Con Sangre, Las Letras Entran

Where do I even start?  Saber (a saying here that means 'Who knows')

I haven't blogged in so long because life has kept me busy.  One of the things I've been wanting to talk about is Special Education here in my escuela.  There are no services here for special ed kiddos, which wasn't too surprising because it requires extra resources and people.  But it did surprise me that there doesn't seem to be much acknowledgement of kids functioning at different levels.  Kids get held back for years - right now there's a 14 year old in 3rd grade - because they don't meet the standard.  Instead of changing the standard to be an approachable reality for this kids, they just continue to fail, in hopes that 3 years of dictation in the same grade will eventually etch into their brains how to write the letter M.

One of my roof mates, Diego, told me a saying in Mexico.  "Con sangre las letras entran."  With blood, the letters enter.  Through painful experiences, you will learn.  I heard Diego's words loud in my head during a conference with a parent.  One of my special ed buddies has been having a super tough time.  We've been working 2 months on the same thing, and he's still not retaining it.  His mom told me that the reason he isn't learning is because Brenda (my teaching partner and I) are too nice.  She said when she hits him in the head, he knows it.  So, me dijo, you just have to hit him when you teach him something and he'll do it right.  Con sangre las letras entran.

With all my experience working with people with special needs, and my always being inspired and awed by my dad, these kiddos have been pulling at my heart strings.  I finally was able to teach my partner about changing the evaluations we use for our 5 kids, and I am modeling a pull-out program every morning.  I've been talking to our new director about the possibility of doing something like this with every grade, to remove kids from so much stimulation and give them access to information at their level.

My 2 hours of Special Ed pull out has been the worst part of my day for a whole month.  All of my worst behaviors are wrapped up in the 5 kids I pull out. I have been punched and kicked and called a bitch.  My students have stabbed and strangled each other, eaten our crayons, stolen my carefully prepared prizes, and run screaming through the school. But this week, when I thought I should probably give up. . . .we finally found success!! With the help of my dad and all my friends and resources I reached out to for ideas - muchisimas gracias!  We've finally found our rhythm and routine, without hitting anyone's head or shedding any blood!

I'm super excited to expose the teachers here to knowledge and practices that can hopefully give the kiddos here a leg up.    

These pics aren't related to SPED, just pictures of my kids that make me smile.  Here's my buddy Mario, with his self-portrait.  He is the best part of my day.

Can you guess which kid is my Narcoleptic?  

These cousins are in my class, and they love stealing my phone for selfies. 

My new room

This week I moved off the roof and into the community.  I love it so much!!  I'm now living in the house of Angela, one of the amazing women at UPAVIM.  I feel so much more connected to this experience living in the community, seeing people, playing with kids, getting chased by roosters.  It's also good for my mental health to leave the building!  I end my nights watching a Tele Novela (Soap Opera) with Angela, and I start my mornings with a trip to the panederia.

My room before I moved in

And after!  It may not look like much, but I'm in love with it!  I used bits of wire sticking out of the walls to hang stuff on. 

Poco a poco

Little by little I'm feeling more a part of the rhythm of life here.  On Friday, I had a Skype date with the girl who taught my kiddos last year.  It was so great to touch base about her curriculum from last year, and learn about the routines and behavior management that worked for her.  Knowing what has come before makes my life so much easier!! I definitely have more peace about school tomorrow, and am excited to try using things the kids know from last year.  One of our struggles here has been that every teacher keeps re-inventing the wheel.  Things like having access to the previous teacher's curriculum, having an overall vision for the program, and working together (novel ideas, I know) are things that the small group of survivors left here are trying to work on.  We are hoping to help build a more sustainable program, and make the road easier for future teachers.

This week has been really rejuvenating for me.  I have finally met a ton of the women of UPAVIM!  This is such an important thing to feel like you belong here.  We threw a party on Friday night for the women, and it was great to meet so many of them, talk, and joke around.  I also went to an exercise class this week, and it was so much fun to workout, chat and laugh together.  I started drawing again (it's been like a year since I've drawn!), and I found out I get Netflix here!  It's been nice to rediscover my creature comforts, and to have things outside of the school day to look forward to.  My roommate also left for 2 weeks to attend language school, and last night was my first night in my own room in over 5 weeks!  There is something so simple and amazing about having your own room.  Tomorrow I start teaching English classes in the evening with the women.

To be sure, we still have our mountains of challenges.  For instance, we've lost water on the roof, so showers no longer exist, laundry cannot be washed - we are a smelly group of teachers up here.  The school is still in disarray with all the changes of directors and teachers, and my kids still hit each other. And. .  .I'm still living in a slum.

But, this has been my best week so far.  Full of my most successful teaching moments here to date, lots of R and R, and more things are happening to help me feel more part of UPAVIM.

My kiddos!

One of my drawings

We had a party for my roomie Billie, and we played pin a kiss on Brad Pitt.  Deborah won, and her kiss is now framed in our kitchen.