I get asked quite frequently, "Kelly, what is it that you do, exactly?" and, although I´ve been working at Fe y Alegría since the first week of March, the answer to that question is just now coming together. The administration at Fe y Alegría is extremely dedicated and hard-working, but there are only about 7 of them running a school with 40 professors and 1,100 students. Needless to say, the eager, little gringa sometimes gets overlooked. So I guess the first answer to "What is it that you do, exactly?" is: I wait, patiently. And the second, more complex, answer is: I accept inevitable failure, redefine my personal metric of success, and remind myself that the only life I can guarantee on changing is my own. But more on that stuff later.
My day begins when I catch the bus at 7:10 AM for the 45 minute ride to school. For 45 glorious minutes every morning I get lost in a delightful book whilst my personal space is invaded by squishy children, mothers carryinggiant blanket burritos babies, and lurking 17 year-old boys who inevitably try to read over my shoulder.
Once I arrive at school, my immune system kicks into high gear as hoards of children press their drippy noses against my cheek and touch me with their moist-yet-slightly-crusty hands. Despite the germs, it´s one of my favorite parts of the day.
There are too many students at Fe y Alegría and not enough classrooms, so we follow a split schedule (it´s really common in Peru) where the primary students study from 7:45 AM to 12:45 PM and the secondary students study from 12:45 PM to 6:15PM.
My main job is teaching English to all of the primary students. There are over 560 students in primary - three classrooms (with around 30 students each) of first-sixth grade (that´s 18 classrooms in total). I teach each classroom one time a week for 45 minutes, which is considered one teaching hour. Each class requires a mountain of lesson planning, checking homework and notebooks, and grading tests.
My primary classes end just in time for recess, at 11:15, which is the first time all morning that I sit down and breath. As soon as I finish classes, I make myself write up a report about what happened in each class (what the kids learned, what homework they received, what games we played, behavior problems, behavior management system used, etc.). With 18 different classes, it´s impossible to keep track of what each class is up to without impeccable notes.
Although I try to hide out in the "library" (the ratio of things-that-are-not-books to thing-that-are-books in this large room warrants the quotation marks around its title) during recess, my third graders (a pesky bunch) inevitably find me and try to play with me. Sometimes I want to shout, "This is adult time!" while pulling out a Nalgene filled with wine. But one of those things (shouting at children? wine?) is not allowed at school.
From 11:30 - 12:45 I run a taller de inglés (sort of a workshop/elective) for secondary students. Luckily, the focus is helping them with their English homework and practicing pronunciation (the English teacher for secondary students is a Peruvian who learned English in Chile, so his pronunciation isn´t great), and I don´t have to actually plan anything to do with the students. I really enjoy my time with them - we inevitably stray away from English and talk about more interesting topics instead. Last week, one girl´s question, "Miss, is there poverty in the United States?", launched a 40 minute conversation about social problems in the United States and Peru and the students´ opinions and observations about the source of social problems (the disintegration of the family unit, in short). So while we do study some English, the best part of this time is getting to know students.
When the secondary students leave for class at 12:45 I spend a half hour lesson planning, writing tests, or making worksheets. Then I power walk to the Nuns´ house (about 15 minutes from school) where I eat lunch everyday with the Nuns and their cook (who has been cooking and cleaning for the Nuns for 20 years!). I race back to school by 2 PM.
From 2-4:30 PM, four days a week, I run a homework-help program. Right now we have about 10 students who come regularly (and occasionally bring their younger siblings. Free babysitting!) and I have two teenagers who graduated from Fe y Alegría last year who help me with the kids. The kids who come struggle particularly with math and reading comprehension. More than that, however, they lack basic problem-solving skills, don´t understand how to independently work through anything that requires more than one step, and can´t stay focused for more than a minute or two. I really enjoy teaching something other than English and getting to form individual relationships with the kids (which is impossible in a classroom of 30 kids, 45 minutes a week), but trying to help with homework involves both reteaching complex concepts that they learned in class and teaching practical study skills. It´s a huge challenge but incredibly rewarding when something finally clicks and they start understanding addition or multiplication.
