RCOE International Student Teaching Spring 08

On tuesday the fifth class had a sports day in which everyone who participated in the after school sports program got to go to University College of Dublin and do a full day of sports activities, including a climbing wall, archery, rugby, soccer, golf and some mutant form of volleyball. I did every sport full-out with the kids, and they cheered for me through rugby because I told them I would never even seen the sport played before! It was lots of fun, the kids loved it, and we were all sent home with food and prizes. Very nice.

Tomorrow is my last day of class and I am very sad, my kids are so amazing, I love them so much. I'm even known around the school in classes I've never been in, and it's so nice to get that sort of community feeling from these small schools.

I stayed home this past weekend. I plan on taking a few touristy tours this weekend - I hear there's a viking tour with a dual land/sea vehicle! Way cool.

It seems like we just started teaching at San Ambrosio, but we actually just have a couple days left. For the past week, the students have been taking exams at the beginning of the day. The fifth and sixth graders had their English exams on Monday and Tuesday. All of the students seemed to take the exams very seriously. They all seemed to say they were going home every night to study.

At the end of last week, Torrey and I took inventory of the books in the library. San Ambrosio has a wonderful library. The library has a wide range of children's picture books and novels in it. There are even Spanish books in there. We ran across books that have both English and Spanish written in the book. There are a lot of Caldecott Honor and Winner books. After taking inventory, Torrey and I took the chance to bring some of the books in to the classroom and read them to the students. The fifth and sixth graders seemed to really enjoy it. Even though they couldn't understand all of the material, they still tried to and enjoyed looking at them.

A couple weeks ago, one of the student's mom came in to measure Karla. Karla told use that she was an incredible dressmaker and she was going to make Karla a couple dresses. Last week, Karla's dresses were done and they were beautiful. After seeing them, Torrey and I went to the fabric store to get one made, too. Within a couple days, our dresses were complete. They are beautiful.

This past weekend, Karla took us on a beach tour. She borrowed her uncle's car and we drove to some beaches that are northwest of Nicoya. We went to Playa Junquilla and Avellana. They were beautiful beaches with very few people on them! We went to a restaurant at Playa Avellana that was called Lola's. Well, Lola's has a pet that is the "second most famous pig in the world." The pig is gigantic! On Sunday, I rode bikes to Carrillo with Torrey and her mom. It only took us about two hours to ride up and down 36k of hills . When we got there, we met the rest of Torrey's family and Kendall and Karla. We had a nice and relaxing day on the beach!

Me and Mariá José

All of us with Brian. His mom is the dressmaker.

This is the gigantic pig! Lola.

We are nearing the end of a wonderful experience here in Costa Rica. I´ve spent the last week working at San Ambrosia as well as with Anna, from the National Park Service. On Tuesday, I went to Filedelfia with Anna to a public school to assist in teaching the kids about the severely endangered Jabiru Stork. We along with a couple others from the National Park Service gave a three hour presentation to a group of fifth and sixth graders. Now that the students have completed the course they will be able to go to Palo Verde to observe many different kinds of wildlife including the Jabiru and crocodiles.

It was a bittersweet week at San Ambrosia, knowing it would be our last full week with the students. I continued teaching English with Harold and working with Diego mainly on the garden. My seventh graders surprised me yesterday with a going away party at one of my student´s houses out in the country. He lives on a farm where I got to ride horses and watch the cattle being ¨rounded up.¨

Its been a life changing experience to work with the students at San Ambrosia and I cannot yet fully realize the impact this experience will most likely have on my future. I know I repeat myself each blog in saying the students are so much fun to work with. They are always motivated to learn, especially English which amazes me everyday.

The structure of the classroom is much more relaxed and at times lessons are spontaneous. However, without so much structure the students seem to learn just as much as in the classrooms back home, if not learn more at times. Maybe some reevaluation by teachers and administrators of how classrooms are run in the US would be worth the time. In a way it could relate to the inquiry based classroom we are trying to achieve in the sciences- we´ll see.

Well Hasta Luego, Costa Rica- Thank you for a wonderful adventure!

The 7th Graders at my surprise going away party!
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Rainbow after the rain.

