lunes, 3 de abril de 2017

OUR TEACHING HISTORY

TEACHING HISTORY

  • THESE ARE OUR TEACHING HISTORIES THAT REFLECT WHAT WE ARE!!!


"TEACHING HISTORIES ARE PEOPLE, PLACES AND EVENTS TO EXPLORE!"






My name is Lubin Franco and this is my teaching History!!



UNVEILING MY LIFE FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND ME

I am coming from a humble family, I have two younger siblings, Karen and Leonardo, I remember we moved constantly because we did not have an own house, that’s why we lived in many neighborhoods in Bogota city. I consider myself an honest, noble, responsible and a hardworking person, I guess I am the person I am because of my parents. My father was a very strict and hardworking person; I looked up to him a lot. He taught me to be persistent in life and not to give up easily. After my father’s death, my mom had to take over our education and raising, I think that my life has taken a different course after my father’s death at the age of nine because my father was the home bread winner and my mom only had to take care of us, so everything changed for her and for us, my mom started to work and study while we were in the school and we were taken care by our grandmother. I remember I saw her crying many times, I am quite sure she still thought of my father because also I did, I thought that my father was working and that he will come back soon, I tried to comfort her by saying that I loved her a lot. Then, everything returned to calm when she smiled at me. My mom is a warrior, therefore, I admire her too much, she has been a model person to follow for me. I am pretty sure that his event has influenced my values, personality and understanding as a person.  
At the age of 18, I enrolled up in the army, particularly in the police because I had my bachelor degree, people without a bachelor degree were sent to be enrolled in the army, watching and patrolling rural areas of other cities, so thanks to my studies I stayed in the city. Many of the police “bachilleres” were sent to work in security all over Bogotá, watching and patrolling, I was sent to start working in the Police department of “Bosa” neighborhood. That day we were forming in rows with other bachilleres and a colonel started asking us for bachilleres who had knowledge in information systems, wall-painting, accounting and special programs. Someone asked about “special programs” and the colonel explained that it had to do with working at the airport as a language interpreter or in a communitarian school as an English teacher. When I was in school I was very good at English so would not hesitate about choosing English, I did not want to be in the streets and I did not want to be at the airport either.
One by one the bachilleres raised their hands with the different assignments, but only three out of 50 raised the hands when it came to special programs. I realized not many people spoke English at that time, so I had that big advantage. My two partners wanted to work at the airport so I realized that not many people liked to be teachers, I was happy because that position was going to be for me for sure and I got happier when the colonel said that the school I was going to work in was in the same neighborhood. At that moment I did not think of what to be a teacher implied or what it was like, I just thought that I was going to be relaxed and near my home. Next day I had to start working in the school, the school was located in one of the last neighborhoods of Bosa, but it was easy to find it since I got there on my bike. On my way to the school I could see some paved streets, but when entering the neighborhood the environment was different, the streets were not paved and there was mud everywhere and a lot of prefabricated houses made of cardboard. When I got there, I saw around 100 kids forming in the yard of the school, they were greeting a sergeant and I was sort of nervous because it was my first time in a school as a teacher, I did not know what to do, say and how to act as one.
I introduced myself in English and the students greeted me effusively, some of them were calling me “teacher, ¿De donde es usted?, ¿Usted es Colombiano?, ¿Usted habla español?” When I heard the word “teacher” I really felt weird in a positive way, I felt important, so I answered in Spanish using a gringo accent by saying that I just arrived in Colombia 5 months ago and that I lived in USA almost my entire life. I guess I invented it because I just wanted to impress those kids. Then, the students returned to their classrooms and the sergeant ordered me to go with fifth graders, she told me to introduce myself more deeply and talk with them for an hour and a half while the bell rings so I could go to fourth, third, second and first grade to do the same. I was in shock when I started to ask in Spanish about their lives with my American accent, I realized that those kids were really poor kids living near the school in those cardboard prefabricated houses, I felt more thankful with what I had, my family, my house, even more when some of them were telling me that they abandoned their hometowns because of the guerrilla, I noticed these kids were displaced people from other cities around Colombia because of the daunting violence. While all of these kids were telling me their stories I thought to myself promising that I was going to do my best to teach them, so they could improve their life quality.
Being so, I am quite sure that this event was the one that really stroke me up and made me lead my decisions about becoming an English teacher. As time passed by I was learning to be a teacher, I also learned things I did not know when preparing my classes for my students and as any teacher I had to deal with lessons plans and classroom management. Working with kids was also a gratifying factor of becoming a teacher; these kids were very proactive and willing to learn, it seemed that they have never been in a school and I was pretty close to that. Most of them did not attend to schools in their towns. That’s why; these kids were comfortable with the classes and the school and they were eager to start classes.  
After finishing my army service I started to ask about this teaching career in different universities, I asked in the private and the public ones, I wanted to apply first in the public universities because my mom did not have money to pay a private university career, so I bought the National university applicant format, but unfortunately I did not pass it and as a last resort my mom also bought the Pedagogica University applicant format whose exam I passed proudly, but once again I could not pass the interview with the psychologist. At that moment I wanted to give up, I thought that if I did not pass it was because God did not want it, but there was something inside me telling me not to quit, I remembered my mother’s effort to give us education as well as my father’s words, I was not sure about what to do then, I was only eighteen years old and I was not allowed to work due to my lack of experience. Thus, I started to work in a supermarket as a logistic operator, so after six months of hard work I saved some money and decided to apply for a private university “CUN” Corporación Universitaria Nacional in order to study shorter career (a technical  degree) and later on to save money to begin with an English teaching career.
After three years I graduated from International Business degree and I started to work for an airline (American Airlines) so with my first payment savings and a bank loan at Pichincha I started to study a BA in Spanish, English and French at La Salle University, I was proud of myself because I started to study the career I wanted by my own and I just wanted to make my mom feel proud of me too. First three semesters were hard for me because I had to work in the day from 3:00 am until 5:30 pm and study at night from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm, I was tired but I was happy to keep on studying. Then, in fourth semester I had to put off university because I was offered to work and study in the USA, so I packed my bags and a big expectation to improve my English and continue my university studies. This two year immersion also taught me to strengthen my ideal of being a teacher and continuing pursuing this goal. Education in USA allowed me to be more aware and reflect on the realities that Colombian educational system was going through so I wanted to bring those teaching and learning experiences in my country I got from my teachers in USA, I think that this answers the question of the way I teach since I was influenced by the university teachings and my USA teachers. When I returned to Colombia I continued my studies while I started to work in several private schools and language institutes and I finally graduated with a lot of prospective intensions of contributing to better teaching practices.
Finally, after graduating from university I felt my career was incomplete so I wanted to study and complement it with a postgraduate course. Thus, I started my master’s program at Tolima University; I think that my master course was another aspect that has influenced my philosophy of education because from the beginning I chose it with the idea of learning more about didactic than theory. I thought it had to do with learning how to carry out more dynamic and ludic classes, as well as developing engaging class material, but throughout the year I have been learning that this course implies more than teaching strategies, it also has to do with understanding our roles as teachers and transformative actors of our students’ realities in educational settings.

