled for a soccer game and came back to class with Vuvuzelas and balloons in celebration of their win. You try teaching present perfect with vuvuzelas.  Impossible.

10.   Ah, and finally. Last Thursday in one of my favorite classes, I plugged in the CD player to do a listening comprehension activity. The player immediately started smoking and within five seconds I (stupidly) unplugged it. But the cord was completely melted and the entire room was full of smoke. The smell of electrical wires flooded the air. The students evacuated to the outside hallways and went to get the maintenance man. Well, this was at 6:50 in the morning and the maintenance man comes in at 8. I was out of an activity and out of a classroom. Not one of my shining moments as a teacher.

There are new challenges each day and I certainly face the unexpected. But there are great surprises too. Some of my tenth graders knew I was having a hard week and wrote me a beautiful card with a little puppy stuffed animal and chocolates. It was exactly what I needed. These past few weeks after “the bad night” haven’t been easy. But grounding myself in my teaching is helping me see what is important here and why I need to stay. I wouldn’t have it any other way.