The last week has come. I can’t believe it. Time has pasted so quickly. Only four more days left!! Ireland has been a blast from getting to Ireland and not knowing what to expect to feeling like I belong here. This has given me a wonderful experience here in Ireland. I can’t begin to explain how much I have learned about the culture of Ireland and the way the school system works.
The school system in Ireland is much different from ours in America. Living with the host family has taught me more than anything. No travelers would have ever learned what I have without living with an Irish family. I have picked up and learned a lot about Ireland history and the culture just by living with them. This has been an experience of a life time for me. I will always have this experience with me.

I am going to miss the people here in Ireland that I have became close to and developed relationships with. I will really miss the children in my class. They have been such a joy to me. I love going to school to learn about the children just like they loved learning about me. When different people are in your surroundings you can learn so much from them just like they can learn from you. That is one thing that is standing out in my mind about this trip. I will always be more eager to learn about someone from another culture or country because they are full of fun and new exciting things that you have never experienced before.

From this trip I have come to realize that I don’t follow up on world news. I only follow the news of our own country. It surprised me that here in Ireland they follow the news around the world. So many people here know exactly what is going on with our presidential election. I could be sitting on the bus going into Dublin and two people would end up talking about our election. This surprised me. Not only do they keep up with American but they keep up with the news around the world. I didn’t realize that the dollar being so low affected the people in Ireland.
As a teacher when I have my own classroom and a student comes in from another country, I want to make them feel at home just like the people in Ireland made me feel. I want to learn from those children and I want the native children in America to also learn from children coming from other countries. People just don’t realize how much you can learn from one person if you talk to them and are interested in them and their country.

Teaching and living in Ireland has been such a wonderful experience for me. I have learned so much more than I can explain. I will always have this memory and experience for the rest of my life. I am so glad that Appalachian offers international student teaching. I
would recommend this to anyone who loves teaching and children. I am going to miss this country, the people of the country, my students, staff at school, and my host family. Everyone was so caring, loving, helpful, and such wonderful people.

Wow, it is so hard to believe that time is going by so fast! Teaching in a Mexican school has been such great experience for me to take home with me. While I was student teaching in the States, I worked with a combination class, and therefore my teacher had the luxuary of essentially ¨hand-picking¨ her class. Having said that, I had to deal with very little behavior problems. It was so nice to not have all these discipline issues that so many of my peers had to tackle, but at the same time I was worried how I would handle my first classroom, because my student teaching class was somewhat atypical. I got my chance to work on my classroom management experience while in Mexico, that is for sure!

My cooperating teacher here has been here for almost ten years and so she has a lot of experience working with these students and this culture. It was a difficult transition for me because they are so ¨chatty¨ to say the least. It sometimes felt a little disrespectful because I felt like had very little control of the classroom situation. It is also a little awkward going into someone else´s classroom where they have procedures set up and learning to do it in a way that is ïn-sync¨ with how they do things. Looking back, I see how much I think I have grown as a professional because I now feel more confident at taking control of a sometimes challenging classroom. My teacher here, Virginia, has been so supportive and encouraging because she knew that it was a little harder for me. She also said that I was coming in a hard time of year because the kids had just come back from vacation, so it is always a little difficult to get going again, not to mention the heat was beginning to get much worse! Hearing her encouragement has been such a help to me! All in all, these are some of the most loving and sweetest children I have ever met. The Latin culture is so much more affectionate than we are in the States and so this class has welcomed me with the most open arms and I am so grateful for that!

As of now, Mexico has provided me with not only an opportunity to broaden my teaching perspective, but also to confuse me! I never thought, in all of my years, that I would be placed in the situation to be teaching second grade. I have always thought of myself as someone who deals better with adults and teenagers than with small children. I still stick to my guns on the fact that I am not made to be a full out elementary teacher, although after having the students by myself completely (my cooperating teacher flew home to Canada for the week) I know that I am capable.

The part about Mexico that has confused me most is whether or not I should be teaching Spanish, or just working with Hispanic students. I have pondered working with English as a Second Language through this experience because I enjoy seeing students work through problems with a language other than their own--which also falls into the category of Spanish education! I know that with the lack of ESL teachers available I could end up in this sort of role.

