Mid-Term Eval and Crit. and a pig's head!

Since my previous blog I received my mid-term evaluation and was observed by my professor, whom I live with.  My mid-term from my teacher was very good.  There were areas for me to grow, but she also addressed a lot of strengths.  I feel as though I'm learning more and more about these girls and things about them.  I'm analyzing and observing characteristics of their work and assessing it to address their needs.

My professor observed me on Friday for the girls writing lesson on a letter to America.  Unfortunately I did not save my work properly on my flash stick, and when I went to print my work in the morning it wouldn't print.  We decided that it would be an informal assessment since she wasn't able to see my lesson plan.

She came on Tuesday though for a math lesson on a whole-group lesson on two lines of symmetry and small groups on halving.  I activated their prior knowledge by asking them about what they remembered about the line of symmetry.  I then used the Ipad for the first time and showed them a rectangle.  I asked a girl to draw me the line of symmetry on the rectangle on the Ipad.

After talking to the professor about my lessons, she provided me with areas of constructive criticisms to work on.  When first hearing the areas of improvement, i was slightly surprised.  I didn't realize that i had lost touch with the value of knowing children and providing differentiated instruction.

Being here has, in some ways, lured me away from implementing differentiated instruction, developmentally appropriate practices, and recognizing their zone of proximal development.  I've started teaching to a routine that has not provided the girls with explicit differentiated instruction.  I see the challenges girls have and I accommodate to adhere to the girl's needs, but is my instruction differentiated? Further, every lesson I make I must think: is it concrete? (because at this age they think in concrete reasoning) and does it build on something familiar?  Finally my lessons should address children's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).  I shouldn't exceed their ZPD. Instead, address what they can do on their own, and create activities that can be done independently, but with some support. My problem is either: 1) the work is too easy or 2) the work is too hard to do without any support.

This is why I'm here, though: to learn and grow as an educator.  Over the next 3 weeks I will be working towards these areas of improvement.

OH! BUT on another random note... guess what?!  I braaied (like an American BBQ) a pig's head!  And I even ate some.  I ate a cheek (which was pretty fatty) and part of the neck (which just tasted like pork, once you picked through the fat).  Overall i thought it was pretty fatty and not worth the wait.  I'll take my bacon over pig's cheek any day.

Lots of love,
Eryn

Grahamstown Germs

well it finally happened: i got sick. After hearing the girls say "i'm all snotty" and "my tonsils are sore," I finally got both.  Going to the chemist was an experience: you tell the person your symptoms and they hand you medicine.  The medicine i got was so yummy; it was like taking candy.  The pills were orange sugar-coated and they looked like skittles... I'm not so sure they're very effective, but after over a dozen small oranges, similar to the Cuties in America, i'm feeling better.  And I got Chicken Noodle soup...glad to know when you're sick it's universal.  I'm hoping to be at my best tomorrow.

I also have been meaning to tell you all of the phrases i've been learning:
"shame" (like "that sounds awful")
"it's a pleasure" after saying thank you
"you must" (like "you should")
"keen" means "are you in?"

the costumer service is also not what it is in America.  "TIA" - This Is Africa

I also have figured out the times here:

"now now" 10+ minutes
"now" 15 minutes
"just now" 4-40 minutes
"soon" hour +

they also say "half past" instead of :30

and the number 1,100 is said "one thousand eleven hundred" instead of in America where it's said "eleven hundred."

Chips are french fries, and samosa's are fried triangular deliciousness. you get them at petrol stations (gas stations) and they're baked fresh daily with the pies.

Smarties are candy coated chocolate pieces, like M&M's but the shell is harder.

 Cheers for now from the future :)

Week 5 Update

Sorry I've been so negligent of my blogging.  We had a holiday last Friday through Tuesday, so Stef and I went to Cape Town.  Cape Town has so many different things to see, and we barely scratched the surface of the trip!!! We went to: Kirstenbosch botanical gardens (my favourite), a bird sanctuary, wine tasting in Stellenbosch, the aquarium and walking around the waterfront, and visiting a township.  A township is like a poorer area of Africa where there are houses made from tin and no sewage system.  The electricity is powered through, though.  Here's a picture of the tin houses:















I will also post a blog about my adventure to a pineapple farm soon soon!  Be in touch, miss you all!

