Teaching in a Foreign Classroom

This past week marks my first week at Colegio Americano de Quito! Being at Colegio has been an amazing experience. From the way the staff always greet each other in a friendly manner to the curious minds of the children, Colegio has already taught me so much.

Special education is structured very differently here. Special education teachers are not referred to as "intervention specialists"; instead, this type of teacher is called a "learning support". The role of the learning support teacher is to aid in classes with high needs and teach a few extra support classes with around 15-20 students who are mostly general education students. I would guess that around 75% of instructional time is spent supporting general education teachers, and 25% of the time is spent teaching support classes. Another major difference between special education here and the US is that in the US, each intervention specialist has a "case load" of students. At Colegio, all of the learning support teachers assist many students.

The school is structured very differently than the elementary schools in the Canton City School District. Colegio Americano de Quito is a private, bilingual school that has students all the way from nursery to 12th grade. All students attend school on the same campus. The school is broken into two sections - national and international. This school has a reputation as being one of the best schools in Ecuador. The student demographic seems to be mostly of the upper socioeconomic classes.

Every day follows a slightly different schedule. There are "six days", which means that there are six different schedules. They do not always align with the days of the week, but the schedules do follow a sequential order.

Overall, I have had overwhelmingly positive experiences at Colegio. One challenge that I have experienced is learning a new language. Many students who need extra support are best supported in Spanish when they are working on challenging skills. As someone with only beginning Spanish, this can be a bit of a challenge. However, I am taking time in the evenings to learn more Spanish so that I can better reach these students.

My biggest success this week was getting to know the students and staff at the school. I am the first student teacher at Colegio to be specializing in special education, so this week was spent trying to figure out where I can be most of service to the school. Through this process, I was able to observe many different classrooms and grade levels. I am happy to help out wherever support is needed.

Below are a few pictures associated with the school. The top right features a view from the bus window on the way home. The other three are lovely things around the school.