Monday, August 21, 2006
Nothing Is As It Seems
What a long day!! Today was the last day before the students are coming, and it was a very long and frustrating day. When we signed on here, we thought we signed on with a school that was at least normal on the organizational scale and high on the academic scale. Since we've arrived, we've found that all the expectations are very high, but reality is a different story. We don't want to be overly negative, but we do want to give a true representation of what's going on.
As it stands, school starts tomorrow, and neither John nor I have the text books for at least one of our classes. We are expected to have all this planning done - an amazing amount of detailed planning - but we cannot teach our plans because our textbooks are stuck in customs. Because of some vague shipment of questionable backpacks, the Dominican government is holding all school supplies. We also don't have our plan books yet, or our grade books, so we can't write down the plans in the book which we are supposed to show to our supervisors before each week. We are supposed to keep all our "supplies" and teacher's editions in cabinets in the classrooms, but we have not been issued keys to the cabinets. All our stuff is just sitting out in the rooms, which everyone seems to think makes them targets for theft.
John says, "They need to get their heads out of their butts. They want us to have a detailed yearly plan, and have our extremely detailed quarterly (nine weeks) plans for each subject done by Friday, and have our classrooms decorated even though we don't have tape to hang things, and they want to have four hours of meetings each day, and they start an hour late every day which means we waste an hour waiting around for them to get it together, and the electricity shuts off at three every day, so we can't stay late." He had to take a few breaths in the middle saying all that to remain calm. He also says that if this were our only impression of teaching, we would want an immediate carreer change: McDonald's would be better.
Hopefully when the ball gets rolling in school, all the expectations that drastically differ from reality will slowly sink to the back of everyone's minds. In spite of all the expectations and the lack of resources, the administration and all of the teachers have been nothing but kind and reassuring to us. It strikes me that they must be used to all this. Perhaps they feel no need to actually meet the expectations. Where we're from, if the principal says, "Have it on my desk by Monday," we are provided the resources to really have "it" on his or her desk by Monday, and we do it! I find that it's harder to really care about things here becuase things are so uncertain and unpredictable. Everyone here talks like things will happen when and how they are expected to, but nothing ever goes as planned - not even close.
School aside, though, we had a wonderful time at the beach on Saturday. We wondered how many of our co-workers in Indiana were enjoying the teal blue waters of the Caribbean on their days off. We'll put many more pictures up of our beach trip and blog it more in detail when we have more time.
As it stands, school starts tomorrow, and neither John nor I have the text books for at least one of our classes. We are expected to have all this planning done - an amazing amount of detailed planning - but we cannot teach our plans because our textbooks are stuck in customs. Because of some vague shipment of questionable backpacks, the Dominican government is holding all school supplies. We also don't have our plan books yet, or our grade books, so we can't write down the plans in the book which we are supposed to show to our supervisors before each week. We are supposed to keep all our "supplies" and teacher's editions in cabinets in the classrooms, but we have not been issued keys to the cabinets. All our stuff is just sitting out in the rooms, which everyone seems to think makes them targets for theft.
John says, "They need to get their heads out of their butts. They want us to have a detailed yearly plan, and have our extremely detailed quarterly (nine weeks) plans for each subject done by Friday, and have our classrooms decorated even though we don't have tape to hang things, and they want to have four hours of meetings each day, and they start an hour late every day which means we waste an hour waiting around for them to get it together, and the electricity shuts off at three every day, so we can't stay late." He had to take a few breaths in the middle saying all that to remain calm. He also says that if this were our only impression of teaching, we would want an immediate carreer change: McDonald's would be better.
Hopefully when the ball gets rolling in school, all the expectations that drastically differ from reality will slowly sink to the back of everyone's minds. In spite of all the expectations and the lack of resources, the administration and all of the teachers have been nothing but kind and reassuring to us. It strikes me that they must be used to all this. Perhaps they feel no need to actually meet the expectations. Where we're from, if the principal says, "Have it on my desk by Monday," we are provided the resources to really have "it" on his or her desk by Monday, and we do it! I find that it's harder to really care about things here becuase things are so uncertain and unpredictable. Everyone here talks like things will happen when and how they are expected to, but nothing ever goes as planned - not even close.
School aside, though, we had a wonderful time at the beach on Saturday. We wondered how many of our co-workers in Indiana were enjoying the teal blue waters of the Caribbean on their days off. We'll put many more pictures up of our beach trip and blog it more in detail when we have more time.
// posted by The Roths @ 8:16 PM 
Comments:
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Ha Ha....well, Claire and John, the teachers in Indiana can close their eyes, put on a CD that plays ocean waves, and imagine we are in the Carribean. If you close your eyes, do your hours and hours of lesson planning go away? If you think about a closet full of construction paper, sticky tack, scrapbooking scissors....does it appear? I guess we all want what we can't have right now! We still miss you John....Alma has you beat...she taught 6th grade for the first three days and then got switched to 1st grade, starting tomorrow! And good thing you left....the fifth grades have 34 and 32! Yucky! Go Colts!
Harvey
Harvey
# posted by 
: 9:16 PM, August 21, 2006
: 9:16 PM, August 21, 2006
Don't get discouraged. If the supplies aren't there you can't do it.I guess you just get into the spirit of things and wait and let things happen. Sounds to me thats the DR way!!!!! By the way are you checking your hotmail account John? I sent a couple of emails and I hope that you see them. I love you and will pray that tomorrow will be a day of joy, and that it will encourage you to share your awesome gifts no matter what obstacles come your way.
Mom Roth
Mom Roth
# posted by : 9:38 PM, August 21, 2006
: 9:38 PM, August 21, 2006
This all sounds so familiar from the conversations I've had with Betsy. It seems the moto of Latin America is don't believe what we say, or ask us to follow through becuase the circumstances will change in just a few minutes. The only thing you can predict...is the unpredictable. Welcome to Latin America, Claire and John!
I talked to "dad" Roth last night and he said you could use a bit of encouragement....so here I am :) Leaving everything here and giving up so much to do what your heart says to do takes a lot of faith and strong will. I know that I would love to say that I could atempt to do what you guys are setting out to do but I would only be joking myself. I know that everything will work out for you both. You have each other so whatever seems to not be going your way I know you will get through. John and Claire I admire what you are doing, keep up your spirits, everything will work out an the end. I cant wait to read your blog with the AWESOME changes you will be making very soon! Good luck! I will be thinking and praying for you!
Elisha
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Elisha
# posted by : 6:27 AM, August 23, 2006
: 6:27 AM, August 23, 2006 << Home
