Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Report # 3

Time is flying by! Only 2 more weeks until I leave Tonga!

My project is going well. I only have 2 more people to interview and then I’m done! Things are a little challenging as I try to get ready to come home but things have generally gone really well. My time at Saineha High School has definitely been the highlight! I love it and am really sad that it is almost over. I was able to teach the students some of the lessons and even write a few of the tests. I have learned a lot about what it means to be a teacher and different techniques about teaching. One thing that I have learned is that you can only do so much for the student. They have to do some of the learning on their own. Many times I would teach a lesson and the students seemed to understand but then when it came to test day most of the students wouldn't even pass the easy test I made. Some of them did. It made me sad and a little down hearted cause I thought maybe I wasn't a very good teacher if the students didn't do well on my tests. But then I realized that you can only do so much as a teacher. The students have to study and learn the material on their own as well. It was a good lesson to learn and one that I will take into my teaching once I graduate and become a high school teacher.

This experience has taught me a lot of things and I am really glad I came down here to Tonga. I really hope to take what I've learned here and apply it to my life when I get back.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Report #2

Things have continued to be one big adventure here in Tonga. I started volunteering at the local LDS Church high school and absolutely love it!! I work there 3 times a week working with the new PE/Health program they just started up this semester. I help Pasimati with anything she needs with the class. Last week I taught half of the class and she taught the other half of class. It worked out really well and I enjoyed teaching the students. It is a little bit challenging because even though the subject is taught in English most of the kids don’t understand or speak very much English. I gave them their first test and most of the kids didn’t do very well because I don’t think they understood all of the material. So my next goal is going to figure out a way for them to be able to understand and learn the material. Next week I will actually be taking over the class and teaching the Exercise portion of the class. I have planned the lessons and part of it is scheduled for outside play so the kids can actually participate in physical activity. I am excited though to be able to teach all the classes by myself but I am a little nervous. I love working at the school! It is so much fun to walk through the campus and hear all the students saying hi to me and wishing me a good morning or a nice day. I also get to interact with the teachers too and have learned a lot about different teaching techniques to use as well. It has been a good experience so far and I am really excited to see how the rest of it goes!

My project is also coming along. I started interviews at Saineha High School this last week with two of the teachers. They turned out really good but I realized that my questions need some work. They don’t really allow for any elaboration on the subjects but are mostly yes or no answers. So I need to work on my questions a bit before I do more interviews.

I think that might be all for now. Things really are going great and I absolutely love it here!