Things that have gone wrong these past two days:
1. I continued to make bad coffee.
2. I started working in El Batey (the other school). I told them I wanted first graders sent to me from 2-3pm, second graders from 3-4pm and third graders from 4-5pm. About 20 kiddos in first, second, and third all showed up at 2. It was a disaster. My plans were impossible. They ran, screamed, fought, locked me in the classroom (cuz the damn door locks on the outside), and cried. And despite repeating over and over and over what time each child was supposed to come, it happened again today. I also said I needed a list (and even wrote my requests down for the teachers) of the students for a few reasons. One: a lot of them cannot write their names and I'd like to teach them the proper way to do so. But many times I can't spell their names because they're not names I'm used to. Two: so that I can be organized. And three: so that if a child (or 7) doesn't (don't) come, I know based on my list and I can go to their house and talk to the parents to find out why. I've now said it three more times that I need a list and one has yet to arrive.
3. While I was "teaching" yesterday in el Batey, all of a sudden there was screaming outside and a ton of kids running around. Two students were fighting because the boy took the pencil from the girl's younger brother. And she took a big stick and swung it at his head, hitting him square in the face. He had to go to the hospital... It started in the classroom and ended up outside. So... Where were the teachers? Where was the director? Yea, I don't get it either.
4. This morning a little girl came to school sobbing. She's one of my tough girls who never seems to be bothered or hurting. She had some pain in her chest and was hunched over and could barely walk. I walked her back home to talk with her mother and her mother simply laughed and said it's because she eats way too much fruit... I certainly hope she's right...
5. During recess, a little first grader was running and fell, splitting open her knee pretty bad. Lots of blood outside, on the school floor and on my hands. And she was screaming bloody murder. I held her as the director cleaned her up and dressed the wound but when I say "held her," 25% of me was hugging her for comfort and 75% of me was holding her down because she was kicking and writhing so much so that she probably thought she was going to die. I also walked her home.
6. In El Batey, one second grader gave me lots of problems yesterday and today. When I finally sent them all home, he and a girl started fighting outside. He started throwing rocks at her but she ran behind me. One hit my leg and I caught the next one. And a teacher that was just sitting outside watched and laughed saying, "These kids certainly aren't easy!" I then decided to go to his house after I finished at 5pm. A girl in 7th, who's an absolute sweetheart, knew where he lived so she took me. I saw him and then his mother and he took off running. But I simply shook his mother's hand, introduced myself and gave her a little background, and asked her to send him at 3 tomorrow, not at 2 and explained why. Now I at least know where he lives, he knows I know, and I've met his mother. So hopefully that will help and this story can go below in my "Things that went amazingly these past two days" section.
7. I have visitors in my house every night (from my kiddos to guys my age to adults) after I get home exhausted and still have to plan for the next day.
8. I cried yesterday when I got home.
9. Woke up freezing both mornings.
10. I realized that I've completely filled up my schedule. I don't have a single full day free. Just Monday nights and Saturday mornings. Hopefully that'll be enough?
But! Things that went amazingly these past two days:
1. I just about finished the evaluations in the mornings in my school here.
2. Ramona has come to my house in the afternoons to cook with me and both meals were amazing. And she's coming again tomorrow!
3. I started working in El Batey!
4. One munch especially in second grade (today and yesterday) was giving me problems. Today, I finally took his book bag (seriously, bookbags, pencils, and notebooks are sacred to these kids here) and set it outside telling him that I only want to help him, but if he doesn't want to learn and doesn't want my help, that's fine. He can go home. As he went to fetch his bag and run back into the classroom (cuz despite not wanting to work or listen to me, he didn't want to go home either), I shut the door. But he locked me in... Eventually an 8th grader walked by and unlocked it. And my munch was sitting outside of the door crying. We spoke calmly, just the two of us, and he agreed to come in and work and listen. And he did...
5. Around 3:30 both days I quit trying and sent all the kids home. That's when 3 kids showed up in third grade at the correct time. And we did my plans, joked around, learned, and actually enjoyed the hour. One kiddo knows almost everything and even though I told him he doesn't need to come (because the other two know not one letter or one syllable), he refused to leave and wants to learn more. How can I reject him? Exactly. So I'm not going to. And I'll just differentiate for him because if he wants to learn that bad, I certainly want to teach him. And also clone him too.
6. I have visitors in my house every night (from my kiddos to guys my age to adults) and we made coffee together, drew, colored, share pictures of my family, laughed, and loved.
7. I found out that I put my grecka back together wrong and that I need to shut the stove off when the water starts to rise and that's how you make good coffee. And it worked.
8. On the way home from El Batey, I saw the family that lives there but their kids come to my side. I sat down and visited for a while with them and their mother. There's 9 kids all under the age of 12 and usually it's just the grandmother that takes care of them. And in a house smaller than mine... But it was a wonderful visit and I get to add another family to my list of people I've met and will see more of in the future.
9. I also saw Manuela (teacher in El Batey and lives on my side who wasn't there today) who told me that because of the huge fight that broke out yesterday, they're probably going to switch the tandas again. So the first cycle would be in the afternoon. After much explaining and repetition, she finally understood how that situation would be better for me. I'd still have an open classroom. I could take students out of the classroom (not their homes) when I called them and it would help the teachers to have less students to work with for a while. Also, I'd rather do evaluations with every student like I've done on my side so I could share my results with the teachers and choose my own groups. Sometimes the teachers here will just send the trouble makers or not send some that really do need help for one reason or another.
10. Woke up freezing both mornings.
11. Linda cooked for me last night and my other neighbor tonight.
12. Dulce dropped by to see me in the afternoon and I told her how much I missed her!
13. Ramona likes my idea for the "library" and we're going to chat with Nati soon.
14. Courts4Kids country director is coming early next week to chat with my community!
15. Ramona, Mavel and I also talked about an "Intervention Plan" because Mavel and I are both here for the same reason (Mavel was sent by AMCHAM, the NGO, to work in first, second, third, and fourth, in literacy and math). Nati wants Mavel to work in each grade in the morning for an hour so the teachers can leave and have a break. But we talked about it and because her and I are here, because I have no idea how to choose which first graders to pull out, because first grade is where the problems begin, and because there's just not enough time in the day to do what is needed, we came up with a better plan to bring to Nati's attention. Mavel can work in first grade with the teacher (because some munchkins know a ton and some know nothing so it would be so much better if there were two teachers that could help both groups). And I can just worry about second, third, and fourth grade; giving me less students (or maybe I can help more in each grade that I would have had to sacrifice) and more time.
16. All my food is in my fridge (luckily it never actually gets cold enough to matter for the things that shouldn't be cold) and haven't heard any rats.
And the winner is?? "Things that went amazingly these past two days!" 10 to 16. I'm good with it.
Buenas noches.
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