Thinking on a better version of me!

I'm a perfectionist even though I know nobody is perfect, and with the time I have learned that things do not necessarily need to be perfect to be good or acceptable. If the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, then I have to reconsider how I teach and how I want the thing to be developed in the classroom.
After some questions that Matthew make me think about and also after a video I watched about classroom management, both make understand that the bad behavior of my students or others students could be the result of a lack of activities in class, where students are busy learning, using their creativity, and being thinker trying to find a way to do something, without someone telling them what to do.
I have to change first, I have to understand that my way works for me but not necessarily for my students. I have to plan engaging activities where students can use the previous knowledge and build from it, learn by practice and not only repetition or copying something from the board. I have to at least try and I have faith that my student will behave better if I start letting them do things on their way.
I'm teaching a language, the class could be loud if we are singing, discussing a topic or having a conversion, I cannot expect to have a quiet classroom all time.
I think my first step should be to know what I want them to learn from a topic and then think on some activities where students can try to use as many skills as possible, also making the activity hands-on, I have to let them try and make as many mistakes as needed until they can find a way to resolve it or to achieve the objective of the activity, I have to be more an observant and give some opinion to redirect them to a better path if they are going to off of the road.
After the TTP program and the field experience, I MUST change, if not I came to nothing, and I will be the same teacher that cut the student's wing (learning opportunities, creativity, development of a critical mind, chance to learn how to resolve problem, motivation to like school and see it as a safe place to make mistakes and learn from them).

How important is to read?

One of the biggest challenges that I have faced myself as an adult to study at the university level is reading.
Why? Because I don't like to read. I remember that I was told to read some novels in middle and high school, but these novels never were selected by me. The teacher ALWAYS tells us what to read, no matter what I would like to read, so we never got the chance to pick a book of our interest, NEVER.
How much would this have marked a difference in my life? A LOT... Now the question again is why?
Let me answer why would this had have changed my present me or marked a difference. As an adult, I believe that by reading we have access to one of the biggest sources of information: BOOKS... It doesn't matter it the book is on paper or it is a digital version. Books can provide us knowledge, entertainment and let us learn how to do new things, or see how was life before us. Maybe by now I would have read many interesting books and be a more knowledgeable person.
Why didn't my teachers teach me to love the habit of reading books?
Now, it is my duty as an adult to find a way to read a little bit more every day until I get used to it, and more importantly to teach my little ones to love the habit of reading.
I was impressed how much the Westwood kids love to read. Since pre-k, they are teaching them, how a reader should behave or what a reader should do to be an active reader. They explain to them how to understand, take note of a reading or analyze a story.
Westwood, it is using the Heinemann’s Philosophy that empowers teachers to help students through reading to become literate, empathetic, knowledgeable citizens.
Every day students grabbed their reading basket and had the opportunity to go shopping in their classroom library (OMG, yes! they have a library in their classroom, for sure this takes years) but students can go and see the cover or maybe read the back cover to make their selection, then they can read alone o read in pairs, they gather on the carpet to talk about their readings. I was in a second grade, and they never complain about reading a book, they always showed excitement and interest in the reading class.
For sure this is something that I want to try in Panama. I will assign some minutes to read every day and have some activities to complement, like write your own ending of a story, or find some solutions for a character problem and so forth. 

Hands on Activities!

Yesterday, I reflected on the activities that Westwood students do on a daily basis in the different subjects. So, what I have been able to observe is that all the classes have a theoretical beginning. If it´s a new topic the teacher does a brainstorm, where she explains the subject and makes the children activate their previous knowledge. In the event that it a topic of the previous day, there is always a review where the children actively answer questions, the teacher always plays and perform a game called Teacher versus Students and she asks questions, the students accumulate points and students always win, It is super fun.
In most classes students have activities where they use their body to simulate actions, make letters with their hands, they are always in constant movement. They sit on the carpet, they listen to the teacher, interact, get up to look for books, read in groups or individually, they always share and discuss with their classmate about questions (Think Pair Share). In each unit they have a project to develop which usually includes the 4 skills, they always read the topic, do an analysis and summary. This week they had been working on an amazing museum, of the Mayan, Aztec, Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures. It is amazing how children have created all sorts of sculptures and artifacts to represent their cultures, using ipads and their imagination. In Westwood, being an IB school, they try to develop values and activities such as risk-taker, thinker, knowledgeable, open-minded, principled, communicators, inquirers, and reflective.
Based on these strengths students are more focus and have their minds set on learning every single new topic the teacher try to teach them.
I understand that in Panama there are very few schools with this teaching style but I would like to implement part of this ideology, where children have more responsibility for their own learning, the teacher is only a guide and facilitator. Children should always analyze and think, they should ask themselves how to solve a difficulty and take the risk of treating that alternative. For this reason
 majority of the activities are developed mostly by children.
In Panama the children are always guided by the teacher's instructions, most of the classes are teacher-centers, and the students usually repeat. Few activities are done because the students have bad behavior or because the conditions do not allow to do them.