After the students leave, I try to get more work done on the modern, shiny, really-fast-when-there`s-actually-internet computer (that´s just for professors, sorry, kids!) that is stationed in the "library." My attempts are usually unsuccessful because both secondary and primary students come to the "library" to study, work on group projects, and use the two old computers (sorry, kids!) for their homework. I´m not technically in charge of this room in the afternoon, but as there is no other adult-like presence, I have to keep the kids from damaging themselves or school property and I often get roped into helping with group projects.
I head out by 5:50 at the latest so I can get home to dinner by 6:30!
I have one afternoon each week when we don´t have out homework-help program, and I´m still deciding how to use my free time. For the past month, I´ve been volunteering at another after-school program run by Centro Cristo Rey del Niño y Adolescente, which is a Jesuit social work where my community mate, Thomas, works. They have a satellite center in a tiny neighborhood on the outskirts of Tacna called Nuevo Barranquilla and they run a program for neighborhood kids there three times a week. When I´m there I help the kids with their homework for the first hour and then lead Games (for a group of 3-12 year olds) for the next hour and a half. I really wanted to see a different part of the city, which is why I got involved there, but I might not carry on - it´s a long haul to get to Barranquilla! There are a few other activities I´m thinking of trying out for my free afternoon, but I´ve also entertained the idea of taking the afternoon off. I could have long, relaxing lunches with my host family (they live really close to my school), get errands done, and get home before nightfall. As with most parts of my life and job description, everything is in flux and nothing is set in stone - who knows what will happen!
On Saturdays I´m at Fe y Alegría bright and early at 9 AM (well, not always bright. We have a nasty coastal fog that hangs out until 10 or 11 AM during the winter). I´m working with Hermana María Vasquez, one of the badass nuns at Fe y Alegría, on a group for 5th and 6th graders that will focus on lessons from the Bible and prayer. The group is still in its infancy, we have yet to invite the 5th and 6th graders, but we´ve been working with a group of secondary students who will be small-group leaders for the younger kids. In the coming weeks we have planning meetings with administrators and professors from the other Jesuit works who have already started similar groups (rumor has it a group from Chile is coming to meet with us).
Once I pull myself away from playing Ninja with the students (an awesome game, you should learn it if you don´t already know how to play), it´s around 11:30 AM. I head home to eat, relax, lesson plan, and find excuses to not do my laundry, before heading back to school by 3 PM. From 3-5:30, I assist our school psychologist with a group called Jovenes Listos Para Triunfar (Young People Ready to Succeed). The group is open to any secondary student (though we have a regular group of about a dozen) and we cover a wide variety of topics - self esteem, relationships, bullying, family, etc. Our psychologist, Sandra, is a wonderful person who is incredible with the kids. At the beginning of each meeting the boys are moody and reserved and the girls are giggly and gossipy but, by the end, Sandra works her communication magic and gets the kids to open up and share. I´m picking up a lot of tricks from her, especially about how to discuss serious topics without it sounding like a lecture. I really love both of the Saturday groups, but it does make for a long day (and week)! Luckily, there are just enough Saturdays when one or the other is cancelled, so I never feel too overwhelmed.
Sunday - the day of rest, right? Not exactly, there´s only one Mass in our neighborhood each Sunday, at 7:30 AM! So sleeping in is out of the question. But going to Mass is never a chore - we get to hear Mass said by Padre Fred, a nearly-91-year-old Jesuit from Hawaii who had a religious conversion and entered the priesthood after being a fighter pilot in WWII. Pretty cool guy. After Mass we have neighbors over for coffee or brunch, and then disperse to do chores (two people head to the market each week, the other three tackle the house). I eat Sunday lunch with my host family, do errands, clean my room, organize my life, find more excuses to not do laundry, and mentally prepare myself for another Monday.
