Many people have been asking me about school, and I realized, I’ve hardly mentioned it in my blog! Funny, it’s the actual reason why I’m here and I have neglected it. Sorry.
So, how is school going? What is it like? How are your students? What’s the school like? Here goes… (this is going to be a long one)
After almost being in school for 2 months I feel I can now give a somewhat accurate comparison of what I’m used to and what I’m doing now. The educational systems between the US and Mexico obviously vary, but add to that the fact that my university is “unlike” other universities in Mexico, and you get a much different experience. As I explained earlier, my university sort of prides itself on being different in a “socialistic” kind of way. We are here to serve the students that work or that have circumstances that might otherwise keep them from studying at the university level. Therefore, allowing them to take English 1 and 2 at the same time, like I said. I think a lot of this is expressed pretty well in their motto, “Nada humano me es ajeno”. This comes from a famous quote from Publius Terentius Afer, also known as “Terence”, who was a famous playwright of the Roman Republic (thanks Wikipedia). The entire quote in Latin is, “homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum puto.” Translated, it means, “I am a man; and I consider nothing that concerns mankind a matter of indifference to me.”
What this means to me is that we’re supposed to be a little more understanding when it comes to our students. They are generally coming from circumstances that make studying a university difficult. However, I had to lay down the law when it came to tardies. I understand that sometimes, things happen. Life is tough. Alarm clocks don’t go off, the metro is delayed, there’s a lot of traffic, etc, etc. But, my students were coming in 30 minutes to an hour late to an hour and a half class. It was making teaching difficult because I would start a lesson, then would have to explain again to the group of students that walked in late, then have to do it again 15 minutes later when the next group of late students came. I found out that I could be stricter when I came to tardies. So, I give them 15 minutes. Still, students will try to come in after that. My absolute favorite excuse is the traffic. “Es que, maestra, había mucho tráfico.” Chicos, this is Mexico City. There is horrible traffic EVERYDAY. They tell me like it’s an unusual occurrence. Most have learned, and just come see me in my office after class.
Having this tardy policy has shrunk the number of students that actually come to my class everyday (well, that’s only part of it. They tell me students just stop attending class and I’ve heard that frequent absences are really common in Mexico). My English 2 has 52 students enrolled, but usually only 20-30 show up. My English 2 has shrunk to a pathetic 3-5 students that attend regularly. That’s my 7 am class and I think they just don’t want to come that early. Yesterday, I stepped out of my class at 7:15 to see if I could get some more markers from the “enlace”. On my way up the stairs I saw one of my students that was supposed to be in my class putting her make up on in one of the studying rooms. I’m pretty sure she was also waiting for her boyfriend who is also in my class. She tried to come in at 7:30 and I wouldn’t let her. She came up to me after class and I said, “Don’t sit there and put your make up on and think you can come into class a half an hour late.” She looked pretty embarrassed. I would be more understanding with students if I knew they had issues, but, if I can find the time for my make-up regimen (ya’ll know what that entails!), then she can, too. I feel that most students take the liberties that this university gives them and take advantage of it.
Fairfield High School is full of students that come from circumstances that are keeping them from continuing their education so having the student population that I have here at the UACM isn’t too different. However, I’m not sure I agree with giving them a lot of leniency. If there’s one word that I learned to try to maintain with my classes it’s RIGOR (thanks, AVID). I feel that students coming from difficult situations understand more than others that the best way to achieve whatever it is you’re trying to achieve is through hard work. Making excuses and being constantly catered to doesn’t’ create skills or the work ethic necessary to be successful in a university or the “real world” after. Actually, because of their circumstances, whatever they may be, they may have to work just that much harder to go to a university or succeed, so if we keep letting them make excuses, are we really helping them?
Sorry, I’ll get off of my high horse now…
There have definitely been some positive changes for me here in Mexico, regarding school. I didn’t even notice a lot of these things until I read my friend Hilary’s blog. She’s another Fulbright teacher who is teaching in Tijuana, Mexico. As Hilary pointed out, the students’ attitudes here are very different. I haven’t had one student complain to me that what we are doing is too hard. I haven’t had one student ask me if what we were going to do today was “important” (I absolutely HATE that). No one has said, this is boring, this sucks, do I HAVE TO do this, etc, etc, etc. As a matter of fact, the only feedback I get from students is positive. “I really like the way you teach. You really help me understand English.” I don’t think my teaching has changed much; I’m still me, so I know the difference is coming from my students. Then, once I realized this, I noticed what a difference it made in my own attitude toward my students and toward my teaching. I’m not as emotionally drained at the end of the day. I don’t get home and just want to sit and stare, not say anything, not talk to anyone, not think about anything. That’s who I had become, that’s what I would do.
Learning from this….
I know that a lot of how I react to what my students say and do is my responsibility. I think what I’m learning is that I take too much, I let my students say things to me and I let them treat me the way that I’m now learning bothers me. If I want to be respected the way I am here, I’m going to have to demand a little more respect when I return home. I know that will be a challenge because our society doesn’t tend to respect teachers as much as they do here. So, I’ll have to demand something that is just given to me here. If being treated better is a positive consequence of demanding respect, I’ll think I’ll be up to the challenge.
In addition to learning about the differences in our systems, I’m also really enjoying teaching English. Instead of teaching Juanes and Maná songs I’m teaching Britney Spears, The Beatles, Pink, The Cure, and anything that I can find that grammatically fits my lesson. Funny! I’m also learning a ton of English grammar. It is definitely an advantage to have a strong background in Spanish grammar, because it helps me when I’m trying to explain similarities and differences between the two languages. I am finding that my students here are having the same troubles with English as my students in the US do with Spanish. Everything being “backwards” (el gato negro=the black cat, not the cat black), prepositions, and omitting verbs are just a few that I’ve noticed.
I share my office with a French teacher who has been very kind and helpful. One of the best parts about sharing an office with her is that I get to hear her speak French. I always listen to see if I still got it. Most of the time I understand everything… then again, she is teaching them basic levels and I have a minor in French for crying out loud, but still, it feels good to understand.
The photocopy situation is funny to me. There’s a section in the library where we go to give our papers to the copy guy (shoot, can’t remember his name right now…). If he doesn’t have a lot of copies lined up, I can get my copies done right away. Sometimes, I have to drop them off and come back later. At first I thought, “Sweet, I don’t have to make my own copies!” Then, I realized this can be inconvenient at times. For example, if he’s not there, if he’s really busy, or if it’s not within the hours (10-5), then I have to wait. That might not seem like a big deal, but not being at the school everyday means I need to really plan ahead, especially with copies. If I need something for Monday, I need to get it copied on Thursday. There’s been times when he hasn’t been there so I’ve gone and made copies on the street somewhere. I shouldn’t complain too much, since Hilary can’t even do that. I do write on the board a lot more than I did before, because it’s just easier than dealing with copies, and in turn, better for the environment. J
All in all, I’m really enjoying my job here. Like all jobs and especially with teaching, there are very frustrating days (like when NO ONE shows up to my 7 am class that I had left my house at 5:45 for…). But, I’m doing my best to remain positive and to enjoy this experience as much as I can.
