Learning to Teach

Everything here is a learning experience.  Literally everything.  I was a science major in college, which basically means that I learned how to memorize and regurgitate large lists of information.  My only worry was how I was going to cram all of it into my brain before the exam.  I never had to think about how others learn, or how to effectively teach someone else.

... until last Monday.

That was the first day of programs.  And for me, the first day of Children's English.  My first day as a teacher.  Thank goodness Dana is my Children's English partner-in-crime, because I'm fairly certain that without her, the first class would have amounted to me standing in front of a bunch of kids like a deer in headlights.  We anticipated having only a handful of kids show up for the first day of class, as word-of-mouth seems to be the primary source of information around here (and it is neither rapid nor entirely reliable).  So when 8 kids showed up, pencils in hand, we were pleasantly surprised.  Throughout the course of the week, parents walked into the library, kids in tow, and asked to have them enrolled in Children's English.  By the end of the week, we had a total of 20 kids... the most we've ever had enrolled in a program in the library space.

Seeing the third floor turned into a classroom every Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon has been exciting, rewarding... and slightly overwhelming.  We recently decided to split the class into two, in order to give our students more attention and lessons that better fit their abilities.  And thanks to the help our fellow PDs have offered, we will have twice the number of profes!  (Seriously.  Mil gracias!)  We're hoping that with this new arrangement the kids in Children's English will learn more effectively and retain more information.

Now, instead of pulling all-nighters to cram for the next big neuroscience exam, my nights are spent thinking about how our 9 youngest students learn best and researching engaging learning activities, in order to tailor lessons to best suit them.  It is certainly a learning experience... but it is also a welcome change of pace - thinking about others instead of myself.  And a good reminder of why we chose to come to Ecuador in the first place.

Thanks for checking in!

Sarah

PS. Sorry things have been a little slow in the blog world... we're adjusting to our new schedules, and it seems we're all playing catch-up around here.  Here's to an attempt at consistency!  :)

Fundraisers, Infomercials and Futbol

It might sound like these three topics don't mesh well together, but that, in chronological order, is exactly how we spent our weekend.  Mid-afternoon on Saturday we headed to a fundraiser for the church of Rumiloma.  The building had been knocked down sometime last year and the community has been slowly renovating it, but unable to get very far due to lack of funds.  As we walked into the courtyard and found a half dozen tents, a full band on a covered stage, and some of our favorite library kids running up to greet us.  We wandered through the crowd, some of us ordering Cuy while others watched a clown sporting over-sized plastic American flag shoes sing to a woman for her 100th birthday  (and shamelessly point out the ten gringos lingering in the background). 

Being greeted by some kids in the community

Watching the impressive (and well dressed!) band

Mike and Chet enjoy their cuy (a.k.a. guinea pig, an Ecuadorian delicacy) 

After stuffing ourselves with cuy and chochos we caught a bus into Quito to scalp some futbol tickets.  Although we're accustomed to people hopping on buses and sell everything from Bon Ice to historical dvds (guilty of buying both), the man that hopped on our bus had a talent that most lack.  I'm not sure if it was his thought-provoking riddles or straight up charm, but he somehow convinced at least half of the people on our bus, including Krysta, to buy a family indestructible tiny Snoopy keychains.  How do we know they were destructible, you might ask?  The salesman threw it on the bus floor (lick any of those lately to avoid going to Jersey, Seth?) and stomped all over it to demonstrate.  

A clan of snoopies... enough said.

The rest of us were happy to spend our allowance on futbol tickets, avoiding the ploys of a Billy Mays in the making.  La Liga Deportiva, the club team we've become partial to, played against el Deportivo de Quito.  Though our team lost 3-0, we thoroughly enjoyed waving around Liga flags and jumping around with the rest of the fans and chanting "esta noche tenemos que ganar!" (at least that's the only part of the cheer I remember). 

Liga fans loyally chanting for their team 

The girls attempt to chime in with the fight songs

Until next time, 

Jackie 

Teen Center Goals and Vision

(Today's guest blog was written by Mr. Mike Gabrys. Mike is famous - to me, at least - for making sure people don't fall down Pichincha when hiking, and for holding the in-house record for longest time sporting a mustache... out of the boys, of course. Enjoy!)

Mike playing a game of "piedritas" with Gisela

"I'm Mike, the fifth guest blogger. I hale from Northville, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit. After spending the last six years at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, I have developed an appetite for live country music that I'm finding difficult to satiate here. I like to run, ride my bike, eat toast, and beat Erik in chess.

