Now the first partial is over I thought that I’d love to
take the new time I have to write a new blog post. Work at the Bilingual school
has been hectic, hectic, hectic! But so enjoyable. The more time I spend here
the most I appreciate how enjoyable teaching can be. My 2nd graders
have been getting on really well recently and I can tell that what I’ve been
teaching them in the classroom has begun to sink in. In science I’ve been
teaching them about diet, teeth and keeping clean. Every day I teach them a
child puts their hand up and shares how they’ve been good and have eaten
cabbage or green beans for lunch, or shows me how one of their teeth is going
to fall out (although I’ve been trying to put them off doing that-It’s quite
gruesome at times!). And also, and probably one of the most important things,
they’ve all been passing their tests. Okay, one slight flaw in me boasting about
this is that in Honduras it’s the teacher who gets to make up the tests, but I
can tell you- the tests really aren’t actually that easy. Even in science
they’ve still got to learn some technical words like “enamel”, “sweat gland”
and “oil gland”. I swear I never had to learn stuff like that when I was at
primary school!
So as I mentioned
earlier one of the tasks us teachers have in Honduras is making our own tests
and quizzes. This is THE ONLY WAY the children’s work and efforts are assessed
in the Honduran education system- there are no national tests just internal
ones made up by teachers. For this reasons it’s quite important that we at
least assess the children once every week which really does make me appreciate
the system back home (although even that one is far from perfect). These
children have a time table stuffed full with tests and quizzes- and they’ve
practically only just entered their primary school years. Although this does
seem hard, the system really does keep them on their toes. Being constantly
assessed means that it’s very difficult for children to slip through the net
and fall far behind- but this does give the teachers a ton work to do- Lots and
lots of marking.
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| Some of the tests and quizzes I've been making for 2nd grade |
Teaching aside, life in La Union is pretty good. Maia and I
have been keeping ourselves busy doing Pilates videos, writing our diaries,
watching films and mostly nattering over a cup of Honduran coffee (Or the
Yorkshire tea I got given in the post- Thank you Gran & Auntie Ann!!). The
truth is that in highly rural places such as here there really isn’t that much
to do in terms of community activities. In the evening the streets are filled
with gangs of men on every road or corner. This does sound quite scary but it
is relatively safe. There are street lights in certain areas and it’s not that
daunting but we still make sure to get moto-taxis when we can- just to be extra
safe and to save us a long walk! One of the outings we make regular is a weekly
trip to Café Zazzo. This is literally the lushest place on Earth! And I
would definitely say that it is the highlight of our week. Every Friday night the
Vida Abundante teachers have a good old gathering here where many beverages of
Frappuccino’s and fruity licuados are shared- not to mention the delicious ice
cream on offer…Its to die for. I’m probably a bit over enthusiastic about food
but I would certainly say that it’s one of the things we have learnt to
appreciate the most since being here. Not a scrap of food get wasted in the
kitchen of Alice and Maia!
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| Me at Café Zazzo and a classical bean Honduran meal |
