Day Twenty: Almost Normal

Day Twenty (August 25, 2011)

Well, today seemed almost normal. At least for most of the day. I woke up before my alarm with my mind busy on school work. That was normal. We had electricity, too, which was awesome! We went through our now normal morning routine: Mom got breakfast fixed while Hannah prepared lunches and herself for school. We were off to school around 7. School was normal in that we had electricity for the full day and the kids were all there.

Abbie commented, however, that the kids are arriving “late” because most of their parents work for the government and most of the government is still shut down due to the hurricane. I don’t really get it, but that’s the way it works here. The public school is still off, too, but I honestly don’t know why they couldn’t be in school. In any case, some of the parents usually drop off their kids at school around 6:30! Can you imagine how our principals would respond if kids were dropped off an hour and a half before school starts??? As it is, the kids aren’t really coming late; they’re just not arriving as early!

I am truly enjoying my kids. Most of my day is spent with the younger ones and being able to focus on English language skills with the first, third, and fourth grades is wonderful. It’s very different, obviously, than having one grade level, even though I differentiate learning in my classroom, but it’s a magnificent challenge. It is truly pushing me to think through every level of skill it takes for kids to learn to read English. Some of the sounds we have in our language are non-existent in Spanish, so it’s an immense challenge for most of these kids! And many, if not most, have parents who are not fluent in English, so they are not able to give assistance with homework.

Another issue I am becoming painfully aware of is that these little guys are coming into first grade with fewer skills in language than our kids have when they are entering KINDERGARTEN!!! It is so sad. I had been given a heads up that they weren’t really prepared, but have been truly shocked at their lack of readiness. Before becoming a teacher I had such an ignorant view of what takes place in a pre-school setting. After becoming a teacher (especially when I was teaching first grade) I realized the importance of language skill development and how a teacher makes an undeniable difference in that development. With the experience I am having here, it is unmistakable that these children are underserved. It has opened my eyes as to how very important it is for me to be at the top of my game this year in order to help them make the gains they need to make up for that lost time.

On another note, Hannah is experiencing a rather large leap in the amount of homework she is expected to complete. It’s a stretching (but great) experience for her, and Abbie is right on top of things. Hannah is truly getting one-on-one attention and Abbie is great at identifying strengths and weaknesses in her kids’ abilities. That is such a help for Hannah, and something for which I am truly thankful. It’s taking some getting used to for her, but in the long run it will benefit her immensely!

After school today, Hannah met up with her “team” she was grouped with so they could complete a project on the Mayans. She was grouped with some great kids, so I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful product! She seemed to be proud of their work.

Back on the “daily living” front, we still have no internet and the bank on the island (yes, there’s just one bank) is still closed because they have no internet or phone service. Since banking these days is computer/internet based, it really puts a damper on doing business financially! Even the ATM machine isn’t operating. One of the parents from school works for the bank and she told me they’re opening at 7:30 tomorrow morning for a few hours because some people on the island are really struggling due to this situation. Hopefully, it will help ease some hardships. I know I couldn’t cash my paycheck today so I can’t get gas or milk! Not a huge deal, but definitely a hassle!

With all that being said, today I am thankful for a sense of normalcy. Although we still can’t Skype and I can’t post my blog, we have electricity and cell phone service much of the time. Yeah, I lose my phone signal often, but I’ve been able to talk to Stan and my brother, James, and several of my close buds back home, so I’m good.

Thank you, God, for today’s calmness because of so many things being returned to their “normal” setting.  I so deeply appreciate it today!