Conclusions

TO CONCLUDE...

     I imagine that after touring this blog you may have a better idea about me as a teacher, about the institutions and also about the groups I had to work with. The whole experience has been a huge challenge as there have been several setbacks that have triggered all my instincts so that to give my best and get over every difficulty. I even think that I’m not the same person who begun this process a year ago than who I’m today.

      The first step to begin this practicum was to get organized and to create a structure so that to be able to manage time and resources the best way possible. I’m used to working in a daily bases, I answer to situations on the spot, I’m not used to be prepared for future schedules. The reason I work that way is because every time I prepared my stuff beforehand something unexpected happened and all my plans had to be changed. However, this time I had to work following a schedule and it’s been hard work for me but I tried to adjust my style to all the new demands. I had to learn to be more organized and to work with time that was really difficult for me. Not only working with time for planning and preparing the material for all the lessons beforehand; but also, for working inside the classrooms with students I barely knew and with a great amount of resources that had to be used to that to comply with the main aims of the lessons, which were to promote learning through activities that involved real communication. As a result, organization was present in almost all my lessons, or at least I tried to follow a certain structure. Nevertheless, nowadays it’s still hard work for me to adapt to timing during my lessons. I believe I have much more to learn so that to be capable of managing time during my lessons.

     Another important step during the practicum was to find the institutions so that to be able to contact the teachers responsible for the groups and plan the practicum. Unluckily, each student is in charge of searching for the institutions, something that takes much time than expected. Even more when I wasn’t a local student, as there is a public institution in the city where we can do the teaching training career. Our case as distance students is different and unknown for many people, yet. So, I had to introduce myself as a student and also to present the institution where I study as many people don’t know it. Moreover, I had to give my reasons for choosing the institution to give my practicum and to convince the principals of my objectives in that institutions. Then came the authorization letter from the institution that represented me. All that process took a while to be solved and I was running with time. For fortune, the first two institutions; that is to say, the kindergarten and the primary school, were open to my requests and I could work freely in that aspect. The problem came with secondary institutions. It took me around a month to get a secondary institution in which I could perform the practicum, and at the same moment union strikes began to take over the city. Consequently, I actually run with secondary practicum and in fact I almost chased the groups’ teacher I was assigned to work with because I was losing many lessons and even the chance to finish the whole practicum process in one year. All the same, I did it and I could end the secondary practicum the last day of the school year.

     As regards the students I had to work with, I can say that variety was their main feature. Kindergarten children were a dream came true! They really behaved very well and their teacher is an expert working with young children as I could see. Those children, the “Woodpeckers” group, were used to having English lessons every day at least two hours a day; so, they were ready to work with English songs, games, and stories. As regards primary students, I think that I had the chance to work with children of about 8 or 9 years old, an age in which they can exploit all their skills and emotions, and they start caring about the others, the community, nature and many other issues in which they are not the main focus anymore. Fortunately, Forth Green was a fantastic group to work with as they behaved absolutely great. Secondary students needed so much attention and guidance that they looked really difficult groups to work with, but in the end they were just the result of a public education system that is falling into pieces. I wasn`t surprised, but I realized that there was so much that we could do for those students that I tried to give even more than what I could actually do for them. I wanted to show them that they could have better English lessons, but nobody in the institution cared about it. As a consequence, those teenagers wouldn`t care either. I got some comments from them regarding my lessons, and that was enough for me. All the groups were different, but from kindergarten to secondary school, all of them deserve the opportunity of having the experience to learn the best way possible.

     Talking about possibilities, the three institutions were I did the practicum gave me the chance to put theory into practice and to learn that all students are unique and that one, as a teacher, can exploit that uniqueness to its utmost. Today, I’m a completely different person from the one that begun the kindergarten period almost a year ago. It is experience what gives place to change, and when we change is when we grow a little bit more. Finally, I can say that 2015 was actually my year. Thanks to all the people that accompanied me through this huge process… my family (mommy Delia, dad Luis and bro Lucas) my friends (a great amount of people that I found throughout this trek, they know who they are and they know I keep them in my heart), my virtual mate Emily,and my cat, Gaturro.

PD: I haven’t got to the summit yet, I still have a great way up to the hills (Emily ;)).