Student Stories and Impact

The beautiful afternoon sun shinning on this colorful tree just after a rain, causing it to glisten beautifully.

The students at Colegio Americano have been a joy to know. My schedule looks different each day due to the school's daily schedule changes. I do not see the same students everyday, but I have been able to see a few groups the majority of the days.

During the early days in this placement, I was leading a quick activity when the classroom began to dissolve into noise and disrespect. Luckily, I had already had some rapport with this group of 18 4th graders. Colegio focuses on six key values, one of which is respect. I simply stopped and made sure I had everyone's attention and said, "Now, I might just be a crazy gringa from the States, but I don't feel like this is respect." The kids all stared at me and I stared back. Then, we continued on.

Another one of my favorite stories goes like this. In 4th grade, there is a student who really struggles with English. I can speak very little Spanish. However, through working with her on academics, gestures, and broken languages, we have built a respectful relationship. Nearly everyday at recess she is excited to see me and a great smile crosses her face. We can ask each other about our days and weekends in each other's languages. And, if we're lucky, we can converse about other topics! I have learned so much about the power of knowing even just some simple phrases in a student's home language.

My students LOVE to teach me Spanish. They think it's so fun. Through them I have learned a lot of new words. They will even help me master the pronunciation of each word.

Although there have been a few students who will test boundaries, overall the students are relatively easy-going. They respond really positively to respectful relationships with educators. This school is an entirely different demographic than Canton City Schools in terms of socioeconomic bracket and student needs. These two placements have been like day and night. But, I have learned so much about the teaching profession in the last few months through these contrasting experiences.

The biggest implication for my teaching career than I have learned from this experience is for ESL students. There have been some moments in this environment where I have felt completely lost in a sea of foreign words. It can feel really isolating and may create negative emotions. But, suddenly, when someone turns to me and says something in English (my language), it is such a comfort. Thinking about the increasing number of ESL students that attend US schools, I can now understand some of the emotions that they may experience. In the future, regardless of a what language is a student's mother tongue, I think it's important to be able to at least greet a student in their home language. Because, depending on their language abilities and situation, that greeting might be really impactful. I know that it means the world to me when someone tries to communicate with me in English, so perhaps my future students in the States would appreciate the same.