HI MY NAME IS YULY YATE AND THIS IS MY TEACHING HISTORY!!!

THIS IS ME!

My name is Yuly, and I´m going to tell you about my history as a person, student and as a teacher.

I was born in Ibagué in 1985 from two loving and very young parents.

 I remember my school days with joy because I was delighted about learning, I loved painting, singing, writing, reading, learning about geography, religion, history, etc. I was not very conscious about many things, but I remember my dad was very aggressive when he was trying to help us studying or when we tried to teach us something. I remember once he was teaching us to read the clock and say the time, so we used to have a small blackboard and he drew the clock with a chalk. Then, he drew different times and every time we made a mistake, we kicked us very hard in our backside with his boots, so we cried a lot and I was very scared.

My father used to be a police officer, so he had to work in different towns, so the family was constantly moving as well. I remember school days in one of those schools very well because we used to study in the morning and afternoon. In the morning we had the core subjects like maths, Spanish, science, etc., and then, in the afternoon, we were taught about painting, knitting, drawing, playing musical instruments, etc. That was fun!

As I was growing up, I wanted to study, to go to university and have a BA in something, I did not know in what, but I wanted to study because I learning for me was rewarding, the only thing I knew, was that English was easy and interesting for me. I used to spend long hours reading words in the dictionary, collecting and singing lyrics in English because I found it fascinating. My mother supported me (just by cheering me up, because she did not have money) but my father said I should not waste money and time in university and better study in Sena so I could start working quickly, so obviously he did not give me money neither.

I had to work in many things, since I was fifteen. I sold educational insurances, I worked in a family house as made, I worked with an optician. At that time I was afraid and very shy. I remember when I was looking at a program to study, I found interesting the BA in English because I loved English but I did not picture myself as a teacher, because I did not know if I had the capacity to teach or the ability to transmit knowledge. I was also scared of being in such a big place with many different people, I felt insecure about me and about meeting and sharing with others. Anyway, I make the decision and I used to work every day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then, I had class from 6:00 p.m. until 10: p.m.

I was doing well in my studies so I won many scholarships and then, when I was in fifth semester I said “If I am going to be a teacher, I need to know if I can do it or if I like it”. So I decided to start working on it, and I had my first experience in teaching. It was in a small school and I was in charge of all the elementary students. I was terribly mean with kids, because even though I like them, I felt I had to be like the principal in order to survive. Concepción is her name, and she was or is very mean, disrespectful, intolerant and aggressive. She was rude with teachers, parents and kids. Everybody was afraid of her and liked when teachers treated kids as she used to do it. I was scared about her so did many things just to have her happy but she was never pleased. From then on, I could not win more scholarships but I said “I need to have this experience in my CV, so I am going to stand this situation just a year and then, I`ll look for another job”. So I did it, I lose lots of weight that year, slept for 2 or 3 hours a day and cried every night, but I stayed there until a job opportunity was given to me at San Bonifacio de las Lanzas.

