These pictures are of the little kids that I taught English to when I first got Venezuela. We had been here probably about three months at the most. I met a friend of the family that is now a great friend to me too. She got my connected with a college that teaches all languages. At first they started me teaching a group of adult that had a good base in English and where taking an intensive course that was only 6 months long. Soon after that, the college asked me again if I enjoyed children. Of course I said yes but little did I know what lay ahead.
When I started I could barely speak enough Spanish to stop the bus. I was a little nervous because these kids are all in the age range of 2.5 to 6 years old. I had 2 classes a day, twice a week. First the little kids then the older ones. The first couple of days where great but then they started acting out. When the word got out that there was a native English teacher working in the private school, everyone want their kids to be part of it. One problem, the classroom was the size of a closet!! No joke. Imagine 10 to 12 kids in a closet. See, now you understand why they started acting out. I soon request a bigger classroom and a helper. WOW !! I remember when it was time to go home. I would wait for their parent to pick them up and I would leave crying. This when on for 2 months.
Well you can imagine I quit soon after that. Well I felt bad about leaving but I gave it everything I had. The first teacher they hired lasted a week and she spoke Spanish. I really enjoyed the kids it was just the lack of preparation by the college and the private school. I know in my heart that it would have been a huge success if only I had received the support, materials and space.
Shortly after I left, the director of that program told me how sad the kid where that I left. One mom told her about her daughter. She would go home and ask her mom how to say this or that just so she could talk to me . Their parents reported that they would come home singing in English and pointing to pictures of animals teaching the members of their family the words they learned. I thought that they weren't getting anything out of my classes.
I watch Pablo very close and the way he communicates is the most incredible thing I have ever seen. He is 2 and is perfectly bi-lingual. If he is talking to me it's always English. Even if he says something to me in Spanish he immediately repeats it in English. We teach a couple English classes together. It's just amazing that these little kids know only a few words but want to know so much more. We teach for 1 hour and then play for about 10 or 15 minutes. After we leave they ask their parents how to say this or that and want to speak English in the house. Pablo makes them feel comfortable. He is such big help. He doesn't translate or ask questions about grammar. He just gets it by speaking it. I think that most important thing about us being here is that Pablo and Antonio will be able to serve the people of this world better because they are bi-lingual. I strongly erg everyone to help themselves by helping their kids be all that they can be. It's not hard, it's all about consistency. My point is nobody really understands how children can learn so much so fast, but you are doing them an injustice by not helping them achieve their highest potential!!!
This blog spot is now my memory pad. I will be scribbling my thought of evens that happen as they happen or past events I want to remember.