Sunday night at 6:30 finds us all around the dinner table: sharing stories, goofing off, and reminding ourselves how incredibly blessed we are to be here.
My day begins when I catch the bus at 7:10 AM for the 45 minute ride to school. For 45 glorious minutes every morning I get lost in a delightful book whilst my personal space is invaded by squishy children, mothers carrying
Once I arrive at school, my immune system kicks into high gear as hoards of children press their drippy noses against my cheek and touch me with their moist-yet-slightly-crusty hands. Despite the germs, it´s one of my favorite parts of the day.
There are too many students at Fe y Alegría and not enough classrooms, so we follow a split schedule (it´s really common in Peru) where the primary students study from 7:45 AM to 12:45 PM and the secondary students study from 12:45 PM to 6:15PM.
My main job is teaching English to all of the primary students. There are over 560 students in primary - three classrooms (with around 30 students each) of first-sixth grade (that´s 18 classrooms in total). I teach each classroom one time a week for 45 minutes, which is considered one teaching hour. Each class requires a mountain of lesson planning, checking homework and notebooks, and grading tests.
My primary classes end just in time for recess, at 11:15, which is the first time all morning that I sit down and breath. As soon as I finish classes, I make myself write up a report about what happened in each class (what the kids learned, what homework they received, what games we played, behavior problems, behavior management system used, etc.). With 18 different classes, it´s impossible to keep track of what each class is up to without impeccable notes.
Although I try to hide out in the "library" (the ratio of things-that-are-not-books to thing-that-are-books in this large room warrants the quotation marks around its title) during recess, my third graders (a pesky bunch) inevitably find me and try to play with me. Sometimes I want to shout, "This is adult time!" while pulling out a Nalgene filled with wine. But one of those things (shouting at children? wine?) is not allowed at school.
From 11:30 - 12:45 I run a taller de inglés (sort of a workshop/elective) for secondary students. Luckily, the focus is helping them with their English homework and practicing pronunciation (the English teacher for secondary students is a Peruvian who learned English in Chile, so his pronunciation isn´t great), and I don´t have to actually plan anything to do with the students. I really enjoy my time with them - we inevitably stray away from English and talk about more interesting topics instead. Last week, one girl´s question, "Miss, is there poverty in the United States?", launched a 40 minute conversation about social problems in the United States and Peru and the students´ opinions and observations about the source of social problems (the disintegration of the family unit, in short). So while we do study some English, the best part of this time is getting to know students.
When the secondary students leave for class at 12:45 I spend a half hour lesson planning, writing tests, or making worksheets. Then I power walk to the Nuns´ house (about 15 minutes from school) where I eat lunch everyday with the Nuns and their cook (who has been cooking and cleaning for the Nuns for 20 years!). I race back to school by 2 PM.
From 2-4:30 PM, four days a week, I run a homework-help program. Right now we have about 10 students who come regularly (and occasionally bring their younger siblings. Free babysitting!) and I have two teenagers who graduated from Fe y Alegría last year who help me with the kids. The kids who come struggle particularly with math and reading comprehension. More than that, however, they lack basic problem-solving skills, don´t understand how to independently work through anything that requires more than one step, and can´t stay focused for more than a minute or two. I really enjoy teaching something other than English and getting to form individual relationships with the kids (which is impossible in a classroom of 30 kids, 45 minutes a week), but trying to help with homework involves both reteaching complex concepts that they learned in class and teaching practical study skills. It´s a huge challenge but incredibly rewarding when something finally clicks and they start understanding addition or multiplication.
After the students leave, I try to get more work done on the modern, shiny, really-fast-when-there`s-actually-internet computer (that´s just for professors, sorry, kids!) that is stationed in the "library." My attempts are usually unsuccessful because both secondary and primary students come to the "library" to study, work on group projects, and use the two old computers (sorry, kids!) for their homework. I´m not technically in charge of this room in the afternoon, but as there is no other adult-like presence, I have to keep the kids from damaging themselves or school property and I often get roped into helping with group projects.