That was another story. The working environment was better so I was more relaxed with students but I kept my strong nature (voice, way to look at people and to reply to others). I loved my experience there, because I learnt to be a real teacher, I could start thinking about my practices (so I changed many of them) the way I was with people in general, I realized that I was making lots of mistakes with my kids so did many changes in me and then, on my teaching. At Sanboni I meet amazing people, they trained me even more in my English, they sent me to Canada to study English and they taught me to be a better teacher.

In that moment, my son came to my life. I understood God was making my dream come true of being a mother, I started loving that boy more than my life. He is with no doubt, the most fascinating gift I have ever received! He and the love he make me feel, were the cherries I needed to change the sad person I was. I´m not saying I’m he most joyful person in the world, but my chip changed so my way of seeing life, the way of seeing people and their actions, this experience, made me become more human, to fell more, to see more, to make more efforts to control my imperfections.

Dany Pipe (my son) motivated me to look for better opportunities in order to share more with him. Sanboni was squeezing me, and their people and their problems were making me feel tired and without time, energy and patience to be a mother so I decided to quit and I started teaching at two different universities. This was an excellent decision, because I was more relaxed, so my classes were better, I was smiling in the classroom, students were having fun, I was learning how to talk to adult people and how to be more me, and I realized I was happy because I was singing! I love music and I love to sing; I understood I made a great decision. But then, few months later, money was an issue, and I had to look for more job opportunities. That is why, I have three jobs nowadays, now I am the one who is squeezing herself, but I promised to me, this would not take longer, I just need to finish another adventure I began last year and was studying my master’s degree.

This master’s degree has caused me pain, stress, tears and laughter. I have had the opportunity to learn more about Yuly as a person, as a teacher, as a mother, as a human being, as an observer, as a partner, as a friend, as well as many valuable academic learnings. I have met gorgeous people, people I love nowadays, professors I deeply admire and human beings full of certainties, fears and desires to help and transform others as me.

As teacher, I am totally conscious I have made lots of mistakes and all that, because I am a very strong person, due to my strong nature as I do not want to be hurt by anyone (students, men, strangers, etc.) or to lose control of the situation as I was not able to control many things when I was young. But at the same time, I understand better my students as I try to place myself in their different situations.

I think I try to be empathetic, to feel what they feel and to understand their human nature, I don´t mind if they are gay or heterosexual, male or female, black or white or purple, rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, or whatever they are. I just know they are like me, people with fears, desires, dreams, weaknesses and strengthens, people who work to have better life opportunities, people who have grown in different contexts, people belonging to different families and communities, people with different past, present and future. I just try to laugh with them, to make them feel comfortable with me and the language, I ask them about their day, if they are tired, hungry or just well, but sometimes, I know I fail with certain attitudes, like my sarcastic way to answer when they ask obvious questions (I need to be more patient), or when I get angry when I find students cheating, or when I am just tired and students annoying me by asking me questions like “teacher, why are you angry?, are you upset? You are not the same? Are you stressed?” like if I didn´t have the right to be angry, or upset, or tired or stressed, I think their lack of understanding of my humanity also makes me feel frustrated and mad. And without doubt, what do I get angry about? It is a question I need to trace in order to find solutions and anticipate to those feelings that affect my teaching practices.

Writing today about my life, helped me to understand the way I socialize, the way I see people, the way I talk and why I am so suspicious about people´s intentions, why other people see me as hard on the outside, the reason for the expression on my face, this also told me about my need to feel loved or at least accepted by my students and others. This exercise, made me think I also want to be understood as a human, as teacher, as a mother, as a sister, as an employee, as a student, I want to be valued as well, and that the path is still long and rewarding so I can´t stop living, learning and growing.



To be continued…

º WHAT IS YOUR TEACHING  HISTORY?

  PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A VIDEO, PICTURES, WRITING, ETC.





A QUESTION TO ANSWER!!!

MAKING PRACTICE PUBLIC


Let us invite you to answer the following question below!

°WHY DO TEACHERS NEED TO MAKE TEACHING PRATICES PUBLIC?


ONLINE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES 

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

VIDEO APPETIZER

English teaching and learning processes require reflection to understand a phenomena that teachers mostly struggle with.  Most importantly, teachers need to share those experiences to basically learn from others and with others.

A WARM WELCOME!!!



  • This is a space designed for pre and in service English  teachers trying to reflect on better language teaching practices by providing, sharing and showing educational experiences to colleagues in order to improve teaching and learning processes in classrooms.
  • We are a group of teachers and Master in English didactics students from Tolima university intending to open reliable and friendly discussions about English language in Colombian educational settings.