Post Trip

6/11/14

Well, it has been three days since arriving back in Missouri, and I am slowly getting back into the daily routine of being a wife and mommy.  I missed my kids so much at some points, I could barely handle it, but I am more than glad that I went on this journey and embarked on this amazing adventure.

When we arrived in Costa Rica, we were informed that the teachers were on strike after not being paid since January.  This information changed our plans that we had to visit and teach in some of the schools.  We were still able to visit some schools, just not all of the ones we had planned.  We visited an English class at a public school, a one room school house in an all farming community, a private school, and a public pre-school in a poverty stricken town.  The dynamics in all of the schools were different, but the passion for teaching was present in every teacher that we met.

Because of the strike, I was unable to meet, or speak with any special education teachers and therefore, my research project about autism in Costa Rica did not receive the complete answers I was hoping for, but as we found out often on the three week trip, plans change constantly and you have to be able to adapt to them, which is another trait that is needed to be a successful teacher.  We learned that with some of our lesson plans, the children in our groups were unable to focus, or understand, or achieve the goals, so we had to be flexible and able to change our lesson plans as needed.  As a teacher, you have to be flexible and willing to change plans to better meet the needs of the children.

One of the most meaningful, and significant experiences of this study away program occurred within my daily Spanish classes.  I did not think that these classes would have such a big impact on me.  Before the trip, I believed that the Spanish classes were just a bonus, and a simple requirement of the course. We were in Spanish class for 20 hours a weeks, and 4 hours every day.  The second week of class, we had a teacher that refused to speak any English and refused to change his teaching plans for our needs.  This made me shut down, because I was so overwhelmed with not being able to understand the language and being reprimanded when I spoke in my native language.  This is the week during the trip that had the most impact on me, because this is the moment that I was able to truly understand how English Language Learners, and other students with different abilities, or special needs feel when they are expected to engage and understand at the same level as the other students, when they are incapable of the skill being asked of them.  I was able to feel the overwhelming personal defeat, when I could not do the task, and was not given any help or sympathy from my teacher.  This was the hardest week of the trip, but it was also the most meaningful and teachable moment for me as a teacher.  I have always had sympathy for learners of different abilities, but until this moment, I had never truly understood what the student feels in these situations, only what the teacher feels.  As a teacher, I will try to always remember how I felt in this situation, so that I will have an insight into my ELL students and my students with special needs and abilities.  I will try to incorporate their language or interests into our lessons and into our conversations, so that they do not feel helpless and isolated.  I will let them teach me some of their special skills, interests, or abilities, so that they are not completely overwhelmed with what I am asking of them.  I will have casual and friendly conversations with them to make them comfortable and to let them know they are a part of my class family and our class community.

Another significant experience of this trip was the overall immersion, and the necessity to be willing to try new things, and take everything in, and embrace all of the differences.  I think, if you are unwilling to do this and to embrace the culture, the differences, and changes, then this experience would be hard and not very meaningful.  My advice for students considering this study away experience, or any other study away, would be to embrace everything, try everything, and be willing to change your ways.  Be willing to step, or rather leap, out of your comfort zone.  Be willing to feel vulnerable and overwhelmed.  Be willing to experience a new way of life.

I would assess my overall experience as successful.  I feel as though this experience has helped me to grow as a person, a mom, and a teacher.  I overcame some significant fears on this trip such as flying, zip-lining, and being immersed in a language that I could not speak.  I am a nontraditional student who has trouble bonding with my young classmates, but this trip put me into a group of people, who I am now proud to call my friends and my classmates.  Everything about this trip was out of my comfort zone, and I survived.  I pushed my limits and did things that I was unsure I was capable of.  I let go of the control of my own life and embraced these new experiences whole-heartedly.  This study away program allowed for me to experience opportunities I would have never done on my own and I am so very thankful for this program and what it has done for my personal growth, and my professional growth as a future teacher.

Costa Rican adventure done.  Next, and perhaps scarier adventure, potty training my two year old.

Pura Vida!!!!!