Part 3 of Finding Home - Teaching, teaching, and being taught.

Haven't read part 1 or part 2? Make sure you check them out!

     Learning by doing...that about sums up the entire week! However, at 8:15 Tuesday morning it was especially true. Cassie and I had volunteered to spend the day teaching English to the students of Colegio Moriah. I hadn't any previous experience whatsoever with teaching English, but that soon changed. We had been told that we would start out with grade 4, so of course as we approached the classroom I was expecting a bunch of 8-9 year olds that wouldn't mind learning a few simple words that I had planned on teaching. Unfortunately, the school grading system is slightly different down there. Once you hit high school, the grades start over again. So when we thought we were going to see 4th graders, we were actually about to face a room full of very curious 12th graders. 

     Quick side note: the Dominicans are very open people. There's no personal space at all, and I find this very refreshing because nothing's assumed, it's all out in the open and strangers are considered family almost instantaneously. Therefore, the questions that we received from these "very curious" and open 12th graders were certainly not the questions I had in any way prepared myself to answer. 

     Because my methods of teaching English had yet to be polished and I couldn't exactly control the group to give an even amount of attention to the shy girls and the outgoing boys, I found myself reverting to having Angelica interpret their questions about America, my life, and Cassie's life, because all other methods of teaching English had flown out the door. I had to let go of what I had originally pictured and simply realize that I was going to have to revise my approach with the next classroom. For the time being, I answered their questions. 

     The one question asked by every person above the age 14 was: "Tienes Facebook?" Do you have a Facebook? No, I do not. *Gasps of surprise* "Porqué no?' Why not? Hmmm...I wasn't sure how to answer this one at first, but then I realized it was an opportunity to share with them what I did instead of Facebook. "Well, I don't really have the time...I study, spend time with my friends, read books, play my instruments (this always caused a positive reaction...they're all very musical), etc." They loved learning about the culture and asked many thoughtful questions that impressed me. Then I'd asked what they liked to do. Most of them did "chatting", others played baseball, some danced (Oscar, one of the boys from the first class, taught me how to merengue which certainly produced much laughter), and others played the guitar. 

     One thing I learned was that you can't be afraid of making a fool of yourself, because sometimes that's the best way to make everyone comfortable. For instance, I don't think I'd ever dance anything in front of a classroom of high schoolers, but this is where my love for them kicked in and I realized that if I didn't have fun with them, I'd just be boring and wouldn't be able to connect or communicate with them. Being an American, knowing English, doesn't put me on a pedestal. I wanted to get to know them and let them know that I viewed them on level ground. I think that this kind of interaction isn't all that common in a land where your social status is determined by how white you are. Yet we all have our prejudices and biases, in fact, I think America has even more than the D.R. (they're simply better hidden)...but the best way to break down those barriers is to have fun, connect on your similarities, and be honest. 

     However, on the topic of social barriers and stuff like that...I have to say that I'm sick with the culture that views some people as better than others. I'm saddened when I meet girls that are made fun of and don't believe they're beautiful (which in some cases can have serious implications, and in the D.R. could drive the outcast to supporting herself through prostitution, etc.) Or when one boy is slower than the others to pick up on what's being taught, I hate it when they're scoffed at. He probably has a hard enough time dealing with it at home, why should we make things difficult for him in the schoolroom as well? 

 

    You might be wondering if I'm speaking about the Dominican or American cultures...I speak of both, in fact, most cultures in which sin pervades (a gold star to the person that can name one that this doesn't include!) and though I realize that final eradication of the victim will only ever come when Jesus does, I feel that we as Christians, as citizens, and as fellow humans, have a duty to at least relieve some of this dreadful kind of long suffering. It makes all the difference for a child when you believe in them. There are things I wouldn't be pursuing right now if others hadn't first inspired me by believing me capable of doing those things. I would have given up long ago and called myself dumb were it not for the support of those around me. 

     Children shouldn't face these pressures anywhere...but to think that the schoolroom is where a lot of these pressures occur is a monstrosity. Learning is never a perfect process. If you already know everything perfectly, then the need for learning is no longer required: yet we require perfection! It outrages me (yes, yes it does) that there are children that get mocked, bullied, beat up on, and sneered at in the classroom. Learning is a joy, and should always be presented to the student as a joy. 

     Speaking of learning...I learned something new about myself as well: I'm a very good teacher (once I've assessed the situation and revised my approach), I love investing into children, and I have a passion for the least of these. 

     The whole social stigma of "being slow" or "being ugly", when realistically assessed, won't ever completely go away. But as long as it's in my power to believe in those that don't think they can do it or don't think they're worth it, by golly, I'll believe in them. 

The teens loved getting their pictures with us...this is just one out of several that we took.      

Me, Professora Angelica, and Cassie

Israel showing his English writing to his friends. 

Perhaps my favorite group of 15 year old boys...they were all so sweet!   

Colegio Moriah and a few students.

Handing out the bracelets to the younger classes.

"What's you're favorite color?" "My faav-or-it coler es blu." 

Two sweetie-pies goofing off for the camera. 

     I went into those classrooms, thinking that I was the one doing the teaching. In all reality, they were the teachers and I was the student. My first classroom experience could have been considered a disaster were it not for the great quantity that I learned in a very short amount of time. After that group we went to a smaller group of 16 year olds that were much more manageable. I knew I'd need a different approach, so we began with introductions during which Cassie and I would tell about our lives in America. Then we broke up into small groups and Cassie and I would spend 10 or so minutes with each group helping them write English phrases, practice them on their peers, and ask questions. 

     This method ended up being very effective and we used it throughout the rest of the day. I cherish my time with each group and was always so impressed with their eagerness and openness to learn--when we approached the learning as a game...but not when it was presented as a chore. Some of the students were very quick and could even do some translating; others stumbled over the foreign English sounds miserably, but we laughed and continued to work on it. I told almost every class that they should continue to work on their English and that they can and will be able to speak it if they believe in themselves. I don't know how much I actually taught them, but they certainly taught me that to learn anything, you've got to value what you're learning, believe that you can accomplish it, and have fun while doing it.