This experience has definitley shown me that I am capable of so much more than I thought possible. Often at the end of the day, especially since having the students by myself, I shock Elyse with the stories I tell her about how I have interacted with them. My friends do not know me as a person who works with small children, let alone one who gets up in front of the class to have a little dance workout to get them pumped and awake for math (this happened, believe it or not).

Through everything that I have experienced here in the classroom and outside of the classroom, the one thing that has completely been instilled in me is my love for the Spanish language and the Hispanic culture. I absolutely love being immersed in it and having an opportunity to teach outside my spectrum has been an even greater experience. I look forward to the last few days that I have to work with my students and to see what other things I will pick up and bring home to my future classroom.

Last week we had Children´s Day at ASFG! Children´s Day is a huge celebration of children in Latin American countries and in Mexico. tThey celebrate on April 30th. This day was a half day for my students and for teachers, and it was full of nothing but fun all day! We had a talent show in the morning, followed by dancing, a pizza party, playing on big blow-up games, and all sorts of kid-friendly fun.

Apparently, a long time ago a lot of countries got together in Switzerland and decided that they wanted to have one day where they celebrate the children of the countries. Thus began Children´s Day! It was a really fun day at school, though slightly chaotic as well! There were lots of parents on-hand to help, which was really nice. I have actually had the opportunity to meet a lot of the mothers of my students, and they have all been very lovely and welcoming.

Children´s Day was followed by a five day vacation from school in celebration of Mexican Labor Day and Cinco de Mayo. Sara and I took this time to head to the beach and have a few days of relaxation before we head home this week! We had a great time! So many of the teachers at school helped us by giving us suggestions of nice beaches, clean hotels, that sort of thing. It has been so helpful to have so many people who are a wealth of knowledge about the area. We ended up at a small beach near Puerto Vallarta (but not quite as commercialized). It was very crowded, but we had a great time observing Mexican families on vacation. It was nice to immerse ourselves in their culture and not go to areas where we knew there would be more Americans. It was a great stress-free time of beach laying and sleeping.

We head back to school on Tuesday for our last two days. I can not believe that is almost done! On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week my cooperating teacher has set up for me to observe a kindergarten class and a third grade class (which is really like American fourth grade class). I am excited about these chances to go and see other classrooms in the school.

So my last week in Mexico will definitley leave me with a sweet taste in my mouth! I have just returned from a vacation at the beach due to the ¨Puente¨ or break we had from school. The break was a result of Children´s Day, Worker´s Day, and Cinco de Mayo. What a nice five day weekend! Elyse and I traveled to Rincon de Guayabitos for our time off, a small beach near Puerto Vallarta. We were expecting a much more relaxed and quiet atmosphere, since we weren´t going all the way to Vallarta, but we were wrong. Due to the long break, the beach was packed with families, vendors, and people trying to get us to pay for all sorts of rides and attractions. It was still a nice relaxing time, trying to avoid letting the Mexican sun get the best of us.

Our last night in Rincon, we stayed out and watched the sun set over the beautiful Pacific Ocean. It was a wonderful time to sit and think about all of the things that we have seen and done here in Mexico and to think about the fact that a week from now we will be graduated and off into the real world! I just hope that when I get a few months into real teaching that I don´t start to expect a nice six week vacation to Mexico! We have definitley been spoiled here and have had the best of luck with almost everything we have done--not without a few adventures, of course. I can´t wait to see how these last few days play out for us here in Guadalajara!

Today is the second to last day at school for us in Guadalajara. My teacher had arranged for me to spend some time visiting other classrooms in the school this week so I could receive an ever greater understanding of the school. Today I visited a Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten combination class for awhile. It was so incredibly different from a Kindergarten classroom in the States.

Here at ASFG, they use an Italian theory in their early-childhood program that is completely focused on exploratory learning. It was so interesting to see children in their center time this morning. They are actually quite calm and quiet and performed different tasks with such patience. It was very different from most things I am used to seeing.

I was talking with the teacher, Miss Stephanie, and she was telling me how she sends home a "Daily Journal" via email to her parents. It is some digital photographs of what the children did that day with some comments and short sentences telling parents what happened at school that day. She also poses all of the really thought-provoking questions to the parents and uses this journal as a means of keeping them updated and involved on what is going on in the classroom. She keeps a hard copy in her room and I read some of the entries. I love this idea! I would love to incorporate this into my own classroom in some way because I thought it was a great way to have parents really know about what is going on at school. It can also be used as a means of accountability because she has one for each day of the school year thus far.

