Circumstances

One of the things that has always had a big presence in my teaching career is the weight I carry for my students. For me, I take my students' successes and failures very personal. I feel responsible for them when they are not doing well, b/c it is my job to help them make progress. Having that responsibility at times (if not most of the time) is very stressful. I am responsible for their education and whether or not they do well in school. There are a lot of other factors (and people) involved as well, but I feel like my role is even more important. I am shaping their lives, and my lack of effort (or being able to help them), could have a detrimental effect on their lives, setting them up for even more struggles in their lives/education.
You can't control your circumstances-- you just have to make the best of them-- and try your best to adapt to them. Teacher's teach the student's, but it is the parents that know their children best-- Within United States Public Ed Special Education there is a 25ish page document of parental rights. It is something that is required to give to every parent, every time that you meet with them. Parent's have the right to not have their child in special education. It may make the classroom teacher's job more difficult, but those are the circumstances. Teacher's have student's in their classrooms that come from broken homes, neglect, abuse, but it is still their job to teach them, amid the circumstances that they come from. It has been the same here in that there are still circumstances, though they may be different, I have to work around-- and I just have to try to do my best to help my students.

This is week 6 of school- and 4 weeks into my schedule-- I think I have yet to teach a week without a different schedule-- b/c I am constantly tweaking my schedule-- to try and fit more more times with my student's -- and work around the replacement classes I am teaching. We are able to pull student's from 1 Bible class, 1 Spanish Class, 1 Morning Meeting, and 1 day of Sci/S.S. I have 3 replacement classes I'm teaching-- which means I am their Reading/Math teacher (and taking grades)-- and the student's are coming with me during their Reading or Math class time. There are a few classes that have the times I can pull students, when I'm teaching the Replacement classes--so then it get's harder to find a time to see them. I also have a bit of a scheduling crunch in the afternoon, b/c both 2nd and 3rd grade have reading from 12:30-1:30, so providing in-class support is more complicated. In the past I've had para/aides go into classes 5 days a week, whereas here they are going in 2-3 days a week-- and can make a difference with helping students with independent work.

Last year, my Friday schedule was a lot more laid back-- though it was pretty hectic in the morning-- This year I have a back-to-back schedule all day-- with Reading Tests in the morning- and then 2 grade levels with Reading tests, plus my replacement class all at the same time. It definitely give me practice in balance and flexibility!

I haven't had my Spanish classes quite as often during the week, mostly due to scheduling-- (but it's still been a few days a week). Sometimes my teacher hasn't been free when I was able to do the class, or if I've waited too long to sign up for the class, and she doesn't have any open times. Last night we conversed in Spanish-- There are still a lot of words that I struggle with-- and I do need to take the time to sit down and study some of the more common words. I have note cards taped on my wall with words/phrases that we've worked on so far. But I am able to understand more-- and she said I have made improvement, which is encouraging.

There's the possibility of a hurricane coming here in the next several days-- I've been told that hurricanes usually don't affect us here in Santiago-- just a lot of rain-- but since we don't get snow days here-- it would be kind of nice to have a Hurricane Day! The map shows that it will probably go south of the DR, but we can only hope... 

School Has Started...

I'd like to say that this being my 2nd year here, that it's easier-- or that I know what the expectations will be... Well, not exactly....

Ideally, the first week of school is when I would meet with parent's to sign Student Support Teacher (SST) contracts that weren't signed last year, and then start to do baseline assessments with students-- I check students' fluency, phonics, and comprehension level to see where they are at the beginning of the year. The majority of the student's I haven't had before, so it's also helpful for me to see where they are at, to know where to start with their lessons I'll be doing with them. After that, ideally, I would start putting together their resources that I will be doing with them, during the year. I have 3 students that I'm going to be doing an alternate Reading class with them, so I start going through my resources to find a fluency, phonics, and comprehension plan to follow. I'm also trying to find Math resources for students that I will be doing pull-out Math, as well as an alternate Math class. Along with that, I'm trying to create my daily/weekly schedule-- and then figure out push-in services for the students-- with most likely being my aide. Now, it all seems very simple-- in theory-- and on paper... But does it actually go that way? 

Then this happens...

             

I get side-tracked-- and something happens to where I need to go talk to someone, or something needs to be done-- and my goal of what I wanted to get done, gets puts off to the side. 

