If I'm the teacher, why do I have all this dang homework?

Hello Readers!

I have a lot of homework.  It's for that reason that I have been neglecting my blogging responsibilities and not because I don't like it.  In fact, I quite wanted to write a blog last weekend, but I was rather busy picking up my husband at the airport and introducing him to the United States.  You'll forgive me, I hope.

Things have been HECTIC since I arrived in the good ol' US of A in July.  I spent a week in Wisconsin, visiting family and friends (and friend's baby bumps!!) and then arrived in Minneapolis, just in time to visit some other, frisbee-throwing friends.  So, it was about 2 weeks before I even thought about unpacking my suitcase.  By that time, it was time to head over to interview with my former 6th and 7th grade teacher and future principal.  3 short weeks later and I was neck deep in district orientations and benefits paperwork.  Not complaining, benefits are actually pretty awesome!

School started on August 29th and I can tell you that I felt semi-prepared.  The first day went well, but then I realized that that week of 10-hour days prior to the first day, really only prepared me for one day.  The 10-hour days have continued and are not showing signs of going away.  Sheesh, way to over stay your welcome long working-hours!  I have a great group of coworkers and excellent kiddies, who I will repeatedly refer to as my babies, kids, children, etc.  Rest assured, there are no biological babies and won't be for quite some time (sorry mom)! 

I teach 5 ESL classes, levels 1 - 5 (5 being the highest proficiency level and closest to graduating from ESL services and 1 being fresh into the country and limited to no English), and work primarily with 7th graders.  I share a room and co-teach two classes with a woman who was in my post-bac masters program at the U of M (Minnesota, none of this Michigan garbage), Jo.  She is amazing and the reason that I have any energy to write this blog.  Thank goodness for her.  She is also the department leader and therefore has to handle all the administrative and paperwork duties for ESL which are quite extensive.  Jo and I co-teach a level 4/5 class and also a level 1/2 (which are new-comers and students who have been in the country for a couple of years).  I teach a level 3 Language Arts and also co-teach another level 3 Language Arts class (half ESL students, half mainstream students).  Finally, I teach another 1/2 class that is comprised of all of the kids that Jo and I have in our other level 1/2 class except for 2.  That totals 5 50-minute classes a day, with 2 50-minute prep hours and 28 minutes for lunch.  Oh, plus I usually go in an hour and a half early and stay an hour or two late. 

The biggest challenges for me thus far are the level 1/2 classes because the range of language proficiencies in that class is enormous!  I have 3 kids who are completely new to the US and 2 of which who have had limited formal schooling.  Then I have 2 kids who have about 7 months in the country, who have some vocabulary, but aren't producing much English yet.  Then there are some kids who have been here 2 or 3 years and are pretty good at speaking and listening, but not so great at reading and writing.  Finally, I have some kids who were born in the states and are totally orally proficient, but can't test out of level 1/2 (or ESL in general, for that matter) because of learning disabilities.  Trying to find something to teach that hits each kid's level is quite difficult and time consuming.  Luckily, the kids are great and get along well with each other.  Also, thank goodness that Jo is co-teaching one of the classes with me because she lends her energy and brain power in the planning stages and in the classroom.

School is going pretty well, considering it's my first year back in the States and the system that I worked in last year is about as different as possible from the one I'm in now.  Like, the only commonality is the fact that I speak English in my classes... well, that and I got lucky with my group of kids again... but apart from that... totally different.

On a personal note, on September 1st I found out that Jim Nelson, a very important person in my life, passed away.  I met him in Zihua, at Las Urracas and while I lived there, he was my go-to guy for any kind of question or concern I might have had.  He had been going to Las Urracas for at least a month for the last 30 years.  He was like a grandpa for Pako and Lorena and a great friend to Petra and Eliseo and many other members of the Las Urracas family.  Pako and I can't believe that he is gone and that we'll never get to see him again.  I could write a list of all of the reasons he was so great, but I'd spend the next 3 hours and this would be a really, really long blog.  Suffice it to say we loved Jim very, very much and miss him so much already.  He was an amazing person, we were incredibly lucky to call him our friend.  We're planning a sunset toast in his honor in front of his palapa at Las Urracas in January and I'll post more info when I know it.

Jim with Keila, one of the 15 or so young Zihuatanejenses that he put through school, at our wedding, Feb 26, 2011

Lastly, also on a personal, but much happier note, Pako made it!  He's been here now a week and hasn't even tried to sneak out to the airport!  His impressions of the States thus far are these:
- All of the houses have pointy roofs
- The street and traffic signs are weird
- Our house has too many doors
- The Minnesota sky is pretty
- Chipotle makes a really large, but delicious burrito

His social security card will show up in about a week and then he'll start looking for jobs.  We're hoping to get him a job in a school so that our vacations will mash up. 

I'll write more when I can, but you can all look forward to an enticing piece about pickles by the grouch, coming soon to a computer screen near you!