Another thing I have noticed in my time here is how much the students are so much more free. They have more freedom than any elementary classroom I have ever seen at home. They do not typically walk in lines anywhere--to recess, the cafeteria, etc. However, they all always end up exactly where they are supposed to be (generally speaking) at the right time. Perhaps in the States, we should give our children more freedom within the school. On the other hand, ASFG doesn't have traditional hallways as classrooms open to the outside. This configuration lends itself to giving students more freedom, I think.

Now that we have started to pack things up and are beginning to wrap up our time here in Mexico, I realize how little I have thought about things from home since I have been here. The other day one of the teachers (who is from the US) mentioned something to me about the election, and it occurred to me that I could not even have a conversation about it because I have not heard about it in such a long time. I am anxious to get home because it is important to be able to answer those questions and have intelligent, thoughtful opinions.

I got back to my classroom after my kinder observation only to be "kicked out" because my students were working on a secret project for tomorrow, my last day. I am really going to miss this class because of how much they have taught me about patience and tolerance and understanding. They are so affectionate and I will miss their sweet smiles and hugs every day!

My last day of school was this past Friday. It was a pretty strange experience. Though I've only been at the school for five weeks it feels like I'd been there forever and I was closing a sort of chapter in my life. We started off Friday like usual with assembly and a short sermon by the Reverend for the school. After that I spent the morning with the KG2 girls.

I had a bit of free time around break so I went outside and watched the girls play one last time. A lot of them came up to me to tell me they'd miss me and that I should take them to America. I mentioned that it would be hard to fit all of those girls in my suitcase without drawing some suspicion.

I went to the P3 girls class next where they had planned a surprise for me. Everyone had made cards and signed everyone of them thanking me for my hard work and for helping them on the Egyptian project, which was their unit while I was there. Most of the cards had American flags on them and I got a kick out of one that had a flag with the stripes where the stars go and the stars where the stripes go. Most of them said they loved America and would come visit me. I was tickled that they'd gone to the effort and made sure I thanked them individually.

The KG2 teacher was always asking me for ideas for young girls as far as art projects are concerned so I compiled a list of ideas as well as resources for her to use to create projects for her girls. I snuck it into her box as a kind of secret thank you for allowing me to spend as much time as I did with her class.

I did my last lesson with the P2 girls which has been one of my 'projects' while at the school. Every Friday I take their class and do some sort of art project that invites them to be creative and break out of their routine for the week. This week we created fantastic beasts. I think I'll miss the girls spelling out the words on the board as I write the project for the day. Each girl picked four different colored cards and on each card was written an animal or creature or even something a bit sillier like a robot, snowman or pickle. They had to create a creature that had traits from all four of the things on the cards, give it a name, and create a habitat for the creature to live in. Needless to say, I got a lot of really hilarious takes on the assignment and no one creature was the same as the others. The girls really enjoyed the project as well and were so enthusiastic about sharing it with me.

At the end of the day I gave a card to Mrs. O'Neill, my principal, thanking her for the experience and letting her know how grateful I was to be taken in the school, even though my teaching style and philosophy seemed so different from the standard there. It was a bit surreal walking out the school across the grounds at the end of the day knowing that my student teaching experience was now over and that I am now very much an adult and ready to take on teaching in my own class.

I spent the weekend and Monday and Tuesday in Nice, France, Monaco and Italy (for lunch) with two other girls from Minnesota who I've become close to throughout this trip. We reflected a lot on our experiences, shared or unique and really came to terms with the experience winding down. My parents come tomorrow from Pennsylvania so I'm not out of Ireland yet... you'll see one more post from me... but it's with a sort of calm reverence that I finish up my last week and a half in Ireland, with all that's happened in the school and with my host family behind me.

the finished bulletin board/mural



P2 hard at work


two P2 girls



one of the fantastic beasts, a starfish pigeon robot bug

So today was my last day at the American School Foundation at Guadalajara. It has been a great experience down here in Mexico, and I can already see all of the ways that it will affect my classroom, my Spanish, as well as myself as a person. I believe that this six weeks has been the perfect amount of time for me to reflect on my decisions that I have made in the last four years about what I would like to do with my life.

