tongue tied

A couple weeks ago I was asked by C to help her do a speech and pronuncation workshop/camp. I was totally gung ho to help. She focused on public speaking and I did a focus on pronunciation which included Filipino English versus American ways of saying things. Luckily Filipinos love tongue twisters. It was nice to have something to work on. At first the idea was two days of teaching the same stuff to groups of about 100. A lot, but some classes in the Philippines honestly have 90 kids. Then it turned into one day of maybe 400 students. Which is when we started to feel all that nervousness. It ended up being over 500  kids around the age of 16. The space was the size of gym. A real gym. Most of my ideas to make this an interactive event for these kids were sidelined, but we both managed. C did great. I hate to do this, but I've posted lots of pictures on Facebook and just don't have the patience to post some here. I am posting a video! C did this activity where the kids had to make their faces as small as possible and as big as possible. The kids in the video are first very very small and gradually getting bigger to huge. I hope you like it!

another rainy season

I'm not sure if rainy season is over or not, but it has been super hot lately. The rains came later this year than last year, and they didn't come nearly as hard, nearly as all the time, nearly as soul crushing. 

the coconut nut is not a nut

I've been doing a pen pal project with one of my dearest friends. Her kids are about the same age as my kids. I just got the second batch of letters from her this week, but we didn't have classes until yesterday. They've been studying for standardized testing for weeks now, which is not fun and I think they welcomed the escape. Right after I stopped the video they got yelled at and I felt kind of bad. They are use to it.

hoodlums and other goings on

February 22, 2012

What to blog about when you haven’t blogged about in forever? Who knows?

My thoughts lately have been on my Grade 6 pupils. Honestly as much as I completely hate them as a unit (but not always) I am really going to miss all the characters that make up that unit.

Yesterday Jocelyn hit Xed right in the forehead. It may have been an accident, and it may have been deserved. The look on his face was that priceless shock, when he finally gained composure he said, ‘That could make me comatose.’ I laughed and was super glad I was able to witness that moment. Who are these kids?

I guess while I was in Manila last week to see the dentist they made the student teacher cry. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I do know she won’t be teaching them. Which… ok.

So they are cute, and they are difficult, and I’m going to miss them. And apparently I’m going to be done with them sooner than I thought. Way back in January I wanted to have a sit down with my principal about my last months here. Today we finally had that talk. I walked in with all sorts of ideas, and she dropped a reading class on me. Drop isn’t fair. We’ve talked about it on and off but nothing has happened. But she dropped it in the sense that she said how about that reading class, starting March 6. Which is two weeks away. Which the school year ends the last week of that same month. I tried to explain this to her, and she didn’t care. I said what happens to the program when I leave. She said oh you have teachers. Which I don’t know why, made me feel 1,000 times better.

We are starting on that date (but I’ll be in Manila). Maybe all day, may half days. Either way I’m going to be seeing a lot less of those Grade 6 hoodlums.

I hope this reading program works, and can get started early next year. I think this will keep me busy to get on out of here.

I’ve been nagging more on the library, which I think is finally sinking in. It helps that the governor just gave us a computer. While I was talking to my principal about what can we do in these next 8-9 months they were installing Internet. Things take forever, but once they start they tend to fly.

yaya sisterhood

January 25, 2012

This week one of the teachers I work with had her daughter at school because her yaya was out of town. They were talking about how in US there is Day Care so teachers never have to take their kids to school if their baby sitter is sick or not able to work. Then they looked at me and asked if we had babysitters. I said yes, I use to be baby sit and I was a bit of a nanny once.

The look they gave me. It said so much, it said:

“But you are a teacher’

“We think less of you of now”

“But you have an education”

“But you’re not a second class citizen”

“But your parents had good jobs”

And so much more along the same lines of them thinking I was above that line of work. In the Philippines they for sure have a bit of a caste system. Principals are big deals because they are Principals and not because they are in charge of the whole school. Yayas and house helpers are little deals because they are house help. Even within the teachers Master Teachers are more important than regular teachers.

These teachers really didn’t know how to take in the knowledge that me, the white educated teacher that was volunteering these two years to help their pupils was also a baby sitter. I’m glad I was.

more waterfalls

The next day we went on a hike to the big waterfalls. I went here last time I was in Sagada and it was so different this time. There was so much more water.  Still just as amazing.

bare bones operation

The day after Christmas L and  I went on some hikes. The first was to see Hanging Coffins.

After we got done with that part of the hike I suggested to L that we go see the little waterfalls and maybe spend the afternoon reading and eating and doing nothing. As we were walking up the road to the trail there was a group of boys in the road. They asked where we were going and I said the little waterfalls. Next thing I knew they were our tour guides. One even had a giant branch he told us to follow. It was basically a straight shot and guides weren't really needed but it was cute. When we go to the waterfall they told us to go down, and then they continued walking up.

Next thing we knew all the boys were at the top of the waterfall in just their underwear. It was so random and well awkward. We ended up not sitting all day and reading on account of our mostly naked 9-year-old guides.