Everything is on fire here. First I thought a neighbor had taken up smoking and it was coming straight into my bedroom window. Then I realized it's everywhere. Poor Jetty is struggling with her asthma.
Lots of stuff has been going on here that I don't feel comfortable writing about. You can read about it in the Wall Street Journal if you'd like. Corruption and more corruption.
Because of that I spent yesterday in a training about safety measures. By the end of the day I wanted to hide under my bed and never come out. We talked about different situations and the likelihood of them happening, as well as prevention and what to do if they should ever occur.
The trainer was brought in from France. I've spent all of this time feeling really safe and well protected. He showed us that in reality we aren't as secure as we all thought we were.
Today I went up to Las Minitas to see how everyone was doing in the literacy class. My biggest concern is Doña Francisca and her son Luis. I am afraid they could fall behind and get discouraged, so I am going to do all I can to prevent that from happening. They need to experience success!
God is doing so much in Doña Francisca's life through this class. She said that the class is bringing her close to God in ways she never imagined.
Her kids say they see a difference in her. They admire her new confidence and enjoy watching her realize how intelligent she is. Last week Doña Francisca was convinced that she knows nothing. Not anymore!
I looked over her homework. She and her whole family had their homework done for Thursday's class. I asked if they would like more homework. They all said yes, if I wouldn't mind giving them more. So I gave them each four pages of different types of writing. Francisca has a hard time with circles. Her son has difficulty with curves - he wants everything to be in straight lines. Erika is writing her name! She and her sister, Nohemi, are bright.
I also had a talk with Erika. Last week Doña Angelica told me that I need to come down hard on the whole class. I was hesitant, because it is really only Erika who has any sort of problems.
Today Francisca told me that she thanked God for giving them a teacher who loves them and never makes them feel dumb or inadequate. That was the highlight of my day!
That was also when I decided for sure that I would pull Erika aside and talk to her alone. The rest of the class doesn't need me to lay down the law. They come early. They set everything up and put everything away. They pay attention and respect what I say. They take good care of their materials and make sure everything that is mine ends up in my bag. They bathe, fix their hair and wear their best clothes. They even decided that you are not allowed to eat in class. These are not people who need me to implement rules for them.
Erika and I sat on a rock to talk. She is so shy she couldn't look at me. I told her I see that sometimes she is not paying attention in class and I wondered why. I said I didn't want to assume anything, but I was concerned that maybe she is bored, or she doesn't want to be there. In the end, through nods, she said that yes she wants to be there, but she is also bored.
I am not really sure what to do about that. She is really not much ahead of the rest of the class. Especially if I can continue giving her mother and brother "reinforcement" (tutoring) on Tuesdays. If she's not careful, she will miss out on some important stuff and they will pass her by.
It was nice to just sit and chat with Francisca today about stuff other than the class. She made tortillas to sell as we talked. The land where she lives is all free, she said. You can build a house there and it's yours. I don't know how true that is, but it's worked for her for 20 years. She said I should come and live there. As she pointed out, they do have electricity now. (No running water, but she seems to think I'll be fine without that.)
Doña Francisca kept telling me that she thanks God because she has a teacher who loves the students. She said she couldn't believe that I went up there today to see how they were doing and give them more homework. I told Francisca I thank God because I have students who are eager to learn and really want to be in the class. They are so easy to love!
