test results and other stuff

I did say that I would be writing about this sooner, but as it turns out my computer is going to be in the shop for about another 3 weeks. The logic board is bad and the part will take that long to arrive. Thankfully it is covered under the warranty. That is the explanation of the delayed post.

So the end of the first block came about two and a half weeks ago with the first test. In Nicaragua, the school year is divided into six, six week blocks. The government requires tests at the end of each block. I wrote the tests for my four classes the week before and put a lot of time into them. I know it's important to have good tests--with familiar material that is presented in a familiar way, while still challenging them to think. I thought the tests would be a bit on the easy side because we had covered such a small amount of material in most classes. I also thought the the format would be very doable for the students. As it happened, many students struggled very much and there were many failing grades. Thankfully for the other parts of their grade (participation and quizzes) they were able to have slightly higher grades in the class. As you might imagine, there were also many parents with strong concerns. What they said was that their children didn't understand and were lost in class. Hearing that was hard for me. I spoke to a few of the parents personally and heard about the rest from the principal. Apparently this was not a problem in just one class, but in all of them. At first I was discouraged. As I thought about it more, I became more frustrated because a large part of the reason they weren't understanding had to do with poor behavior in class. I know there is a balance in responsibility between the students and the teacher for the behavior, attention, and learning of the students. I am exploring that balance and I don't want to carry the entire balance myself. A few changes I have implemented are weekly spelling quizzes (which have resulted in very low marks for the first two weeks) and more notes home to parents about the behavior of their children. It is a ton of work to communicate well with parents, but I really need to put more energy into that area so they can know what's happening in class. It's been a hard last two months since the first day of class, but the Lord has been faithful in providing me with strength and pulling me through. Thank you for your prayers.

Two weeks ago I went to Volcan Mombachu, which is a volcano about an hour and half away from where I live. We hiked around at the top and then afterword rode a zip-cord on the side of the volcano. Quite enoyable. We also stopped at an area known for it's pottery. I got my shot at spinning the wheel and making a bowl or vase or whatever it would have been if it hadn't broken off at the base shortly after I put my hands to it! :) Anyone who comes to visit--I need to take you here. I think it's called San Juan Oriental.

I saw something hilarious last week at school. Many times when there is a birthday, the parents will come to school and have a party with the class--there will be cake and music and games and prizes. Sometimes there is a pinata, which is exactly what happened last week--except look at this pinata! It looks like a little Dutch girl! I had to laugh when I saw this cute little Dutch hanging by a string and getting whacked with a stick by a bunch of Nicaraguan kids! Something I would never have expected. Don't feel you should take offense. I am certain they meant nothing by it. :)

This afternoon I plan to go surfing again. I haven't been since the second week I was here. I was hoping to go more frequently in order to actually get better and enjoy it more. I guess it's not the only thing I had planned to do more frequently (play soccer, play frisbee, relax, read my books, get involved in a local church, have personal devotional time...). Too many things to do, and all the time gets used up in planning for classes.

To those of you who pray for me--thank you immensely for your prayers. Honestly, this has been a very difficult time for me. It has been a time of feeling much under-equipped and wrongly suited. Yet, I know the Lord has a plan for me and I struggle to be open to that. I know he can empower me to do anything, and so I try to desire his will over my own. Here are some more prayer requests so that you might pray more pointedly.

- Pray for my students, that they will be able to learn respect in my class--and that I will teach it rightly. It is an important thing for them to learn.
- Pray that my students are patient and gracious with me as I make mistakes and repeat mistakes.
- Pray that I am open to the ways in which I ought to change. It is far easier for me to try to put them in my box and make them learn from me in the way I want them to learn. It has been a struggle for me to think like them so that I can prepare a relevant lesson. I am afraid I have done a poor job of this and then expected them to learn quickly anyway.
- Pray that I continue to recieve encouragement from other teachers and friends.