Through working at ASFG, I have been able to discover that I am not completely incapable of working with young children. I have found out over the past six weeks that although I prefer to work with older children that I am capable of working with and enjoying teaching younger students. This is a very important addition to my confidence as an education professional.

I also hope to in the future work with the English as a Second Language program. I have come to this realization because I have truly enjoyed watching my students learn English and to work side by side with them through Spanish and English. It is a struggle that I personally know, learning a second language, and it is something that I can truly relate to after being in a completely immersed second language classroom.

My understanding of the Spanish language and Mexican culture has been broadened by leaps and bounds here in Mexico. From my previous study abroad experience in Spain, I believed that I knew what I was in for. But it has been a completely different experience being down here and being in charge of my own cultural learning and understanding rather than relying on professors and guides to help me explore. By living with a family and working directly with students here in Mexico I have been able to grasp the culture and language in a way that one never would be able to do with traveling as a tourist. It is an indescribable gem that I have discovered and will carry into my classroom.

It's hard for me to believe, but tonight is my last night in Ireland. I know I'm really going to miss the people I've met. I've finished my work in the school and was very sad to have to say goodbye. The school said goodbye to Lindsay and me during assembly and we kindly thanked them for giving us the opportunity to work in their school. I think they were sad to see us go.

The school gave us a very nice going away present and I have every intention of keeping in touch with some of the teachers I worked with. I'm going to email them asking for advice and ideas when I start teaching this year. And as for my Irish family, I'm going to miss them terribly. I'm quite emotional about it really and I think we are all in agreement on one thing - my coming back to visit.

Here are a few more pictures from the school and my latest trip to Killarney National Park. Goodbye Ireland and I hope to see you again.

As I'm sure you may already know, potatoes are pretty important to the Irish. This is a picture of 4th class maintaining their potato plant which is for a potato growing contest. The plant's name is Spud Bob.

Killarney National Park. Absolutely gorgeous.

My final week at San Ambrosio was a mix of emotions. We had many breaks this week as the students were being tested for the quarter (This was their only test for the entire quarter.) and the end of the week came rather quickly. We didn't really remind our students that this would be our last week and so Friday was almost a shock to them. We were overcrowded with hugs, especially in third grade where the students literally blocked the doorway and would not allow us to leave! We gave out our email and mailing addresses and promised never to forget our students in Costa Rica.

I know I will never forget them or the experience I have had. I have learned so much about Costa Rican culture and more importantly their school system. I will take these experiences with me to future classrooms and hope to influence and enrich the lives of other children by broading their horizons. I cannot believe my time at the school has ended and as I walked down the road towards my home for the final time I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever see it again.

Our last day at San Ambrosio

At the top of the mountain!

A view of the city of Nicoya

Well, it is over. I have left my new family, my new friends, my new home, and my new school. My mom and I cried when I finally had to leave my home and I handed her the keys. I know I will never be able to repay them for the kindness they have bestowed upon me, in welcoming me into their home and helping me to explore and learn about the culture of their country. I've been looking forward to going home and enjoying the air conditioning and my favorite foods in the United States, but soon I realized how much I was really going to miss everyone and the city of Nicoya.

It's difficult to imagine never returning to a place that has had such an incredible impact on my life and my career. My Costa Rican parents have offered me a home in Nicoya whenever I want, for as long as I want and I hope that I am able to take them up on that offer. I now know I will miss the rice and beans, the kindness of the people, the relaxed settings, the beautiful views, the open air buildings, the hugs from the kids, and the companionship of the friends I have made on this trip, both Costa Rican and Appalachian!

My Tico Family

Our Final Picture in Costa Rica, at the Liberia Airport

The last week or so at school was bitter sweet. I am really going to miss these kids and this town. We had some really cool experiences this week. Marley and I had a chance to go through the school’s “library” and take inventory of the books. They have some really great stuff that has been donated. We got so excited that we declared it “story day” and read to the students the rest of the day. They loved it, especially when some of the books were bilingual so we would let them take turns reading with us.