I head out by 5:50 at the latest so I can get home to dinner by 6:30!
I have one afternoon each week when we don´t have out homework-help program, and I´m still deciding how to use my free time. For the past month, I´ve been volunteering at another after-school program run by Centro Cristo Rey del Niño y Adolescente, which is a Jesuit social work where my community mate, Thomas, works. They have a satellite center in a tiny neighborhood on the outskirts of Tacna called Nuevo Barranquilla and they run a program for neighborhood kids there three times a week. When I´m there I help the kids with their homework for the first hour and then lead Games (for a group of 3-12 year olds) for the next hour and a half. I really wanted to see a different part of the city, which is why I got involved there, but I might not carry on - it´s a long haul to get to Barranquilla! There are a few other activities I´m thinking of trying out for my free afternoon, but I´ve also entertained the idea of taking the afternoon off. I could have long, relaxing lunches with my host family (they live really close to my school), get errands done, and get home before nightfall. As with most parts of my life and job description, everything is in flux and nothing is set in stone - who knows what will happen!
On Saturdays I´m at Fe y Alegría bright and early at 9 AM (well, not always bright. We have a nasty coastal fog that hangs out until 10 or 11 AM during the winter). I´m working with Hermana María Vasquez, one of the badass nuns at Fe y Alegría, on a group for 5th and 6th graders that will focus on lessons from the Bible and prayer. The group is still in its infancy, we have yet to invite the 5th and 6th graders, but we´ve been working with a group of secondary students who will be small-group leaders for the younger kids. In the coming weeks we have planning meetings with administrators and professors from the other Jesuit works who have already started similar groups (rumor has it a group from Chile is coming to meet with us).
Once I pull myself away from playing Ninja with the students (an awesome game, you should learn it if you don´t already know how to play), it´s around 11:30 AM. I head home to eat, relax, lesson plan, and find excuses to not do my laundry, before heading back to school by 3 PM. From 3-5:30, I assist our school psychologist with a group called Jovenes Listos Para Triunfar (Young People Ready to Succeed). The group is open to any secondary student (though we have a regular group of about a dozen) and we cover a wide variety of topics - self esteem, relationships, bullying, family, etc. Our psychologist, Sandra, is a wonderful person who is incredible with the kids. At the beginning of each meeting the boys are moody and reserved and the girls are giggly and gossipy but, by the end, Sandra works her communication magic and gets the kids to open up and share. I´m picking up a lot of tricks from her, especially about how to discuss serious topics without it sounding like a lecture. I really love both of the Saturday groups, but it does make for a long day (and week)! Luckily, there are just enough Saturdays when one or the other is cancelled, so I never feel too overwhelmed.
Sunday - the day of rest, right? Not exactly, there´s only one Mass in our neighborhood each Sunday, at 7:30 AM! So sleeping in is out of the question. But going to Mass is never a chore - we get to hear Mass said by Padre Fred, a nearly-91-year-old Jesuit from Hawaii who had a religious conversion and entered the priesthood after being a fighter pilot in WWII. Pretty cool guy. After Mass we have neighbors over for coffee or brunch, and then disperse to do chores (two people head to the market each week, the other three tackle the house). I eat Sunday lunch with my host family, do errands, clean my room, organize my life, find more excuses to not do laundry, and mentally prepare myself for another Monday.
Sunday night at 6:30 finds us all around the dinner table: sharing stories, goofing off, and reminding ourselves how incredibly blessed we are to be here.
You fail to mention you procrastinate doing laundry because you do it by hand! No wonder!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post - thanks for all the details.
Love and kisses,
Mom
'badass nun'- a phrase I wish I heard more often
ReplyDelete