I think that all too often we get
caught up in the big failures and neglect to recognize the small victories. I went
into this internship with the mindset of saving the world, which inevitably led
to an abrupt realization that that was not going to happen. Learning to find the
small victories helped me not to be discouraged when facing the big challenges.
One of my greatest struggles was in communicating with the kids. The simple fact
of a language barrier seemed overwhelming, but since kids are enthusiastic and
forgiving teachers, I soon learned not to care about making mistakes. A more
complex barrier was one of authority. I spent many summers during high school
and even into college as a camp counselor at my high school’s community
education program. Over the years I learned the tricks of the trade; the most
important was how to simultaneously be an authority figure and yet someone the
kids can relate to.
It is surprising how difficult it
is to translate that, literally and figuratively, into a new language. A great
example would be my Tuesday class at Elsa Head Primary School. I know that the
kids enjoyed having me come to work with them, because most of them were
excited about, and worked hard at, the different activities. However, there was a lack of respect for
their own teacher, which became a lack of respect for visiting teachers, and that
made working with them difficult. The biggest problem was all the side
conversations that went on while I was teaching or giving instructions. To me,,
that is not only disrespectful to the teacher and the other students who want
to listen, but it is inefficient; I ended up having to explain to each
individual what was going on while they were working on the experiments,
because no one had been listening in the first place. Normally, if I were in a
school where I could communicate in English, I would have had a frank conversation
about how this behavior is unacceptable , and since I don’t need to be here,
and you are showing me by your actions that you don’t want me here, the choice
is up to you.-- you can be quiet and listen while I explain, or I will leave
and you can go back to your normal class. The difficulty for me in Nicaragua was
that I had a hard time translating that idea across to the kids. I needed lots
of words I don’t normally use in every day conversation, and I wanted to have a
conversation with them, rather than delivering a memorized monologue. Unfortunately, that way of addressing
discipline issues is not one that I observed happening during my time in Nicaragua.
The teacher’s only method, as far as I observed in the five schools I worked
in, was to yell and tell the children that they should be ashamed because they were
being a awful students. Since I think
that this method of discipline is counterproductive, it was not the way I would
have liked to confront disciplinary situations, but it is what the students are
used to.
Eventually, after many long
conversations with my mom, I did have a talk with the kids and for the most
part worked it out. Here is where one of those small victories comes in. Before
I left, on my last day working at Elsa Head ,I received a note from one of the
students, saying that that while she knew much of the class had been
disrespectful and didn’t always listen or participate, she had enjoyed every
class and would never forget the program. This small victory, this one girl,
made every frustrating day, every disrespectful student, every bump in the road
worth it because I made a difference, however small, in her education.
By focusing on the small victories
and appreciating those successes, it is easier to care less about the “big
failures” and see them not as failures but rather as learning opportunities -- a
chance to be better and do better next time. After all, without failure, how do
we grow?
*Related Update: I have recently
discovered that two students (a brother and a sister) at my Wednesday School,
Dezandberg, have started their own garden at home! I probably shouldn’t even
put this under the small victories reflection because this is a HUGE victory!
The ultimate goal for our program was that students would take what they
learned to their communities and start their own gardens. I didn’t honestly
think that it would happen (more wishful thinking on our end more than
anything) but it has! Stephanie and Alexander had been following along in class
and doing the same things at home. They have not only a small garden started
but a compost pile as well!
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