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Published: December 21st 2006
My school during recess
This is a view of my school from outside my classroom. As you can see it is outdoors. This "patio" area is used for recess, gym class and school presentations.When I was assigned La Escuela de la República de los Estados Unidos (The Republic of the United States School) I was sort of under the impression it had some affiliations with the U.S. or it was a special English language school. Boy, was I wrong.
The second week in Antofagasta we began our time in our respective schools. The first week in the schools was for observing, the second co-teaching with our co-teachers and then the third on our own. The first week was a big eye opener for me. My first day to meet the students and other teachers I was so nervous. I wouldn't have to do much except smile and say my name. It wasn't like I was going to teach. Even still, I had millions of butterflies in my stomach.
A typical Chilean public school
My host mom and I walked to school together on that first day. She works at the school and it's only about 4 blocks away from the house. Like most schools in Northern Chile (the desert) the school is very open air type of building. Usually there is a big patio in the middle covered by an enormous structure
Monday mornings
Every morning the kids would line up and wait to be taken to their classrooms by their teachers, but Monday mornings there would be the raising of the flag, singing of the national hymn, announcements and acts. for shade. This patio acts as the gymnasium, place of assembly, theater and playground. Around the patio are open hallways leading to classrooms, offices, cafeteria, library, bathrooms, etc. It never rains here, therfore there is no need for enclosures against the elements. Just shade from the sun.
Every morning the students line up according to classes and then within that by gender. In total my school has a little over 700 students which includes jardin(preschool) up to 8th graders and each grade has two classes. For example I teach only 5th-8th graders but there are 2 groups of each; 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7A, 7B, 8A and 8B. So each class is lined up next to their head teacher and when the bell rings they go to their classrooms. But Mondays are different. Every Monday once the bell rings there is the raising of the flag and singing of the national anthem along with any announcements. The students proceed to their classrooms for about 1 1/2 hours of home room with their head teacher.
So that first Monday I was in 8A with Marianella for home room. The students always stand when a teacher or administrator enters and
My classroom
Without students...very rare. greets them. I was introduced that day as the English volunteer Miss Erin or Miss and then I said a couple of things about myself in English. Marianella then asked them if they understood and most only understood Chicago (I told them I was from Iowa, which is a state near Chicago...no foreigner has ever heard of Iowa). This introduction of course continued all week until I had met all 8 of her classes.
Being a novelty
In a city where foreigners from outside of South America are so scarce that most children have never met or seen one, my presence at the school was something of a novelty and I quickly became very popular. Kids would swarm me with questions like; Why are American’s obsessed with peanut butter?; Did I see the Twin Towers fall?; or if I knew any celebrities. And then there’d be the stares at my quintessential American blue eyes, blonde (yes, they called it blonde) hair and pale skin. I’d be given gifts of sweets, bracelets, meaning of my zodiac sign, drawings and many hugs.
Becoming a teacher
When it finally came time to teach on my own I of course was very
8th graders in my classroom learning a GreenDay song
This is one of my favorite classes. They are fun, behave well and can actually speak some English. apprehensive and still didn't think I could do it. But Marianella gave me confidence and the fact that I'd only have about 20-25 students at a time instead of all 40-45 (yes, most Chilean classes consist of 40 students). The first week I just planned an activity for them to get to know me better and me to get to know them. So I put up a display called "All About Me" in my classroom that had pictures or explanations of my family, my pet, my favorite book, place I'd most like to visit, interesting facts about me, etc. After sharing I asked them to do the same but without photos. I completed the first week of teaching on my own. Big sigh of relief.
Weeks went by and many hours of lesson planning were used. Most of my classes consisted of singing songs like "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" or playing games like "Wordigo." Anything to get them out of their seat and actually speaking English. That was the challenge; getting them to speak English. I had routine questions every class and every week they would learn a new question and answer like, "When is your birthday?" "My
The English Club
Here's my English Club and some of my best students. We had so much fun and were my favorite kids. birthday is..." or "What grade are you in?" "I'm in sixth grade." Unfortunately most of my students' level of English was not too good and I did have to use a lot of Spanish. Which I made a complete fool out of myself because many times I didn't know the correct word or form. But it also connected me with the students. I tried their language, they tried mine.
Extra-curricular activities
I was required to have an extra-curricular activity and began an English Club that was held every Tuesday from 4pm-7pm (yes, it was a long club but the kids never wanted to leave). The interesting bit was that I didn't put up signs about it, Marianella "chose" certain students to be in the Club. They were of course the most enthusiastic and most advanced students. English Club ended up being one of my favorites and I became quite close to those students. It was a very laid-back club and we mainly played games, listened to music and asked each other a lot of questions. We started to learn a play, but we never got far enough along to put it on.
I also began a class for
Fourth of July
The anniversary of my school just happened to be the Fourth of July. I'm thinking THAT'S the reason it is called the U.S. school the teachers who wanted to learn English. It started out with about 10 teachers and slowly dwindled to just 2. That too was very informal and mainly I just answered any questions they had.
The swing of things
After about a month or so of teaching I was no longer nervous and felt more confident. I'd gotten to know the kids and I always tried to make learning fun. I had classes I really looked forward to and then there were those that I always had problems with. My co-teacher and I developed a disciplinary action of "3 strikes and you are out" for students to be able to come to my classroom. Marianella always reminded them that it was a privilege to come to the "English classroom" and if there were problems I could kick anyone out. Which I did, plenty of times, but never permanently. I think discipline was the most difficult part of teaching in Chile. There seems to be a real lack of it in the classroom. I'd have students eating in class, talking on or taking pictures with their cellphones, talking while I was or just plain disruptive. It was always difficult for me
My co-teacher, Marianella
Marianella and two students from 5th grade(which would be our 4th grade)in my classroom. because I came from such a disciplined upbringing and if I would have acted like some of my students I would have had many, many detentions or perhaps have been expelled. Behavior that was tolerated in Chile would never fly in the U.S. But I did adjust more to the realities of a Chilean classroom and I relaxed a bit.
My school definitely wasn't the poorest school, but most of the students came from poorer areas, from single parent homes with lots of siblings and from parents with very, very low education. But despite their economic level or lack of parents, the children were very loving and always respectful. The whole experience was worth it because of the kids.
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Linh
non-member comment
Always show them who's the boss
Hey Erin, It's great to hear about your stories from Chile. Don't let the little rascals get the upperhand. Whip them back to shape! j/k Anyway hope you have a good Xmas. Take care!