We then had them draw illustrations for the books and tell us about them. My favorites were for "Where the Wild Things Are" which has always been one of my favorite books. Since we have been down here, we have been surprised to see how little emphasis is placed on literature and reading in the cultural and how much they value books. It was wonderful to see how excited the kids were just to hold the books.

As far as my family goes, things are still going wonderfully well. I rode bikes to Playa Samara with my mom this weekend and it was a blast. It was a difficult ride, very similar to riding on the parkway for 36 km. It was a great bonding experience with my mom because we both really love to do that sort of thing. We then spent the day in Carrillo which is a gorgeous beach just south of Samara. The rest of my family met us there and it was great to just spend the day with them.

Everything is really starting to feel like home! I can’t believe that it is almost time to go. I am looking forward to our last few days with our kids but also dreading having to say goodbye!

Playa Carrillo

Wow! I can't believe it's all said and done! The last few days were wonderful and I am going to miss it all very much. On our last day we had the kids write little autobiographies for us to keep so we wouldn't forget them. They were so cute, loved writing about themselves, and adding stickers and color. They love stickers! It was hard to say good-bye and after about a thousand hugs, we were finished. I learned so much from these students, way more than I could ever teach them. They were a huge inspiration in their desire to learn English and in the way they treasure their education.

Overall, this experience will help me so much in my future teaching career. I will be able to relate to other students so much more and will understand the feeling of being in a foreign place and not understanding a word!

Saying good bye to my family was really hard, much harder than I ever expected. We went to San Jose for the weekend for a birthday party and had a blast. The family members were so much fun and I really felt like a part of the family. We said goodbye a few short days later. My mom cried, which made me cry! They told me I have to come back and we have already starting planning activities! My family was such a blessing, and I will miss them dearly. They really took me in and made me another member of the family despite the fact that I could not even speak their language.

Well, goodbye Costa Rica, thanks for everything!
Pura Vida!

Eating mangoes with some students:)

My brother!

Hokey Pokey!

As I sit here, back in NC, I cannot come up with adequate words to describe my Costa Rican experience. Actually, words cannot describe my experience. I am very grateful for having the opportunity to go down to Costa Rica.

The first thing that I now think of when I think if Costa Rica is the group of girls I was with. I feel that my experience should be credited to the four other ASU student teachers that I was with. None of us really knew each other before this trip, but we all got along very well. We had quite a few bumps in the road with our travels, but we all worked through them AS A TEAM! This was very important because we were five American girls in a foreign country. At the end of the trip, I was unable to leave the country with these girls because I stayed a couple extra days. I wish I could have left with them.

I also give credit to my cooraporating teacher/ mom, Karla. Karla was a huge part of my experience. I worked with her at school. We taught English to the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. She helped us out with the language barrier and also with the day to day activities. Outside the classroom setting, Karla had ideas for us, suggestions on what to do and where to go, and helped us get around town.

This experience has allowed me to see how another culture lives, works, and learns. This has opened my eyes up and hopefully this will make me a better and more understanding teacher. I feel that I have more to offer after taking part in this student teaching experience.

Last day at San Ambrosio... Me and Lauren with a couple of 6th graders

Last day at San Ambrosio... Me, Torrey, and Karla

It is hard to believe that week three has already passed by. Things are starting to get a bit more familiar around here, walking around town, finding CR's most delicious milkshakes. I am starting to feel like I am truly a part of this town and my family. One, thing that I am still not becoming more comfortable with is the heat. However, I can sacrifice the comfort of air conditioning for the amazing food, friends and family that is only CR!

I am starting to become more familiar with what works and what doesn't work in the classroom. I recently taught my students the classic jingle "If Your Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands." This quickly became a favorite with my students and we start each class off with this song. Megan and I were able to make connections with emotions by making modifications in the song. We have started several projects with grades one through three including number flash cards. We are finding that it is important to make connections with everyday objects and pictures for increased comprehension. Repetition is particularly important when teaching English and has become an important part of planning.

In other news, I am falling more in love with Costa Rica each day. I found a new favorite cafe that has a delicious carrot cake and coffee. Here is an updated list of treasures found in CR.

-Carrot Cake from Cafe de Melon
-Chicharones from the guy beside the super market
-smoothies made by my mom