Chapter 11: Back Again

After a fraptuous week, our hero again sits in front of a screen, typing away stream of conscious babble to bubble and froth onto the page. What does he think of? What of his experiences? Read on, and find out.

I am so proud of my students. I cannot say that enough, I am so so so so so so proud!

But an interlude first.

It's been some time since I last wrote. In between, there have been snow-storms, holidays, family, reading, writing, and panic.

Yes, panic, because I didn't think about school at all over break. Well, that's not true, I thought about it a little bit the morning before.

"I'll do this," I thought, "they'll love it!" And then I thought. And thought. And thought thought thought thought thought...and decided that it was a terrible idea.

Back to square one.

So, what did I do? I talked to the other teachers, and got an idea. An excellent idea. A purr-fect idea!

Wow, creative commons has everything.

 I told them the story of, "La gallinita roja." Or, to put it in English, "The Little Red Hen."

It's repetitive, it has dialogue, and to top it all off, it's from Nicaragua.

Overall, the kids enjoyed it. I wanted to give them an easier week back, and by focusing on just the input part of the language, I gave it to them. Sadly, I ended the week with an output game which ended up being a lot harder for them than I anticipated, but even so they powered on.

So, what made me so proud of my kidlins? Both of my classes earned back free seating this week. Now, one of the classes earned it back earlier on, and lost it that day in spec-TAC-ular fashion. Obviously, I believed that they could show me that they could keep it, but I was still a little worried. I was vigilant, ready to use my white board if they started getting out of control, and...nothing happened. They were fine. Not perfect, but fine.

Don't get cocky, I told myself, tomorrow's Friday.

And they absolutely hit it out of the park. They gave me great feedback, and I know what my first activity of tomorrow is. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the rest--game or story, game or story--but I think that I will continue with this story for at least one more day before starting a new story. Eh, I can decide tomorrow.

Something that has been on my mind of late are the differences between Public school and private school in the US, because there are differences. How can I explain this...I don't know how to put it into words...no, actually, I think that I can. Public school, it's safe to say, has a nice slice of the American population to it. Even a school in as well-off a place as mine has a wide array of students. Private school...doesn't. That means, of course, that private schools can choose against behaviors, selecting students who are relatively easy to work with, and who can truly excel and help those around them excel. It also means that public schools tend to have a better connection to the surrounding community. Private schools tend to exist in a bubble, where those who attend don't always live in the nearby neighborhood. Public schools, meanwhile, are intently connected to the community, with most-if-not-all students coming from the surrounding area. As such, they have a great incentive to be active in their community, and really integrate the community into the school itself. Private schools, meanwhile, do not quite have that incentive. Every effort to interact with the surrounding people is just that--an effort in and of itself. The incentive can also be a bit tenuous--if those who pay tuition find issue with it, such programs can waste away into dust. Yet, try to talk about this with teachers who are only interacting with one or the other, and they hold to the belief that there really is no difference between the two.

Well, that got depressing fast. That's the last time I let sad music play in the background while I write. So, to counteract, both public and private schools have a lot of strengths. On the whole, I am proud of our education system and how it works. Could it be improved? Yes, and I do think that a good start would be better communication between the two institutions. However, on the whole, learning--as with life--is good. Anyway, it's freezing cold, with the possibility of thunder and lightning tomorrow.

This has been another exciting adventure in the austentatous. If you liked it, tell your friends; if you hated it, tell your enemies; and if you don't care either way, then tell everyone!
Time for dinner.