And then there's scheduling... Scheduling is always something that tends to be stressful-- and for me, just makes my brain hurt-- trying to figure out the times of Reading and Math for all the classroom teachers, and then making sure all the students are covered during those times. You also have it where teachers have their Reading and Math at the exact same time, so you have to be in two (or four) places at once. There's usually 'Take 27' versions of the schedule, b/c something always happens or gets left out. And then somehow, it always seems to come together... 

Special Education in the States has a lot of rules and regulations-- you have the IEP that you have to follow and there are specific things that you can and can't do. But then you get to the day-to-day things, and there gets to be a gray area of "Can I do this/Is this allowable?" Most likely those rules and regulations were created because something was abused, and services weren't being given properly. (Not entirely, but usually rules are created because something has happened to have a rule put in place.)  The Dominican Republic doesn't have standard Special Education rules and regulations. There is no Individual Education Plan for students. What we do is based solely on what Santiago Christian School has created. I have discovered that though not having that 15-page document and the strict guidelines is somewhat nice and more flexible, having those rules and guidelines does make it easier of knowing what to do. There is more gray area here, and without those guidelines, there are a lot more questions. 

Today I'm starting my official schedule with doing my pull-outs and replacement reading and math classes. So now I am more confined to my classroom, and don't have the flexibility to just go see someone when I want to. I'm on more of a schedule/routine! :-) Which means I should get more done now! LOL 

Another example of the language barrier... (and why I need to be practicing my Spanish...)

I can use Uber here for transportation, and is a half as much as a taxi. I have to download an app for my phone, and then put my bank card number. When you want a ride, you request the card, put your location in and where you're going (via Google maps), and then they come and get you, and you don't have to give them any cash. It's deducted from my bank account. When I went to try to use it, it said that my card was invalid. After emailing Uber, they said it's something on my end, where my card isn't able to be used online (It's only my card that has the problem, b/c other teacher's have used their same card and had no problem). It seems like a very simple thing to do-- I need to go to my bank and ask them about the card-- but it gets to be more complex when I need to bring someone with that speaks Spanish to help me with it, b/c I'm not able to speak the language. I have found there are many examples of things like that-- things that seem so simple (or would be simple in the States), are more complex here. Not everything, but just more than I would normally have in the States. 

AC's, Bobbles, and Such Adventures...

This week has been well... a week... I've been continuing to do my Spanish classes, and they've been going well, for the most part. I've finally figured out which tutors to have (I have 2), so as long as I can have them, I think it will go okay. There's at least 30 different tutors, but if you jump around a lot to different tutors, sometimes it's hard to have the consistency and follow-through of the lessons. Neither of them were available on Saturday, so I have a new (though recommended) one. I feel like I've had more opportunities to use my Spanish these last few weeks-- and it may be that I'm (a bit) more confident with trying to speak/use the language. Wednesday I had a movie/dinner night with friends, and then Thursday was back to school inservices. My AC remote has been acting up-- it doesn't have a manual on/off switch-- I have to use the remote-- and I didn't want to turn it on, only to not be able to turn off the next morning-- so I actually opened my bedroom windows-- and slept without the AC. I've been a bit spoiled, b/c this was actually the first time I had slept without the AC. I was able to get the air/fans circulating pretty well, but it still took me awhile to be able to fall asleep. Thursday we had inservice-- with being able to work in our rooms, and then having our director talking about our theme for this year-- "The Story"-- Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration-- and what the Chapel services for Elem, Middle, and HS would focus on. After school, my goal was to get a new universal remote for my AC-- I took a taxi to Bellon (similar to Home Depot) -- and then to Ochoa (another hardware store), with finally finding a remote. When I got home the remote was able to turn the AC on, but I didn't press 'enter' immediately-- so the AC didn't recognize the code (though I didn't quite realize it at the time)-- so it cycled through the codes for about 3 hrs-- with never finding the right one. But thankfully the AC was ON, so I at least had that to sleep with-- it was a really warm night last night-- and for me, it's hard for me to sleep when I'm warm. I was a bit worried though, b/c I didn't want to leave in the morning with having to leave my AC on. I tried turning the breakers off in the morning-- but even that didn't turn the AC off! Miraculously though, about 5 minutes before I was supposed to leave this morning, I tried the old remote and it turned it off!

