Science Fair

I have to apologize deeply for my absence from the blogosphere recently. It's been a very intense several months and writing about it for public viewing was the last thing on my mind. Now that Spring Break is upon us, I think I'm ready to get back into an outwardly focused mindset.

     Today was the science fair, an annual event at Lake Yojoa. It involves the entire school, from preschool up through high school. Each class is divided into groups of 4 or 5 and told to choose a project, venture a hypothesis, test/build, gather results and then create a presentation to be given in both English and Spanish. Each division (Preschool/Kindergarten, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and High School) is awarded a first, second, and third prize for group projects and two individual awards for best speaker. This is a very big deal.
     It is such a big deal in fact, that the students have been focused on very little else for the last week, if not longer. I got a regular day of class in on Monday, but starting on Tuesday, the pressure against having class and instead being given time to work became almost irresistible. And honestly, it's been such a long two months, two months without a day off school, two months of heat, emotional turmoil, and frustration, that I didn't put up much of a fight.

     However, even those most strongly in favor of having work time were rarely using the time to actually work. Another recent development in the high school is an obsession with chess- I didn't think anything could occupy their attention as thoroughly as a football game could, but these chess matches seem to have come close. So when given instructions to get some part of their assignment done, more often than not a select few would actually work but the rest would settle into seats, heads propped on their hands, eyes focused on the miniature battleground in front of them. Those who have not succumbed to the strategic beauty of the game kicked a soccer ball around. Apart from two or three dedicated groups, very little work got done in these class periods.
     As the week went on and my lessons became increasingly hard to teach and the day of the science fair loomed closer, I got more and more frustrated with their behavior. On Wednesday, I came back after my lunch break to supervise and found several of my students throwing a large cake knife at a makeshift target they had set up with a chair and the seats of two desks that had long since been dismantled. The now-ever-ubiquitous chess matches were going on, and one group was lounging on the porch like they had nothing left to do when in fact they didn't even have a project yet.
     I left school that day so incredibly frustrated I could barely see straight. They had made me so angry and disappointed me so strongly that I dreaded coming into school the next day. I had had enough of their attitude, their utter disregard for authority, and their complete lack of motivation.
     Thursday was a little better; I helped with some translations into English and learned more scientific Spanish than I ever thought I would. I felt like I, and many of the students, had accomplished something, which is more than I could say for any of the previous days and I was ready to face the science fair without tearing my hair out.

     I had planned on spending the day wandering around, chatting with students, and watching some presentations. However, one of the 1st-3rd grade judges didn't show up so I was recruited to serve as a judge, my students being old enough not to need my presence at their own judging. This, by the way, resulted in a disappointing lack of photos; I wanted many more than the couple general shots I got. So I spent the day more productively than I had anticipated, although I missed out on most of what I had wanted to see: the 'hard' work of my students.
     As judging came to a close and I was able to talk to my kids and ask how their presentations went, I was impressed by what they were able to tell me. Talking to the English teacher who judged them was even more encouraging, he said they had done very well by and large and that I should be proud.
     And I was. Unlike the other teachers, I knew that some of my kids were going to win. I teach all of high school and they were in a category of their own so it was really just a matter of which groups would take home the prizes. Even so, my chest was absolutely bursting with pride as they called my kids up onto the stage. I wasn't even surprised because I had seen the judge's results sheet. And when an underdog group won it all, seeing the complete shock and delight on their faces made me grin so hard.

This past week has been an encapsulation of my time here. I've struggled with my kids, I've nagged at them, gotten frustrated, and never wanted to see their faces again. But I also laughed with them, encouraged them, pushed them, and helped them. And in the end, I wouldn't have it any other way (maybe that's not completely true; I wouldn't mind a little bit more cooperation). Because all the nonsense they put me through makes days like today so much more special. I told each and every one of them that I was proud of the work they had done, and I meant every word.

That feeling is what I'm going to miss most about teaching, whenever my teaching career ends.