10th Graders and Tati rocked!

10th Graders and Tati rocked! They showed their ability to teach...4th Graders and l were witness and enjoyed their activities...Always experience goes beyond what is planned or designed. 10th graders came to our classes in 4Th grade to teach notions related to inner and outer beauty, spiritual and physical youth, ambition and corruption. They were fully engaged in their role as teachers. They prepared their lesson taking various factors into account: students' lexicon, activities 4Th Graders might get involved with, language use, and interaction. They even invited me to go to their classroom to know whether their ideas were appropriate or not, to ask questions about the kids and their learning styles, and all this after having their work reviewed by Tatiana. l was totally wowed! l was proud of my students and Tatis's. They all were involved in the activities. The thing that called my attention the most was their attitude. An attitude willing to listen, to observe, to read what is not written or explicit, an attitude of a whole group willing to learn. As a teacher l can say it was refreshing to see the didactics and games that the 10Th Graders used to introduce students into these notions, to practice and to help them to build up meanings. It was rewarding to hear some of the 10Th Graders saying "l'm surprised ... these kids are really good using English...they are way better than I was when l was in 4Th". It was great to hear my students saying "we love 10Th graders, they are so kind and creative, it is nice that we can have different activities, it is nice to have fun while we learn... it is super that we can work with our friends and learn".My comments about this experience are not enough... today for example l decided to include one of their games into my daily routines, it is just so enriching!!! l thank Tatiana and all 10Th graders for their work and company. A new relationship emerged from this experience. l hope it continues growing, and to have the opportunity to keep learning from each other. My 4Th Graders and l are very excited because you will be soon attending to our big time innovative Talent Show.Liliana Colmenares Baena

Speaking with 4th grade

So my 10th graders began their teaching experience last week. Poor kids! They were so afraid of the 4th graders. I went with the first group and feared for them. Their voices trembled when they introduced themselves, but despite their obvious shaking they kept on going as if they were meant to be teachers. I loved seeing the little ones with their eyes wide open and waiting to hear what those "big" kids wanted to tell them in those hilarious costumes. Then, surprisingly enough, my kids became natural teachers. What took me so much time, they learnt in 20 minutes!

So how did I come up with the idea? Easy! I found out that I was going to be both, their English and Speaking teacher. Tell you the truth? I was afraid. How could I make the kids see me as another teacher from another lesson? I considered as far as wearing a wig! So in that wig-moment it came to me like a lightning bolt: they should be the teacher (and I should never wear a wig!)! I told the kids that they will be teaching 4th graders and they should use the literary concepts that we would talk about in English class (which was actually a double win for me: they would reinforce their understanding of literature as well as their communicative skills at once). So they began. All of their presentations are unique ideas that they came up with. I just said: "Choose one (or two) of these concepts and teach it to little kids". A bit whimsical I know, but my kids indulge me.

They began their teaching career last Friday and hopefully they will practice their English not only with the teachers but among themselves. Though we got a few penalties for speaking Spanish, I say both lessons rocked! As soon as Nando teaches me how to download the videos from the camera, I'll post them so you can go "Aaaww!" just as Lili and I did.