Week 2 :)

I’m happy to report that Grahamstown, South Africa has kept me busy this week!  Now that I’ve finished week 2 of school, I have much more responsibilities in the classroom.  Mrs. Arnold said this week I should anticipate teaching 75% by the end of Friday!  

I started ‘assistant coaching’ hockey in grade one.  It started this week and I am absolutely dreadful!  I feel like I’m losing respect from the girls when I do hockey because I’m not confident in it.  I’ll be working this week on more research for it.

Stef and I have been making loads of friends and learning more about Grahamstown every day!  We’ve been to a few places that are so rich with culture!  Everything here is so old and the structures have integrity. This one spot is an old house that you enter from an ally (with a green light above the door to tell people it’s a restaurant) that has two fire pits and an outside and inside bar as well. The outside part has trees growing all around and they’re massive It’s really something!! The local university kids go there, so we’ve been able to meet loads of people and learn more and more.

I also went to Bathurst and Port Alfred this weekend.  Friday I stuck my feet in the Indian Ocean in Port Alfred.  The sand went on for miles!  On Saturday we went to Port Alfred again, but we stopped in this little town Bathurst beforehand.  It’s a town of about 200 people and it’s mostly white, elderly hippies. We stopped for a bite, and past the restaurant there was a macadamia nut tree. Stef and I collected some and once they split we can crack them open. We walked up to this old Baptist church with a graveyard in the back.  The oldest grave died in 1827! The eerie thing about all of the houses here is that because they’re so old, there has to be ghosts.  But like my mom always says, ‘the dead can’t hurt you; only the living.’ I’m not sure about all the houses, but I definitely felt some crazy energy in the graveyard!

When we were in Port Alfred we decided to have a braai on the beach.  A braai is similar to a BBQ.  We didn’t prepare well for it, and ended up at the bottom of a massive sand dune with all this meat and wood, but nothing to cook it on!  We ended up making marinated chicken, boerewor (sausage), and steak on a rock with some fire!  It was absolutely hectic (their term for crazy)! I didn’t get sick and we ended up having a great time leaving with full bellies. The walk up and down the dunes was quite entertaining.  I was very exhausted by the end of it, however.

We’re heading to Cape Town on Saturday this holiday weekend.  Friday is Freedom Day, and we don’t have school until Wednesday!

I’ll talk with you all just now.

(that means I’ll talk to you later…different, right?)

Oh! Happy Earth Day!

What I've Learned After 9 Days

So I haven't been here very long in the scheme of things, but after having time to get settled and acclimated, I have new additions of the things I've learned so far:

1. Things close at 1Pm on Saturdays, and are usually closed Sundays.  The only things that are open are restaurants, bars, gas stations and grocery stores.
2. Most people have maid services here, including at my school and even college students have cleaning services
3. There are a lot of freaking bugs here, despite the fact it's Autumn.
4. I'm officially the American who hula hoops.  That's how parents have heard of me and the kids love it.  I get applause every time and it's very cute.
5. There’s plenty of American TV here
6. The Disney Channel and its music is the universal language to children in building relationships.
7.  Calling children ‘friends’ as a teacher has the potential for students to lose authority for you.  You just don’t do it, but you can call them something else…’sweeties,’ ‘darlings’ ‘ladies,’ etc…I’ve used, ‘jellybeans,’ ‘munchkins,’ ‘lovebugs.’
8. Prayer in schools is okay, as long as it’s addressed in an appropriate way. In fact, my student’s parents asked to address it more. I have two Muslim girls in my class.  The parents of the girls at VP are primarily from affluent families.
9. Some of the girls at VP live in hostels just near school.  We don’t know a lot about hostels yet. I will get back to you on that
10. These girls are only in their first half of their grade, whereas in the States are in their last half of their grade, about to be in the next grade. They advance in January.
11. Gatorade comes in concentrated form and you mix it with water (1 pt. Gatorade and 4 pt. water)
12. Don’t order nachos at restaurants. Just don’t.
13. Pizza is the best food here so far.  Healthy and organic
14. The juice here is amazing and very good for you.
15. Most of the drinking water I’ve had has been from a spring that we take jugs to refill.
16.   Green bananas are better than dark yellow ones
17. There aren’t any dishwashers.
18. The government asks people to classify themselves as precise race/ethnicity.  It’s usually among ‘white,’ ‘Afrikaan,’ ‘Coloured,’ ‘other.’ The difference between Afrikaan and Coloured is very murky. 
19. This is Africa, cars wont stop if you walk in front of them.  If they’re bigger than you, chances are they wont hesitate.
20.   This town was one of the first towns in South Africa.  The buildings are incredibly old and are rich in culture.
21.   Grahamstown is a small college town.  I ran into two of my students yesterday afternoon with their families.
    
