June 4, 2015

Time Flies

What?? Is it already time to leave? I cannot believe that our trip is coming to an end. I feel like I have only been here for a few days. I am sad to go. This trip has been more than I ever expected it to be. Our last day we got to go zip lining. It was a blast and an awesome way to end our trip. Today was my last day in Spanish. I have come so far from the beginning. I believe most of my motivation for learning Spanish came from the need of using Spanish to talk with my family. Spanish was so hard for me in the US because I never needed to use it. Spanish had no purpose to me besides getting a good grade. I must create the same need for ELLs coming into my classroom. If I can make the content relevant to the students wants and needs then I know they will learn quicker. At the end of the day, CPI held a small graduation ceremony for our accomplishments in Spanish. Even though it was small, it meant a lot to me. As a future education, I need to remember how great it feels to be praised. I think praising students for even small gains is important to recognize all their improvements and encourage them to keep growing. Spanish class not only taught me Spanish but it taught me how to implement valuable teaching strategies I can use in my own classroom.

 

 

 

June 3,2015

Sustainability

Today, we went to Life Monte Verde which is a coffee farm and education center. I didn’t know before coming to Costa Rica how environmentally aware they were. Being here has changed my perception of what being environmentally-friendly really is. I realized that I have a lot to learn. Our guide not only taught us how coffee is produced but he also taught us about sustainability. I found the sustainability piece more interesting. At this particular farm, they believe in creating a natural environment. They grew many different crops not only coffee. They also had many animals and forests. At first it seemed random that they had so many different things but then I learned that all of these things interconnected. The forests were grown to give the coffee plants breaks from the wind. The forest also had rich soil that would run into the coffee fields when it rained. The forest created homes for various species of birds that ate the insects that might eat the coffee plants. The bird served as a natural pesticide. Birds are much healthier for the environment than pouring harsh chemicals on the coffee plants. Beside the corn field, they grew this plant that had a strong odor. This plant also served as a natural pesticide to keep bugs off the corn, again instead of using chemicals. Using natural resources like in these too examples is much better for our environment. Life Monte Verde also used the animals to help fertilize the soil, and they used pigs for methane. This whole farm just amazed me. As a future educator, it is my responsibility to help my students learn what I learned today. It is important that we take action to sustain the earth we live on. Frankly, Earth is our home and without it we would die.  Just like the bird is connected to the life of a coffee bean plant, we are connected with the natural world around us. My students and I are the future of the world and we need to take action to save it. Having a class garden can be one way to take action.

June 2, 2015

Cloud Forest School

Today, we were given the privileged to visit the Cloud Forest school. I was very impressed by the school. This is one of Costa Ricans private schools. There are almost 200 students in grades Kindergarten through eleventh grade. This school was made my parents in hopes of giving their children a bilingual education. The school has grown into much more than just that. The school and its students are one with nature. The classrooms are open and there are many hiking trails. The schools puts a lot of emphasis on being environmentally-friendly. The students here are encouraged to show their creativity in everything they do. The student ambassador, Elena, that showed us around spoke highly of her school. She stated that this was more than a school, it had become her home and the people her family. This school is the ideal school to work for. The students don’t sit in class all day quietly at their desks. The children played and did hands-on activities. What impressed me the most was how environmentally aware they were. The students respected the beautiful world around them. They are very resourceful. The recycle and reuse materials around them and used their creative minds to make something new. Just from the little time I observed, I gained insight on so many ideas about what I could do in my own classroom. I can do anything if I think creatively. My students will plant gardens and use then resources around them. I whole heartedly believe in recycling materials and not being wasteful. The Cloud Forest’s playground was made out of all recycled material. The swings were made from tires and the slide was made out of sheet metal and old pipes. The art work displayed around the school were made of material such as plastic bottles, caps, pots, tires, and so on. It was so interesting. I was truly inspired by this school and can’t wait to take back what I learned to my own classroom.

