And So It Begins Again....

Well, today was the first day back to school...   Of course the kids don't arrive until Wednesday, so the teachers have a few days to get our rooms in order and go over useless workshops.  Today, we did have a memorial service for Ms. Lili who had passed away over the holidays.  It was wonderful to see the love and support from other colleagues to her family, who was invited to the service.

After the service, we spent the rest of the day doing activities and discussions on how to help our classrooms as far as discipline issues.  Most things that were discussed we already knew or have implemented in our classrooms, but there were also some useful information.  It was a pleasure seeing all the teachers again as well as some new faces.  If anything, CCS does have some wonderful staff.

I rearranged my classroom and started working on preparing unit plans for this semester.  The fun part of creating my own curriculum is getting to pick and choose what I want to do in my classroom.  However, the difficult thing is also picking and choosing what to do in my classroom.  I am able to focus on things that I enjoy and want my students to learn, yet I also have to come up with activities and lessons that will challenge the students in their own way and will meet the standards of learning.  I also need to be able to find activities and lessons that will work with the limited amount of resources I have, yet will also fill the required amount of time.  It might be easier if I was given some sort of direction, especially for a person like me who hates making decisions and has no creative bone in her body.  However, I am grateful for other teachers who have helped to guide me and given me numerous ideas to do in my classroom.

There have been so many times that I look at the experiences of other teachers I know from around the world, and have been jealous of the resources available to them, or the ideas they come up with.  However, I need to realize that teaching is about adapting.  Every classroom and every student is different, no matter where the classroom is placed in the world.  Every situation that a teacher faces will be different.  I need to learn how to adapt to my own situation before looking at other's experiences.  Each situation will help me grow into a better teacher for the next experience I have.  It will be interesting to look back on this experience in Bolivia and see how it helped me to grow into a better teacher...or whatever profession I end up in.