 Another thing-- If you know me, well, I'm a bit of (well a lot) klutz-- and a friend of mine says that I 'need to live in a bubble.' I seem to find these ways of hurting myself. So this is nothing new but-- I was going to bring the remotes to school to see if someone could help me figure out the whole AC thing-- so I was going to write down the model number of the AC-- which is above my bed. I got on my bed-- wrote down the number-- then looked at the number-- couldn't remember if it was a U or a V-- got back up on my bed, lost my balance, and fell off the bed, landing hard on my elbow, shoulder, and tailbone! After I did that I was actually somewhat laughing (and some frustration), b/c it seemed almost fitting that this would happen to me. Just another one of my klutzy moments! (And yes Mom I know you're reading this, and though I know you're worried about me, I'll be okay... I know you'll worry, but please don't... :-) ) I'm sore now, and probably going to be a bit more tomorrow...

My bus stop today was at 7:25 this morning, and in waiting for it, I forgot to put bug spray on, so I have about 4-5 more bites to add to the 10 (yes 10) that I have on my ankles-- note to self... make sure to put bug spray on in the morning... Next week the official year-long bus stop begins at...wait for it... 6:25 a.m..... :-O Last year the bus picked us up at 6:40. Now, I am a morning person-- in previous years I would actually sometimes leave my house at 6:30 to get to school by 6:45. But there's just something about when it's absolute -- that you must  leave at this time-- that seems to make it worse-- there's not flexibility... It usually doesn't take me that long to get ready in the mornings anyway... but it just seems ... early. Also I must remember that I'm on the bus for a full half hour-- and that I can't drink too much of my coffee beforehand, b/c I'm on the bus longer-- and we can't make a bathroom stop... I didn't move too far away from where I was last year, but just the way the pick-ups (and drop-offs) are-- I'm one of the earlier ones to get picked up-- and one of the last ones to get dropped off... So almost a full hour on the bus every day...

Going to try the AC remote again, and hopefully it'll work-- also going to try to use an app from my phone to see if that will work too. Looking forward to having down time, and trying to recover from (only) two days of inservice. School starts Monday!! I won't be teaching yet-- but meeting with parent's to sign SST (sped) contracts.

This is my 15th year of teaching-- which to me is so crazy-- b/c it doesn't feel like it's been that long-- every year is always different-- and b/c I've been in enough different schools/environments, I'm able to use those previous experiences to build upon the new ones. (Well, I guess that's true for where ever you're at...) Every one of those places/experiences have been a stepping stone God has used to put me where I'm at right now. If one of those 'stones' had been taken out of place, then the 'rest' would not have prepared me for the follow-through. Some years were better than others-- some I look back on, and can't believe I even survived...  But somehow, God got me through it...

Here's to another crazy, never dull, (klutz-free!!) hopefully wonderful year!!

I have been readjusting to be back here in the DR again--and so far it has gone fairly well. I started an online Spanish class on Wednesday- Baselang-- that was recommended to be another SCS family member. They are based out of Columbia (I think)-- I sign up for a 30 min session online up to 3 days beforehand(any day/time that's available with the tutors), with an assortment of teachers to choose from. Then we do the session via Skype. We have lessons that we go through, and I've found that I know more than I thought I did! LOL -- I need to find consistent teachers that I like, in order to help with the continuity of the lessons, b/c we have jumped around a bit. 

Wednesday our SST department met, and I think that I have a better understanding of what students I'll have this year. I will have some of the same students I had last year, as well as some new ones. It will be a different dynamic with a new Elem SST teacher, but I will have the same teacher's aide I had last year-- which will be nice to have the consistency. 

Some music from the DR... Vida Nueva (my church) and staff devotions...

The New Digs... and Settling In...

A Few Pics of the New Digs...

 Kitchen...

Bedroom... 

 Living/Dining Room..

 One of my walls...                          

 

                                        

   

                

The front door of my apartment...                                                           View from my apartment...

 

Views outside my apartment....

Across the street...

I will admit that it was actually a bit harder leaving the U.S. this year than it was last year. It could be that I had no idea what to expect last year, and the "unknown" seemed to be easier to handle. This year I know (somewhat) what to expect-- the heat, lack of transportation, the distance away from family and friends, etc., etc., etc. and it's sometimes overwhelming. 

