Teaching and learning in Peru

So I did my coursework at Millersville. I did my student teaching. I did all my field placements. I graduated with a certification to teach. Yet, nothing can quite prepare you for your first year of teaching. I'm guessing those of you who are teachers know what I'm talking about and are probably chuckling to yourselves. Let me catch you up to speed on where I'm at personally, now that I've been teaching for two months.
I have gained a new appreciation and awareness of God's grace since March 3, the first day of school. Every day, it seems, I do things that I wish I would or could have done better. Every day there are frustrations. Every day, I realize again that I am not perfect! (Humbling thought). Every day, I realize that I am in a process and haven't arrived yet. (This is very aggravating for my perfectionistic tendencies.) Every morning, I need God's grace to start over afresh and anew and love my students all over again. Teaching so far has been the most intensely frustrating, fun and rewarding experience of my life, I think. Despite the frustrations, I love teaching and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. So this is a little bit of where I am at right now.
I have 33 students - 20 third graders and 13 fourth graders. They are great kids. My third graders are quite mischievous and energetic. They don't have a lot of self-control and are also great tattletales. But they can also be fun and really sweet. Fourth grade is very enthusiastic about learning English. They do well with the activities I plan and can usually understand what I'm saying when I'm speaking in English (which is most of the time, or at least I try to make it that way). They come from many different backgrounds - both Christian and non-Christian homes. They come from the country and from the city of Cusco itself (and anywhere in between). They come from a great variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Some of their parents can help them with their English homework. Others are barely literate themselves. There is a lot of family instability in this culture. I don't know all the family situations yet, but I do know that several of my students come from single-parent families. Others carry keys with them and are home alone after school, basically raising themselves. Still others have parents who are very involved. Some have difficulty in school. For others, school is easy. They all need love. Lots of it. And encouragement. That is not something that's frequently given to children by adults in this culture. So I try to give it as much as possible. Encouragement and hugs. Getting to know my students, praying for them, encouraging them, holding them when they're crying, seeing their faces every morning, watching their hands shoot up when they know the answer, seeing their enthusiasm...those are some of my favorite parts of my job.
And then there's the grunt work. Depending on the day and the class, I have either 45 minutes or an hour and a half to work with the students. And let me tell you, the time flies! Trying to collect homework, squeeze in spelling, keep everyone engaged and on task, teach, and everything else is definitely enough to fill up my time, no problem. I keep thinking I'd love to do this and that, but there never seems to be enough time to do so. Before I know it, class is over and we're only half way through where I wanted to be. I keep trying to figure out what is the most important and focus on it. But the lack of time to do all I'd love to do is frustrating, yes. I'm trying to figure out as well what I think about the curriculum the school's been using. Much of the time, it seems too hard. But I'm working with it and adapting it as well as I can, adding things to it and teaching things in different contexts sometimes. All of these things make teaching a continual balancing act for me in many ways.
But I'm learning...a lot. I'm learning a lot about God's truth. I am definitely a perfectionist, at least as far as my own self goes. So being imperfect and being in the process of learning is frustrating at times. Just this morning, as I spoke with God, He reminded me to listen to His truth and His voice, not any other voice or any other "truth". That was a powerful reminder. One I needed. I find that I tend to get discouraged with myself before getting encouraged with God. Really, it should be the other way around. No, I'm not perfect, but I'm loved anyway and empowered with God's power. Now that is something to be encouraged about! No matter what, I am still loved unconditionally and He has a purpose in my life.
And I'm learning how to work with my kids. Little by little, I'm getting ideas for fun things to do with them and how to best teach them. I've found that lots of review (to the point where I feel like I'm becoming redundant) is necessary and that going over something only once is a waste of time because they won't remember it.
So yes, I am often frustrated. But I am also often filled with joy and love for my kids as I am in the classroom. They're my kids. They're precious. And through them God is teaching me about His grace.
So that's a little bit of where I'm at right now personally. Blessings to each one of you. Thank you for your prayers! They are much appreciated.