Whew. Alright, I'm not really even going to apologize for only writing about the school anymore. My primary way of showing the love of Christ to these girls is through giving them an education. So, thats what I do and thats all I can generally think of when making these things.
We made IEP's. Or, the Honduran equivalent. One of the big problems that we run into down here is girls that are behind with their education. Sometimes WAY behind. Sometimes too far behind. It worries me because I want their futures to be better than their pasts. So, I sat down with teachers and girls and we made 6 month educational schedules graphing their official accredidation program. This was trickier than it sounds because each of the girls do their own work-at-your-own-pace book and are in different lessons. This way, we as the teachers will be able to hold the girl's accountable for their progress and be able to identify problems quicker before they get big. It also helps us as the school staff to keep girls on a pace to graduate highschool when they are around 18. I also included behavioral and educational notes per individual girl. I did this so all of the teachers and future teachers can be aware of the reoccuring difficulties and be united on how to approach them. This put me more at ease. It looks good, but more important than appearance, I think it is going to be effective.
I've been teaching again. For about 4 months or so I was only administrating. It turned out good, because we had alot of organizing and planning to do, but I missed teaching. I've been covering math for the 4-6 grade as well as the girls in 7th and higher. I've also been teaching a Honduran history class and a world history class. In the afternoons I teach an English class focusing on reading and writing and verb usage. They are all going great. I really enjoy teaching.
Teaching gives me a different perspective on what we can do better at the school. This is great because we are really making progress through identifying problems and making the system better. Its a little stressful though to only think about problems all day. I'm about 5 weeks in on identifying problems, and though we are making headway, it weighs on a person. I look forward to a day when I can focus on maintaining a great system instead of fixing things. I'm not sure that that day will ever actually exist, but its a Carribean island in my mind.
A few things we need. I'm focusing on math this week. I could use all kinds of math books. The way we generally do math is we use one book and put problems on the board for the girls. Sometimes, the book is in English but the class is in Spanish, so a set wouldn't help. I've been using Georgia Performance Standards the last month and a half to do great-sweeping reviews until Mr. Jeremiah returns. But I could really use a book of geometry, algebra I and II, pre-algebra, and even some lower grade level text books. I don't like alot of what I see here, so I would prefer some from the states. So if you are a teacher, know teachers, and contacts with teachers, or have ever had a teacher that you could bother, give him or her a sob story for me. This would be a huge help.
Keep praying for us down here.
It's official ... Your a honduran!!
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