12 de Marzo.
Class was good. We made houses out of construction paper, and we are to describe them tomorrow using the new vocab words.
After class I ate a quick lunch, which mi mama had ready! Woo! And then we met at the tech class location and walked to the school to observe 2 classes.
Basically, it was a good experience, but it was sad seeing students without books and having to spend so much time transcribing and not actually applying information. It was interesting hearing the other aspirantes dissect the experience because they all seemed to note negative things and I really saw some positives. The teachers are the ones who travel from class to class (can you imagine?) while the kids stay still. And they keep the same seating chart, and sometimes they never learn the kids names.
So a note about the educational system: they def have their own issues. First instance - teachers are never guaranteed a spot in their former schools until they have earned enough points from MEDUCA (their educational system). Teachers are normally required to change schools each year, and sometimes their sites are HOURS (like 6) from their homes. So imagine a world where teachers have literally no time during the week with their families or any additional time for their students because they're always traveling. I just pity these teachers; of course they don't grade well! Of course they are feeling overwhelmed - who can work under those conditions and succeed? So once a teacher earns enough points - they are essentially tenured for life and never - I repeat never - are required to attend additional trainings and are permitted to stay at their school indefinitely. At that point they may be observed but the observations are entirely for show, since el director (principal) can't change that teacher's teaching or change his/her placement without a really serious reason. I mean- I know we have some major issues in our educational system- and some of them are similar to those in Panamá- but seriously? That's just nuts for teachers and students alike. It should be noted that I am learning about the Panamanian education system from varied sources, and I know I am far from an expert. I also have at this point, only seen one classroom in one school in Panamá.
I actually thought the teacher did an okay job considering, and the other aspirantes need to realize that sometimes school isn't fun? I only saw 2 separate small portions of one teacher's life! Who is to say what is normal or bad with such a tiny snapshot?
After that I had my Spanish class, and I told my teacher about my concerns in my language skills. It went well. I think she gets me a bit more now. After that I went to a dance class led by Jody and Dina. (Two aspirantes that I really like.) Jody led Zumba Tuesday. She's killing it. Tomorrow is la loma day. Huzzah. Mas ejercisio. Meanwhile - the rice and chicken marches on. A little fried food here, a little fried food there, no veggies in days. (Except for the smoothie I bought yesterday.) But no veggies from mi mama!
Tomorrow we're going to a school in Chorrera. Same process probably. Yawn. Observing is just plain boring for me. I did a ton of this in grad school, and sure, sometimes it's entertaining, overall - if I don't feel like I'm being utilized, it feels dull.
Tonight I hung out w Randee a bit. That was good fun, and then Natalie joined in. Overall, good day.
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