"Spanish is way tougher to learn than English. For example, did you know that there are two Spanish verbs, ser and estar, for the one English verb to BE!!! And that in the present tense, there are only three ways to conjugate to Be: am, is, and are; instead of the almost 12 different ways to use ser and estar in the present tense. So since you've already learned Spanish, learning English is going to be easy, and hopefully fun!" - Brice Corts, English Teacher
I although I don't truly believe what I'm saying (English grammar and spelling gets pretty ugly), this is the pep-talk I give my students on the first day of English classes to get them excited. We start with the verb to Be, and then we fumble our way along from there.
The kids formed their own groups of 4-10 students, and I teach each group for an hour, twice a week. Day one is grammar, day two is using the rule/verb we learned during the last class. I also try to include videos and songs, whenever possible.
With the teacher strike still going on, I've been forced to keep the kids still coming to school by teaching English. They like it, and I guess it's better than doing nothing.
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| Talia (right) and Yanely (Left) making my announcements for me. Thanks girls. |
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| The front gate of the school with my announcements. |
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| A rough translation of the sign on the left: "Announcing to all students in general, on Wednesday the 26th, the English class will be held in the first grade classroom (Free)" The last word is always a must, to insure attendance. |
**** Extra****
I wasn't going to show strike pictures, but as I was writing this post the teachers paraded by the internet cafe chanting and carrying signs. The chants are loud, and my favorite is the one that says: "Nadie se asusta, cuando el causa es justa"/ "Nobody will be scared, when the cause is just" (it rhymes in Spanish and they say it with a good beat). These aren't pictures from today, but really, all the days have been the same.
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| The teachers in Caraz rallying in front of the police station. |
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| A blockade the teachers held on the main road leading out of Huaraz. |
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| They were friendly enough to let people walk through to the other side to catch a ride, and complete their journeys.; However, I did see them throw rocks and eggs at the "scab" teachers as they tried to walk through. |