Materials, resources and equipment...

I  have wished to see all the ideas, techniques and activities as opportunities to develop them in my country, but I can´t deny a reality, that whenever I will go back to Panama, our school system doesn't have even half of the material that Westwood has, we don't have technological devices (maybe we could have a projector) so what can I do to perform and conduct all this activities. I understand that the main purpose of this school visit beside to blog our reflections is that we could be able to adapt the activities and ideas to our reality, that unfortunately is very different.
Maybe, I´ll have to make a list of the resources that I do have, and the material that somehow I could need, and design lesson plans using what I have to work with the Panamanian kids have. Instead of powerpoint, I can write in poster paper the slides that I want to use to explain in class. For handcraft, the school won't provide me with materials, so based on the planning I can ask parents for the material and have some material for those students that never bring their own material (we have many of those).
I don't want to lose hope, so I have to continue observing and at the same time continue asking myself what can I do to adapt all the amazing ideas to be able to use them in Panama.

My first day at Westwood Elementary!

What an amazing day! I never thought that a public school could have so many resources, be so beautiful and colorful, also well organized and structured. we were very welcome, had a tour and spend all day observing and sometimes participating in classes. Mrs. Sirkis gave the opportunity to be her assistant in class, help to check assignment and assist kids with questions about her nouns and adjectives class and also in maths.
Kids asked me so many questions, from my favorite color to my favorite wood, what kind of animals we have in my country, even about transportation, so creative and curious students, I loved it.
I took notes about some techniques that she used in her ELD (English Language Development) class, and also the math class. I noticed that most of the classes were students centered, I was astonished that she usually give them some ideas but almost never do anything for them, whenever they need help, they showed her what they had and she ask them that they thought they need to make it better or to make it work, and most of the time they came with a brilliant idea. I never thought that a 2nd grader ss could be able to do so many things on their own. In Panama I have done so many things for them, just to save time. I feel ashame imagine how many time my student lost a learning chance because I thought they weren't able to do it. They also have a marvelous classroom call EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) were students also develop theirs on technological projects, based on problem-solving for worldwide situations and innovation opportunities.
I still thinking about what of the classroom arrangement technique and activities I can apply in Panama. Certainly, we don't have as many resources and this delay the class, because not all the student brings assign material to work on a project, we don't have as many books for reading and technology is not an available resource in all moment.
Tomorrow is a new day, I will continue observing and notating as many ideas as I can to make a full strategic plan for when I go back to Panama to start a new teaching style.

How important is education?

On the past weekend, we went to Little Rock the capital of Arkansas and we visited Central High School, the oldest high school in the city. I was very impressed by the visit through the history of the little rock nine and all the things that happen to them in order to receive a decent education. Nowadays, in many countries education is compulsory and in others not, but all children have the right to attend school. It is unlikely that a student has problems of racism, nor is there racial segregation as before. It amazes me so much the risk that those students took just to be able to have the opportunity to advance in their education. We teach our students and some are interested but others are not. When we have everything in life and we get it without any difficulty, we tend to appreciate too little. This trip makes me think that as teachers we should open our students eyes for them to know that education is more than an obligation, it is a right and a duty that every person should take advantage of, to develop a critical thinking, help the national economic growth, and gives them the ability to realize their dreams. Upon my return to Panama, I would like to tell stories or show documentaries to teach students how much it has cost others to have an opportunity for an education and that students try to appreciate more the opportunity they have so easily achieved.

Classroom management importance

I had a terrible time last year in the classroom because of my lack of classroom management skills. I didn't set rules at the beginning of the year, I was only worried about setting a routine, for them to be organized. Routines like, greet me, pray, and pay attention when I'm calling attendance.
The classroom management was one of the topics that I was expecting the most, but I have to admit that I could have been more self-learner. I surrendered to a cruel year with misbehaving students because I didn't do it right since the beginning.
I'll be arriving in Panama on March 9th, that's a week after the class began, and even though I would be a week delay, but certainly I will spend as much time as possible to make sure my students know their rights and duties in the classroom, what it's acceptable or not, and what's behavior will have consequences. I understand that I have to set other procedures like seat arrangement, how to organize groups easily and faster. I have to be able to manage my group in a better standing this year, if not it would in disadvantage again, I will have a mess in the classroom so I can't let that happen.