I arrived in the DR Tuesday evening-- my flights were delayed some, but not b/c of weather. I was a bit nervous about my luggage, b/c all the other times my luggage has arrived relatively early. This time, however, it was almost the last ones for me to pick up. By Wednesday afternoon I had AC and wi-fi, so everything was (almost) settled... I had a leak in both my bathroom sink and shower faucets, and then discovered that when I flushed my toilet, a stream of water would come out onto the floor! Thursday, maintenance from school came to fix my bathroom, leaving for a few hours to get supplies from the store, leaving my toilet torn apart. It definitely makes you thankful for a working toilet! They returned, fixed the sink and shower, but the toilet was still leaking after they left. Thankfully they came again on Friday and it was fixed completely!! I was able to meet my new maid today for the first time, and we were able to communicate fairly okay. She worked for the previous teacher who lived here-- she doesn't speak any English-- so I wrote out everything I needed to tell her, using Google Translate-- which is the best thing EVER!!! 

We start inservices Monday, with a 2nd day of inservices Tuesday, and then actually 5 days off (well technically 7 with the weekend)-- b/c we don't go back until Thursday/Friday of the week after. We originally were supposed to start school Wed the 17th, but it got pushed back to Monday the 22nd. 

All in all it's going well so far... :-)

The Last Days Before Summer...

A week ago Friday was our last day of school. Monday was a work day, and then we had Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I spent the majority of the time packing up my bedroom to move into my new apartment. It's not a lot of stuff, but when you actually have to carry all of it up 4 flights of stairs, it's a lot of trips! A friend of mine told me about women who will come to you to give pedicures, so Wednesday I got a $6 pedicure while I was waiting for her to finish up her work-- Gotta love that!!
 Today (Friday) parent's pick up report cards, and can conference with the teacher if needed. It is still up in the air exactly which grades I'll be doing next year-- 5th grade will be considered Middle School, so the 4th grader's I had will most likely be with the MS/HS SST Teacher-- which makes me a bit sad, b/c I really enjoyed working with them. The other Elem SST teacher is going to be teaching Elem Spanish, so they're going to hire another SST teacher to split the Elementary caseload with me. I've learned to be very flexible, so I guess I will just wait and see what is decided when I come back in the fall! :-) Also, there are also going to be a new 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teacher (though 4th grade is b/c there will be 3 sections of 4th grade instead of the 2 sections this year), so I will be working with new/different teacher's as well. There is also going to be a new elementary classroom building, so they are moving classroom's around, but thankfully I don't have to move, and can stay in the same spot. :-)
I have to wait until tomorrow to get the keys to my new apartment, and then I can start moving my stuff. It's about 5-6 blocks away, so I will be making some trips back and forth :-D Teacher's can leave tomorrow, but b/c of me moving, I had to wait-- and Sunday flights were very expensive, so I'm leaving Monday. My roommate Sarah is leaving Tuesday --she is moving also, b/c the school didn't want to use the apartment building any more--and the school is moving her stuff on Monday (She's taking all the furniture and kitchen stuff, so she has a lot more to move...). So at least there will be someone else around.
I fly out at 8:25 a.m. Monday, and am getting picked up by the bus at 5:55. This time I fly from Santiago to Miami, Dallas, Omaha, getting in at about 8:45 P.M. I am so excited to be go home for the summer!! I don't have my return ticket yet, but I think it's going to be Tuesday August 2nd. Teacher's have to be back August 6th, and we start inservices August 8th. I'll have to do some unpacking and figuring things out for my new apt, so it will be nice to have a few days to do that.

Counting Down the Days...

There are 10 more days of school left (Kids get out June 3rd), and there's 24 more days until I get to fly home for the summer. In some ways it doesn't seem like a long time, but sometimes it seems like it's taking foreeeeeever to get here! This past Monday we didn't have school b/c of the national elections. Election day was on Sunday, and the public schools were polling places. We were told that all businesses would be closed Saturday at noon through 6 a.m. Monday-- it ended up that there were some places open Saturday, depending upon the place. It was nice to have the day off-- well any day that we have off is nice! LOL For the last few weeks I've been helping a home school family from my church with some reading tutoring. Normally they come on Mondays and Thursdays to school, but since we didn't have school, they came to my apartment.
This week and last week I've been doing end-of-the-year assessments with my kids. I found a really good Reading Comprehension Inventory book- Flynt-Cooter, that I have really liked using. I really wish I would have had it at the beginning of the year to compare, but it'll be good to have for next year as well. I'm just starting to meet with parent's to show them the testing results, and also to sign SST contracts for next year. I will hopefully get them done next week. There will be some changes in SST next year-- the other Elem SST teacher is going to teach Elem Spanish next year. So there will be a new SST teacher next year. It's really hard to find SST teachers here, so not sure how that will all work.
Next Thursday we have off for a Catholic holiday, and then Friday is Field Day. I get to help with one of the games, so that will be another new experience.