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!