life as a teacher....costa rican style

this whole teaching thing has definately been interesting----similar to teaching at home in the sense that it is an emotional rollercoaster every day. some days are a lot of fun and i really enjoy myself and others are more draining and difficult and i can't wait to get on the bus back to san pedro. i've been there for almost 3 weeks and i am still trying to figure out how the school works and the logic behind some of the their methods...as a lot of things in costa rica, sometimes there is no answer and we just say..."only in costa rica" but i've been trying to compile all the things i've noticed over the past few weeks so here it goes....
- every class has 30-40 kids, which as you can imagine makes it incredibly difficult to do anything effective in short amounts of time

- the kids don't seem to receive grades for anything. i don't know if they do in their "real" subjects, outside of english class but from what i have seen, their schoowork is mostly using "textbooks" compiled of worksheets and busywork types of pages. the teacher might collect worksheets or homework to check off but i've never seen actual grades on anything
- the teachers all have empty desks. no stacks of papers to correct, computers, books, supplies, etc. part of this could be because of the previously stated idea but still i find it weird. i've never seen a real planbook or papers and materials stored for the day. their desktops are literally bare!

- each grade has this little bound book that is turned in at the end of the week. they use it for attendance each day. then on the inside cover there is a list of 8-10 different comments with things like "missing materials, homework, book, etc", "difficulty working with classmates", "social interaction problems" and other various things along these lines. these occurences are "supposed" to be documented when they happen during the week, down to the specific day and period, by putting the corresponding number in the correct grid box next to the kid's name. at the end of the week, the book is turned into the "Sister" (the nun who is the "principal" of the school). i don't know how serious the recordings are taken or how much they're even looked at but i guess it is their way of trying to keep track of major discipline issues

- the school has a male secretary...i don't really know what he does all day, since whenever i go to his little office window, he is on facebook or skype but the more i thought about it, i don't know if i can ever recall seeing a male in a secretarial type of role in the u.s.

- there is 1 copy machine in the school and the secretary guy is the only one who can use it so when you want something copied, you have to bring it to him and have him do it. all copies (or at least all that i have seen or received) are on recycled paper, which is cool to save paper but also with the kids, it can be distracting because they are more concerned about what is on the back than what it is we are actually working on

- school starts at 7:15 for all kids. 1st-7th have "merienda" (snack) break from 9:15-9:30 and then another recreo" (recess) break from 11-11:15. the kids sit on the floor outside their classroom for snacktime and then the recess break is just kind of a free for all when the kids cankind of run all around but stay inside the school building. 1st-6th graders are done for the day at 12:45. 7th graders have 1/2 hour for lunch then have 2 more periods until 3pm. the preschool and kindergarten kids leave at 11:30.
- teachers are only allowed to drink coffee (and snack for that matter) during the 9:15-9:30 time. and yes, the other girl volunteering got "scolded" for having coffee after that time was over. isn't it weird to think you couldn't make your regular coffee stop in the morning on the way to work?!

- bathrooms don't actually have any paper products. each classroom has their own supply of toilet paper and most of the teachers fold small sections of toilet paper into a designated spot in their classroom so when the kids ask to go to the bathroom, they have to take a piece with them

- there is no nurse in the school. each classroom has a little medicine cabinet type of thing on a shelf and the teacher serves as the "nurse" when needed

- parents don't have much to do with school---the only time i ever see them is when they are dropping off or picking up their kids. i haven't seen any helping in classrooms or even coming in to meet with a teacher

- teachers all basically leave right with the kids at the end of the day---i've never seen them staying after to correct papers, prep for the coming days, etc. so do they just do the work at home? is the workload a lot less? i can't figure it out.

- the teachers don't seemed to be phased when kids are constantly talking and fidgeting. maybe it's different when they're studying math or spanish but usually there is only a handful of kids participating and others are kind of off in their own world. this drives me crazy so i am usually the one wandering around the classroom telling them to stop talking, pay attention, listen, etc etc but the actual teachers never really say much

- each class has phys.ed. once a week for 90 minutes. on these days, they have a "p.e. uniform" of navy shorts with the school logo and gray school t-shirts--instead of their usual collared shirts and khakis or skirts. as for other specials, they have some kind of music class and social studies once a week for 90 minutes. i know the older kids also have civics, art, and religion. i haven't figured out what grade those special start at tho---maybe 4th or 5th?

i also have noticed a HUGE difference when working with the two different english teachers. working with annette (the woman working with the younger kids), it's a lot of coloring and singing, even with the 1st and 2nd graders. most of the classes, we just orally practice english words so it makes me think that they have no idea what sounds the letters make or possibly what some of the letters look like. but wouldn't that be the point of teaching them the language? (another one of those things that doesn't make sense to me) the more i've thought about it though, i think it also has a lot to do with the teacher's knowledge and level of confidence in her english. i think i already wrote this but she has been studying english for less than 6 months and is somehow teaching these kids so a lot of times when we're showing them picture flashcards, she has to stop and ask me what the word is or she just has me say the words for the class from the start. needless to say, i think she's going to miss me when i leave! the other teacher, jessica, speaks english really well so she talks a lot more to the kids in english. she usually tries to give directions and explanations in english but then when the kids have the puzzled looks and blank stares, she then translates to spanish. whereas annette talks in spanish for the majority of the class and tries to just say the basic instructional phrases in english. i definately enjoy working with the older kids more just because i feel like they actually benefit from me being there and i am actually teaching them something. most days, jessica sends me out of the class with a group of 5-10 and i work with them on going over homework, translating a reading, or solely conversing in english. the kids are really cute because they get so nervous and worked up when trying to figure out how to a) understand what i am saying to them and b) express themselves in english. it's funny because i totally feel their pain---- them speaking english is pretty much how i must sound attempting to speak in spanish! the overall experience in the school is really interesting though. not only am i teaching the kids but they are teaching me as well so it's made it special and is definately really rewarding for me (at least to think that i am even helping these kids a little)!