I’ve never really been a teacher before. I had been a camp counselor to 6th graders at some point, and have done small volunteering projects involving discipline of those younger than me, but I have never had the responsibility of being a teacher for my group of kids. The first week of arrival at the Mama Elba School, it was a bit unnerving. Not only was I going to be responsible for a group of my own kids, and teach them the topics that I had already outlined, but I was to do so all in Spanish and with students of varying disabilities ranging from ADHD to Autism. At the end of my first lesson, Handwashing, I was thoroughly exhausted. Although the invisible ink really captured the attention of nearly the whole classroom, it was close to impossible to get them all to sit down and listen to the reasons why germs were bad to keep underneath your fingernails. I needed help.
The only way to learn how to be a teacher is to observe other teachers. The NGO I was working with already had enlisted several teachers to teach lessons throughout the rest of the day. I watched them as they worked, trying their best to maintain the attention of their small groups and I was in awe. They were like kid magicians, with their already developed personalized methods to combat fussy students and those who simply laid on the ground and didn’t want to work. They were calm and encouraging and inspired me to be the same. By time my project days were up for Week 2, I was ready. From then on, maintaining the excitement of the kids throughout my hour of health education teaching as well as my unplanned 3 other hours of teaching basic math and English skills to the students under 9 years old went as smoothly as can be. Every week that passed, I learned more ways to really effectively teach a class, and my connection with the students got stronger and stronger. Saying goodbye to Mama Elba was one of the hardest goodbye’s I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.
Having the students go around in a circle summarizing all they had learned from me and receiving all the cards and hugs that came with it was the bitter sweet moment that I wasn’t expecting when I first started this trip.
I had become so incredibly attached to the success and the happiness of my students that watching them each wave goodbye as they one by one left the classroom brought tears to my eyes for several days after. I can honestly say I successfully completed my education project here in the Dominican Republic, but I did so much more than that and I learned so many more valuable lessons to take back home with me.
The only way to learn how to be a teacher is to observe other teachers. The NGO I was working with already had enlisted several teachers to teach lessons throughout the rest of the day. I watched them as they worked, trying their best to maintain the attention of their small groups and I was in awe. They were like kid magicians, with their already developed personalized methods to combat fussy students and those who simply laid on the ground and didn’t want to work. They were calm and encouraging and inspired me to be the same. By time my project days were up for Week 2, I was ready. From then on, maintaining the excitement of the kids throughout my hour of health education teaching as well as my unplanned 3 other hours of teaching basic math and English skills to the students under 9 years old went as smoothly as can be. Every week that passed, I learned more ways to really effectively teach a class, and my connection with the students got stronger and stronger. Saying goodbye to Mama Elba was one of the hardest goodbye’s I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.
Having the students go around in a circle summarizing all they had learned from me and receiving all the cards and hugs that came with it was the bitter sweet moment that I wasn’t expecting when I first started this trip.
I had become so incredibly attached to the success and the happiness of my students that watching them each wave goodbye as they one by one left the classroom brought tears to my eyes for several days after. I can honestly say I successfully completed my education project here in the Dominican Republic, but I did so much more than that and I learned so many more valuable lessons to take back home with me.
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