June 1, 2015

Respect and Empathy

I have learned so much about my family. They are people just like you and me. We are more similar then different. The teenagers like to watch movies and hangout with their friends. The babies like to wonder around and drive their mother’s crazy. I have observed how loving they are to one another. They all live in a small house together and take care of each other. It is wonderful to observe the bonds they have with each other. Tonight there was a big spider on my wall. I hate spiders more than anything. I asked my Mama tica to help me get it out. The whole family ran in to look. My Mama tica scooped the spider up with her bare hands and placed it outside. I was shocked. The whole family was laughing at my reaction. Then my Mama tica checked my entire room for more bugs. It meant a lot to me that she cared. To her a spider is nothing but she respected the fact that I was scared of them and made sure I was comfortable. I think as a teacher it will be very important for me to respect my student’s emotions. Simply showing them that I care can go a long way. In our class today we reflected on showing empathy for our children’s families. Going to their home or giving them a call at home really show the parents that you care about what they are going through. This can make all the difference in my classroom.

My Family

(My Mama tica is in the blue shirt at the end)

May 31, 2015

Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna

Wow, I can’t believe it is almost June and we only have 6 more days left of our trip. It is bittersweet. I’m excited to go home but I love it here! This weekend we got to go to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna. The road up to Arenal was gravel for 2 hours. I felt sick but it was worth it because the view was so beautiful. There were huge windmills up on top of the mountains. When we got to Arenal Volcano, I was amazed. When I think of a volcano, this was the exact picture I had in my head. The lava field reminded me of Yellowstone National Park. It was very similar. I think it will be important for me to show my students different types of volcanoes to compare and contrast. Volcanoes come in different shapes and sizes. Next, we went to La Fortuna. From the lookout point the waterfall didn’t look very impressive, but when we walked to the base of the waterfall it was incredible. It had just rained so the falls were bigger than normal. The color was a bright blue and people were swimming. Like I’ve said for so many things I have seen in Costa Rica, words can’t describe how beautiful it was. I am most excited about showing my students these picture. I could teach them about the water cycle or different bodies of water. There are some many concepts I could teach my students with these pictures. I think showing them pictures of my trip will spark an interest in learning. It will make the learning topics personal.

Windmills in the Montains

Arenal Volcano

La Fortuna

May 29,2015

Making a Difference

On Monday at the school, we noticed that the student’s play area was in bad shape. There was trash everywhere including dangerous things like broken boards. We really wanted to help fix it up for the students. We were able to gather some supplies to fix the playground area for the children. It was hard work but totally worth it. We cleaned up all the trash, weeded the garden, and planted flowers. I feel like we really made a difference today. I am so glad we had the opportunity to make this school a safer environment for the children. This is exactly the kind of thing I want to continue doing to make a difference in my own community. When the students saw their new playground area, they were so excited. It was an awesome experience. I felt very attached to the students I worked with this week. The school had almost nothing but the students didn’t care. This was their life and they know nothing different. They do not feel sorry for themselves. They love simply and find joy in each other. I believe that I lose that sometimes. We are very materialistic in the U.S. and measure people’s happiness by the things they have.

 

May 28, 2015


A Struggling Reader

We went to the school again today. This time we had a lesson prepared. Unfortunately, when we got there plans had changed. Although in the end everything worked out, we were confused about what we were to do. The students were working on their reading skills with workbooks. The teacher had us divide among the students to help them read and answer comprehension questions. The catch though was that their work was all in Spanish. I was given the opportunity to work with a student who did not know how to read and he was eight years old. He would sound out each letter of a word without putting the letters all together. I noticed that on some words he would chunk letters to try and read the word. This tells me that he is still in the beginning stages of reading. Also, sometimes he would lose his place in the reading and skip to a line that he had already read but he never realized that he had already read it. This tells me that he is not comprehending what he is reading. He needed frequent breaks and looked up at me for approval often. I did not observe that this student was given any extra support in class. He acts out in class as well. I assume this is because the work is too hard for him but the teacher does nothing. After analyzing his reading behavior, I think I have a better understanding where he is at academically. If I were his teacher, then I would use this data to come up with instruction that meets his particular needs. No matter if the student is English speaking or Spanish speaking the signs of a struggling reader are the same.

On a more positive note, I love my family. My tica sisters asked to do my hair tonight. It was so much fun getting to know them better. Even though it is hard to communicate, I can read their personalities by their body language. 

My buddy :)

 

My Tica Sister