A Month in Pisco

Last week was full of suprises.

On Monday I went to Alcohuaz one of the satellite schools. I had heard it was the best of all the schools with a caring and dedicated teacher and a slightly different approach topublic education. After expressing interest to Ana the satellite teacher I got up a lot earlier than normal and went with her and Dom over ridiculously terrible roads, as skinny as English country roads but instead of hedges lined with perilous drop offs and mountains, much less forgiving to a drivers miscalculation. However the journey was worth it as the school was wonderful. About 20 children between Primero Basico and Sexto Basico and their 4th graders were better than my 8th graders.

The head teachers theory is that nature and music are very important to the children to have a harmonious education. Therefore they have their own workshop for wood, the walls are lined with some really wonderful drawings and they have songs for everything. We spent the times singing “Yesterday” and Dom began to teach them “Let it Be.”

My Tuesday was average, and then Wednesday I had my first day at the Liceo with the new English teacher and the Quattor Medio, i.e. seniors. They were an unattractive lot who had to take a diagnostic test which most failed. However once we properly began the lesson they were remarkably intuitive about figuring out meanings even if the words are not ones they have specifically learnt. This lack of intelligence/intuition is what is most depressing about the colegio. The children get hung up on a single word and don’t try and comprehend as a whole. Anyway I really enjoyed the first experience with the Liceo and offered to do two hours the next day with Primero A..freshman.

That offer was a mistake. I left the colegio in Pisco at 1.30 got on the bus at 1.40 arrived in Paihuano at the liceo at 2.05 and was told that the teacher, Kettler was not there and not coming to the class of 2.15. There was a frantic search for a teacher with a free period that could stand in the class with me and the 41 freshman, one of the worst classes in the school, but to no avail. Therefore my first experience teaching solo I was completely unprepared, did not even have a whiteboard marker, book, nothing, with a class that stared at me blankly when I said My name is Imogen.

After 45 minutes of trying different things from their book and shouting a lot. I gave up with the curriculum which is stupid anyway and asked about different Spanish music like the cueca, p something which I still can’t pronounce and folklore and had them write down fast or slow tempo, words things like that. The biggest problem is that a reasonable amount were paying attention but the bad ones were so loud I couldn’t hear the ones who were being helpful. Also at the liceo the students spend most of their time hanging out the windows talking to people outside. Luckily for me a security guard saw and came and stood in the door and at one moment said something I didn’t understand which quieted them down for about 5 minutes and when I finished the class 15 minutes early he told me it was fine and he would keep them in the class. He was sufficiently imposing, unlike me, that they didn’t even try to leave.

It was the longest two hours in my life, but as one of the other liceo teachers said. Now I am a real teacher.