Headed back to school today - my month of vacation flew by! It was great to see folks and the beginning of the year is always my favorite: new pens, notebooks, and other office supplies (best case!) but also a clean slate, an opportunity to start fresh with the students. Also, found out that I will be teaching 5th grade and will be a course director. Say what?!?! This should definitely result in some interesting blog posts throughout the year.
Last year, 5th grade was a challenge. They are babies! I'm hoping by only teaching 5th grade and having more time with them each week, things will be a bit more enjoyable...for everyone. Also, the opportunity to teach the basics to these little guys will certainly make me more qualified for the stuff I want to do down the road: train teachers!
As for the course director part, I'm pretty sure the administration has gone mad. The position itself is perfect for me - I get to be in charge of a course - gosh, I love control! I can decorate the classroom, arrange the desks the way I'd like, build up team moral and work on the classroom culture. I also get to work on the individual improvement plans with the struggling students, work closely with parents, and run the weekly grade level meetings. This is great stuff and certainly good professional development, especially because half of these things must be done in SPANISH...which is also why I think the administration is off its rocker...SPANISH!!?!?! Yes, I can order my food at a restaurant, navigate my way around the city well enough, hold a conversation at a bar, and confirm a reservation by phone...but having difficult conversations with parents about their children? Haha...this is going to be verrrry interesting...
Maybe if they react badly to something you say you can just play it off as bad Spanish, haha Happy first week!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Should be a really great and cool opportunity!!!!! I'm sure you're well qualified to start working with teachers. It will DEFINITELY come.
ReplyDeleteAnd your Spanish must be amazing now!!! I just got back from Italy and I think I love Italian a little more than Spanish or French. :-)
Actually re-reading this post, I'm sure your Spanish is MUCH better than you admit, especially since you've been there for a year. I was only in Italy for 10 days and I was having conversations with people (granted I know Latin based languages). So I'm sure you're your own worst critic and you're really rocking it.
ReplyDeleteI think most important is just to be able to say what you want to say even if you don't know the word, if you can describe what you mean, you're golden. And I'm SURE, your Spanish has surpassed mine by kilómetros!!