Well I’ve been in Kosrae for a little over a month, and it’s time for me to post some pictures and stories.
Swear-in happened on August 13th and Alyssa, Liz and I graduated from lowly PCTs to official PCVs! That’s right, you’re reading the blog of a sworn protector of the Constitution of the United States, as I have promised to defend it from enemies both foreign and domestic. PCVs- we’re kind of a big deal. Liz had a Kosraean host family in Pohnpei and her ninac (mom in Kosraean, pronounced nnnn-neh) was generous enough to make us matching muumuus for the occasion! As hesitant as I am to admit it, the muumuu has been quite handy to have and throw on as a go-to “fancy” outfit. Haha, muumuus, the Kosraean Little Black Dress.
The first two weeks of school consisted solely of classroom observation. This was some good time for me to watch and get a feel for how they do things, but it also made me pretty restless to be sitting around all the time. At the end of both 6th and 8th grade, Micronesian public school students are subject to the NST, the National Standardized Test, which aims to evaluate the students’ English speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. Because these 2 specific grades are in the spotlight, most of the M78’s (if not all of us) teaching in public schools will be working with one or both of these groups.
The way my school’s schedule is currently set up, all grades have English Reading and Writing the first 4 periods of the day. Unless my principal happens to have a time-turner up his sleeve, (Harry Potter reference), or until someone decides to adjust the schedule, I’ll be working exclusively with the 6th graders. The day starts of with a short oral communication period, then Reading, then Writing. So far I’ve enjoyed teaching Reading the best, because our textbook provides a little framework, and my co-teacher and I come up with activities to supplement the reading selections. Plus, this gives me the opportunity to use my outrageous reading voices. I especially enjoy modeling the difference between sentences that end in periods, and those that end in exclamation points. The students seem to enjoy my ridiculousness, which is a good sign, and they aren’t afraid to laugh at me when I spill water all over myself drinking out of my nalgene.
Swear-in happened on August 13th and Alyssa, Liz and I graduated from lowly PCTs to official PCVs! That’s right, you’re reading the blog of a sworn protector of the Constitution of the United States, as I have promised to defend it from enemies both foreign and domestic. PCVs- we’re kind of a big deal. Liz had a Kosraean host family in Pohnpei and her ninac (mom in Kosraean, pronounced nnnn-neh) was generous enough to make us matching muumuus for the occasion! As hesitant as I am to admit it, the muumuu has been quite handy to have and throw on as a go-to “fancy” outfit. Haha, muumuus, the Kosraean Little Black Dress.
The first two weeks of school consisted solely of classroom observation. This was some good time for me to watch and get a feel for how they do things, but it also made me pretty restless to be sitting around all the time. At the end of both 6th and 8th grade, Micronesian public school students are subject to the NST, the National Standardized Test, which aims to evaluate the students’ English speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. Because these 2 specific grades are in the spotlight, most of the M78’s (if not all of us) teaching in public schools will be working with one or both of these groups.
The way my school’s schedule is currently set up, all grades have English Reading and Writing the first 4 periods of the day. Unless my principal happens to have a time-turner up his sleeve, (Harry Potter reference), or until someone decides to adjust the schedule, I’ll be working exclusively with the 6th graders. The day starts of with a short oral communication period, then Reading, then Writing. So far I’ve enjoyed teaching Reading the best, because our textbook provides a little framework, and my co-teacher and I come up with activities to supplement the reading selections. Plus, this gives me the opportunity to use my outrageous reading voices. I especially enjoy modeling the difference between sentences that end in periods, and those that end in exclamation points. The students seem to enjoy my ridiculousness, which is a good sign, and they aren’t afraid to laugh at me when I spill water all over myself drinking out of my nalgene.
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