Helloooo! Good mood today. I joined a gym. Yes there is a gym here. Its about a six mile ride from my village by bike. (lets just say i probably wont jump on the treadmill after i get there.) In terms of size its probably half or 1/3 a normal american style fitness first/24hr fitness/golds gym. Pretty nice though, newer "Hammer Strength" equiptment, free weights up to 70 lbs, elipticals etc. Im psyched. And on a mission.
So I have started teaching in the school. I am doing basic reading classes for a group of about 10 younger kids. Standards 1 and 2, which is probably about 1st/2nd grade. Ill tell you though, some of these kids it just breaks your heart to see them. Some don't know how to form their letters, some barely speak english (the only language they teach in here in Belize) Some obviously have severe learning disabilities. Tbere is one child in particular that has stood out to me. In my class of ten children struggling with reading, he is the most severely behind. His name is Osmani, and he has these huge brown eyes, pays such good attention and obviously wants to do well, but has no idea what he is doing. Now I have never worked with LD's, but it seems like he might be dyslexic. When I watch him write he sometimes writes the second letter in a word before the first. I'm thinking about trying to talk to his family and maybe do some one on one tutoring with him. After this I plan to head to the library and try to find something about teaching beginning reading classes, cause I'll tell ya, its like the blind leading the blind right now!
I have also been asked if I would like to work as a counselor in the school. Really exciting and also really intimidating. I dont know if I have the training for this, but then again, some of the counselors here have associates degrees, and the school doesnt have a counselor at all. I could possibly do alot of good and also have the opportunity to seriously improve my therapeutic skills and get some amazing practice/life experience.
We are also going to be starting a school garden soon. Probably working with one class, seeing how it goes and if we can turnh it into a larger enterprise. I haven't really done much garden work, and frankly its not my favorite thing to do, but hey...lets give it a shot. Try anything once.
Im starting to get all kinds of stuff going on, or at least the thought processes about what I can do are beginning to flow. Its really exciting. For example, a National organization, Youth For The Future is organizing Natl Youth Week. They have asked me if I would be willing to give a handful of presentations about mediation, conflict resolution etc. to both students and teachers. These were topics I really enjoyed focusing on when i was working in Wilderness Therapy, and I think it would be great to get back to addressing things like that in a proactive manner rather than simply being reactive, which is how alot of these situations end up being approached.
hmmm....
Yep, other than that I am looking for a place to live (more on that when I figure it all out, and yes, I promise to put up pictures). Looking for a dog. I have a couple of options, a friend said that the sibling of one of her dogs might be having puppies (cute dog) or also, hunting dogs (big ol hound with floppy ears) are fairly big here, I might try to pick up one of those. The only hazard about a dog like that is that sometimes they are stolen. Well, another hazard is if a dog had ears like that i dont think I would be able to help tying them together on top of his head. :)
oh yeah, the rash has healed. Jacob will live
that is all.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
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7 comments:
Jake,
Do an eye test for your student who is having trouble with writing and reading. If the student does not recognize any letters, use x and o in differnt sizes. He may not be able to distinguish where the letters begin and end. To teach letter names, have your students trace letters in sand or dirt outside with a stick. They can practice making them over and over and have fun at the same time. A good way to teach beginning readers is to have them tell you a story about themselves and write it down as they tell it. You can read it over and over to them. They can begin to see that "reading is talk written down". This goes back to the old language experience of 40 years ago but with limited resources this helps. Some of the teacher volunteers should have basic sight word lists. If they do not, I can send one to you.
Alli's Mom
Barbara
Hey Jacob! I'm glad to know a little more about your teaching... I think the eye test is a great idea to assess where your students are at, and if just speaking is an issue, try simple things that the kids interact with every day. I know it probably sounds like monkeys communicating, but pointing at an object, saying its name, and asking them to work on identifying their surroundings with you might be a good start. Repetition is something that kids crave, as is routine, so if you can get into a set schedule, where your lessons are pretty much the same setup every day, kids know what to expect and it might help you to identify which child needs the most help in each area. I don't know if that's helpful at all (i certainly don't have a degree) but worth a shot?
Gardening sounds awesome. I can't wait to hear more about it. There's nothing more fulfilling than planting a row of lettuce and then eating a salad from it later on. Also helps to enhance pride in the work, especially with kids, if they know they get to reap the edible rewards afterward. :) Getcha hands dirty!
Keep us up to date on housing and take some more dang pictures already. What is your house like? What's the river look like? Horses, Orange Walk, the gym...just consider everything you do to be a Kodak Moment. :)
Missing you and can't wait to see you soon!
Love,
Suzy
Thanks so much for the ideas! It is really exciting to learn all these different methods. Teaching is fun huh? Ill be trying things out in the next few days. Ill keep ya updated.
jake
I LOL at your comment about the dog! That is too funny.
I am so excited about all you are doing. It sounds great!
That is sad about the kids, especially Osmani. Even though you haven't done this before, you must know that you have tons of support. Let us know if you need materials/help, but even better would be to use the vols in country- I bet someone would come to your post and give you some down and dirty techniques?
I did a garden too...very rewarding. Good luck.
I can't wait to hear more! We miss and love you! Bridget
In case you're wondering what's new in the U S of A, the Redskins are undefeated and Sarah Palin is now president.
Enjoy the rest of your time in Mexico.
Jake,
Reading your blog gives me inspiration to daydream about exotic Belize after hectic days in the city (New Orleans). Since you fail to post pictures, I just imagine what it all looks like... :o)
More seriously though, I'm very glad to hear that you're doing so well and that you're so passionate about your work and life there.
Keep the posts coming!!! Every time I read them, I wave at you across the Gulf/Carribean!
-Christy
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