Ready, Set, Teach

After my first week of work at the Colegio Público de Educación Infantil y Primaria de Córdoba Colón, I can say that I have a newfound respect for educators everywhere.  Before my first day as an elementary school teacher, I knew that children en masse could be difficult and that most teachers were brave souls.  However, I now know that you can never truly appreciate the validity of this concept until you experience 27 eight-year-olds running around you screaming about their favorite colors and animals.  In a language that you’re still learning.

But, I digress.  At my school, commonly referred to as Colegio Colón, I teach third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades.  I teach science to each of these classes twice per week, and once per week I assist with the fifth and sixth grade music classes.  As I quickly discovered, being an auxiliar means different things to different teachers.  The word auxiliar in Spanish means “assistant,” which is supposed to be my job description.  However, this could mean that I read aloud prepared power points in English or it could also signify teaching an entire class about the skeletal system or photosynthesis without preparation, while the teacher sits and nods or grades papers.

For example, when I arrived to work on my first day, I was whisked into a third grade classroom.  I was greeted by exuberant shouting and a hoard of small children rushing to hug me and tell me their names.  The teacher, Puri, explained to me that they were very excited, and that class was not normally like this.  Then, she handed me a Spanish science textbook and asked me to teach the lesson about energy in English.  This isn’t exactly an easy task without any preparation, especially when it involves translating a pre-made lesson plan.  Still, I powered through and felt as though I accomplished the class without any major problems.

My days at school have mostly consisted of the children getting to know me and testing my limits.  As would be expected, my fifth and sixth grade classes are much easier in the sense that they understand most of what I say and know how to behave.  My third and fourth grade classes are adorable, but we often spend much of the class involved in tangents that begin with questions like, “Do you really eat eggs for breakfast in America?” and “Does it snow where you live?”

My other personal favorite was when a small chubby boy named Miguel spent several minutes yelling: “Boyfriend?  Boyfriend!  Boyfriend?!” at me.  When I asked him if he wanted to be mine or was curious if I had one, he looked at me extremely confusedly and sat quietly for about three minutes before beginning his tirade anew.  “BOYFRIEND?!”

I’m just trying to maintain an air of mystery here, sheesh.

All in all, my job is still very new, but everyone has been welcoming and helpful.  I’m looking forward to getting to know all of my students and hopefully collaborating more with the teachers, which I know will come in time.

And in all seriousness, to any neglected teachers out there reading this: thank you!