This year, I'll be working with the library program with Jackie, and the Teen Center with Shawn. As Jackie has given you some insight into the direction the library is headed, I'm going to focus on the Teen Center.

As you hopefully already know, this past weekend we had a back-to-school party for Teen Center. All the arrangements- music, speakers, snacks, decorations, and publicity- were handled by the teens themselves. This not only made our job easier (after all, I'm still struggling with the language) but also allowed the teens to take ownership of the party, which contributes to fulfilling the goals of the Teen Center. For awhile Shawn and I doubted if the teens would pull through, but in the end, everything worked out.

The teen center serves as a place where older youth in our communities to socialize, free of the influences of alcohol.  The Teen Center also seeks to develop teens as leaders, offer supplemental educational opportunities, and integrate neighborhood cliques. A major component of this is the Teen Board. The board is in charge of planning events and outings, like the party last weekend; selecting topics for panel discussions we will have later in the year; and opening the Teen Center when a profe isn't there. The members are selected by peers to represent the different groups that come to the center.

This year we hope to build on the success of last year and the work of Seth and previous PDs by making the space more engaging for teens.  This includes having more things to do, more ways to interact with one another, and offering this space as a safe place to talk about issues facing teenagers.  This will take some time, but as we've seen already, the teens can pull together and accomplish the task if they've set their minds to it.

Along with the library, we are writing a grant proposal for furniture, magazine subscriptions, and stimulative games. Additional items we would appreciate are on our Amazon.com Wishlist; we continually add to it, so check back often.

The past few weeks have afforded everybody in the house an opportunity to meet and get to know the teens. They are a great group, and I look forward to updating their progress throughout the year.

-Mike"

Manna Discotec, Arriba!

This past Saturday night, co-teen center gurus Shawn Fagan and Mike Gabrys put on a successful back to school event for the jovenes in our community.  They decided to make it pretty much entirely run by the teens, from the music selections, to purchasing food, to advertising.  In order to plan for the event, the two weeks previous were filled with nightly meetings in the teen center and afternoons of aspiring DJs uploading music onto our library computers.  They decided to utilize the space above our library, deemed ¨the third floor¨ for lack of a better name, which is used for various classes during the week. 

After an invigorating day of climbing churches and attending soccer games in the community, the rest of us popped into the teen center to help out and bust some moves.  As we walked into the front door of our building all we could hear was the repetative¨oomst oomst¨of the base from above.  At first, kids were scattered between the second and third floors, a little unsure of what to do (probably pretty frightened by six gringo girls, standing in a circle and re-enacting women's exercise moves). But soon enough, with a little nudge from a light dimmer, all of the kids made their way to the dance floor. 

 

Dry erase boards point the jovenes in the right direction

Our two master DJs for the evening


Mike and Chet talk to the teens as they walk in


Christian, one of the teens, teaches us girls how to Salsa

Overall the event was a huge success, giving teens the freedom to plan their own party and most importantly, giving them a safe space to socialize on a Saturday night.  For more information about the teen center's plans for the upcoming year, tune into on Thursday for a guest blog by Mr. Mike Gabrys (or as the kids refer to him, prof. mickey mouse). 

Cheers, 

Jackie

Our Saturday Adventure

Yesterday, 5 of the MPIE girls decided to spend Saturday reliving their days in Quito as tourists by climbing to the top of the infamous Basilica in Centro Historico. After an overcrowded ride in the Ecovia, a missed stop (my bad...), and lots of spiral staircases and ladders, we made it to the top. And the view definitely didn't disappoint. Here's a small glimpse into our tacky tourist lives as seen by the MannaCam (who still remains nameless).

MPIE girls select the "boy band pose" in front of the stained glass window. Solid choice, team.

Jackie, Sonia, Krysta and Haley check out the view after the first set of stairs

Sonia takes a breather after the last ladder on the floor that resembles chicken wire.
(It's more sturdy than that, I promise)

Me looking out over the ledge from the top of one of the spires

Climbing the next set of ladders to the belfry

The view from the bottom of the ladder - gargoyles and the beautiful sky

Haley checks out the graffiti at the top of the belfry
PS. Happy Anniversary Haley and Dave! :)

The group at the end - sufficiently tired and ready to trek back to the valley

Now off to get some work done before the weekly 3M (Monday Morning Meeting)... Programs start tomorrow! Exciting days ahead!

Thanks for checking in,
Sarah