'I' before 'e' except after...

Silvina providing encouragement for my first day of school.

I was warned this training course was intense-- though I'm sure it's humorous to watch the five other teacher candidates and me in our panicked rush for the copier at 9am, followed swiftly by one to the coffee pot.

In the mornings I share an elementary level class with two other candidates, we rotate when and what we teach each day. Most of my ten students are retired women and I'm getting to know their names, strengths and personalities (one woman is visiting Chicago in June and comes early each day to pepper me with questions). Our students know we are in training and are, for the most part, pretty patient with us. After our lessons we are evaluated by one another, our tutor, and ourselves. Halfway through the day we switch roles and become the students, with lessons on everything from classroom management to phonemes to teaching listening. When classes end at 5pm we head home to spend 4-5 hours lesson planning for the next day. 

Am I utterly exhausted? Si! But I'm learning a lot-- especially about myself as a teacher. Of course it's nerve wracking to be constantly observed, but I remind myself that if I didn't like people watching my work, pursuing teaching was probably a bad career choice... I'm enjoying teaching adults more than I expected-- for one thing, I don't have to worry about them poking one another in the tush with pencils during class...not yet anyway...

In between lesson plans I've managed to experience a little bit of Argentina. Including...



First tastes of mate!