Up until Sunday I felt that I was playing tourist instead of being immerged into the culture, however, that changed when I arrived at my host family’s home. When I arrived I quickly realized that they do not know English so I would be relying on my limited Spanish knowledge and my dictionary to get by. They were very nice and welcoming. They were also extremely helpful in assisting me with Spanish, gently guiding and correcting me when I said something wrong.
This gave me a lot of insight on what it would be like to come to a school and not understand what is going on around you. I will defiantly be aware of the students who do not understand what is happening. Even if my students understand English they might not understand that specific subject or what is happening. Even with the limited experience I have had with this trip so far I am very aware of the challenges that my students might face and have gained a lot of empathy for their struggles.
Also, the Spanish test we had to take gave me insight in how my students would feel when being given a test with materials they do not understand. This made me aware of the struggles that the students might face when they do not know English and I am trying to assess them in it. I will try to work with them in order to ensure they are able to do the work and demonstrate their knowledge efficiently.
In addition, the emphasis on the environment that I have seen so far has been wonderful. On Friday after we arrived we had some free time, so as a group we decided to walk around. We found this little park/plaza area that were we sat and observed some people. While there I saw that in addition to the standard trash cans there was also a place to recycle plastic, paper, and metal. This was encouraging to see and reminded me how much more focused on environment other countries are.
This gave me a lot of insight on what it would be like to come to a school and not understand what is going on around you. I will defiantly be aware of the students who do not understand what is happening. Even if my students understand English they might not understand that specific subject or what is happening. Even with the limited experience I have had with this trip so far I am very aware of the challenges that my students might face and have gained a lot of empathy for their struggles.
Also, the Spanish test we had to take gave me insight in how my students would feel when being given a test with materials they do not understand. This made me aware of the struggles that the students might face when they do not know English and I am trying to assess them in it. I will try to work with them in order to ensure they are able to do the work and demonstrate their knowledge efficiently.
In addition, the emphasis on the environment that I have seen so far has been wonderful. On Friday after we arrived we had some free time, so as a group we decided to walk around. We found this little park/plaza area that were we sat and observed some people. While there I saw that in addition to the standard trash cans there was also a place to recycle plastic, paper, and metal. This was encouraging to see and reminded me how much more focused on environment other countries are.