    And finally...
22. We are sterotyped as Americans. Stef and I are working on making sure America has a better reputation in their eyes.
    
    
    Warm Regards

First Day of Student Teaching

Things I learned at Victoria Girls Primary in Grade 1:

• Trash cans aren't trashcans, they're bins.
• I'm in first grade, but it's not called first grade, it's grade 1
• Just because it's a public school, doesn't mean you don't pray.  They say the Lord's Prayer every day.
• If it's your birthday, expect to get three lipstick kisses: two on your cheek and one on your forehead.
• I will be relearning how to say most phonetic sounds. 
• "Must we stick it?" means "Should we glue the worksheet in our workbooks?"
• Nought means zero
  
  And my personal favourite... (yes that's spelled right)
• An eraser isn't an eraser; it's a rubber.  And you don't erase something; you 'rub one out'

The Eve before Student Teaching

With jetlag a thing of the past, Stephanie and I decided to venture out of the house and go grocery shopping!  Dr. Baxen graciously showed us where the local grocery store was and we stocked up on food for the week. We spent 300R each, which is only about $50 each.  The store was somewhat confusing and tight isles.  People were pushy and didn't take the time to look at prices; they just wanted to get in and out.  The food was very similar to the products we have in the states.  They had Dole, Head and Shoulders, and Lays, to name just a few.  But of course, Stephanie and I tried to expand ourselves to the Americanized brands.  Also, the American brands were more expensive.  I saw Lindt chocolate (YUMM!!) for almost 10 bucks!!! SO not worth it, although every time I see the commercials I am almost convinced it is.

Well it’s cold here, about 11 degrees Celsius, add 32 for Fahrenheit, for a chilly 43 degrees…brr.  My last entry said it was low 70’s…I didn’t convert it right. It’s cold. And it’s only going to get colder.  But as Emily Silverberg’s optimism says: ‘it’s just an opportunity to immerse yourself in the South African fashion earlier!’ which I ended up doing today. I bought a jacket, which was about $30 and I admit, it is warm.  With my trepidations on the jacket while in line, two ladies complimented me on my purchase.  Also, the woman in front of me was also buying it, as Dr. Baxen referred to her as Miss Grahamstown. (picture will be shown later; too much bandwidth to upload)

Well after we bought food, Stephanie and I had leftover beans and tortillas.  I burnt the tortillas, but the beans that Dr. Baxen made were still very good with it.  There isn’t a dishwasher, but thankfully Stephanie doesn’t mind doing the dishes if I cook.  Then for dinner I made pasta with marinara while Stephanie made the Ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

So tomorrow I start school and Stephanie and I have been doing our research, with what we can find, about Victoria Girls Primary.  It’s a public school, but only girls.  The school goes until 7^th grade.  1^st and 2^nd grade goes from 7:30-12:30 on all days but Wednesday where they go until 1:40, and the 3^rd grade goes from 7:30-1:00 except on Wednesdays when they go until 2.  Yes, that means I will only be in school at most 5 hours a day… what a life.  I plan on taking on some extra-curricular activities, though.

Tomorrow after school Stephanie and I are going to find some wi-fi and I will put up pictures.  There is low bandwidth, so uploading takes a long time.  But! I did put up one for your viewing pleasure… it’s not of the house, but I thought the currency was cool and I know that in the US they do a unit of currency, so I thought it was important to take note.

Chao for now!

-South Africa Student Teacher