BajaNomad - Starting 'em out young!

Starting 'em out young!

bajabuddha - 10-14-2017 at 08:09 PM

Nicest classroom I've ever seen. :coolup:

Starting 'em out young!

BajaBlanca - 10-14-2017 at 10:21 PM

I have been teaching the little ones in town English for free on Saturdays and Sundays. They are ADORABLE and really learn quickly.

Thought you might enjoy seeing these munchkins in action:

rsz_img_4954.jpg - 104kB

They are learning so fast, I am amazed....it helps that it is quiet with no interruptions. The classes are held right behind our B&B which is where I started teaching in La Bocana 12 years ago.

Les built me the stand for the board and the whiteboard in these pictures is the one that MMc just brought a couple weeks ago. The other one he brought I donated to the local family development center (DIF):

rsz_img_4957.jpg - 115kB

and here is a shot taken of me with the kids a couple weeks ago. It was taken through our kitchen window by Liz from Tiburon Casitas in Loreto! Every kid gets a free notebook and pen.

rsz_blanca_teaching.jpg - 124kB

BajaBlanca - 10-15-2017 at 03:10 PM

Can someone explain how the comments ended up ABOVE the thread? hahahaha

ehall - 10-15-2017 at 03:27 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca

Can someone explain how the comments ended up ABOVE the thread? hahahaha

I was certainly confused. Good job on the teaching.

JZ - 10-15-2017 at 04:11 PM

My idea of starting them out young:

bajabuddha - 10-15-2017 at 04:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca

Can someone explain how the comments ended up ABOVE the thread? hahahaha

*skritch - sckritch - sckritch* :?:

Musta been Friday the 13th.

Skipjack Joe - 10-15-2017 at 11:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBlanca

Can someone explain how the comments ended up ABOVE the thread? hahahaha

Could be a software bug. I can't delete it because it's the first message. Oops. There it went.

[Edited on 10-16-2017 by Skipjack Joe]

BajaBlanca - 10-16-2017 at 01:57 PM

Don't delete! I think it is so funny :biggrin:

BajaBlanca - 10-16-2017 at 02:03 PM

JZ that is one very cute kid!

rancho guillermo - 10-16-2017 at 02:58 PM

BajaBlanca, Have been following you and a lot of others on this great Baja Nomad site. Always want to know more about the great people here, without being to nosey... I have always wondered how you came to teach Spanish. Did you know how to speak the language before moving to Baja? Did you learn by schooling or living somewhere for awhile? (this was probably all written about earlier and I missed it.) I get inspired following you and Les and all you do..Kudos..(your Mom also)

Carry on, but take time to have a cold one now and then..(maybe two)

CaboMagic - 10-16-2017 at 07:34 PM

Blanca you are a hero-ess of grand propotions :bounce:

Taking care of the future leaders or doctors/engineers/etc is not something to be poo-poo'ed.

Bless you for your dedication ... If we had children I'd want them in your care and tutelage ....

BajaBlanca - 10-16-2017 at 09:26 PM

rancho guillermo, I speak Spanish but don't teach it! I teach English and have done so since I was 24. Now I am 61. Ask away, questions are welcome.

Actually, I taught a Spanish class once, in Poland of all places. It was quite challenging! It was a language school and a group wanted to go to Spain on vacation, so they asked for español.

My inspiration is one of my high school Portuguese and Portuguese Lit teacher who made a point of connecting with each student. She was a-ma-zing, so caring and always made time for each one of us. She left us notes on our compositions. What a great mentor.

Another high school teacher (World History) was so demanding, holy crap, he made us sweat bullets - the good part of that is that when you succeeded and got an A, you felt so good. I push the students but make sure they realize how great it is when they meet my challenge.

My high school Brazilian geography teacher only gave us oral tests. I hated them but I do use them now. guilty

By now, you might be interested in where I went to high school? I went to an international high school in Rio de Janeiro. All my friends were from all over the world. My best friend was from Norway and that inspired me to study some Norwegian in college. Don't remember a word of it now but it's stuck in my brain, somewhere.

Thanks for the kind words Lori and for the laptops :bounce:

Helloooooooooooooooo Lori and thanx

rancho guillermo - 10-17-2017 at 07:23 AM

Thanks Blanca, (teach Spanish/English) hopefully you know what I meant.
What a grand life you have lived, with a lot more to go.
Thanks for taking the time to tell your story...very amazing....and you chose to settle in Baja, how great and great for the children there. Take care and hope too meet you some day.

BajaBlanca - 10-17-2017 at 07:44 AM

ahaaaaaaaaaaa I did not know much Spanish when we got here but clearly my Portuguese helped quite a bit. After the first year here, Mexicans would ask me: What part of Mexico are you from ? That put a huge smile on my face.

In reality, the perfect English as a foreign language class is SOLELY taught in English. When I taught in La Jolla (San Diego) at a posh English language school, our students came from the 4 corners of the Earth - Switzerland Germany Italy Poland Japan China Thailand (he was a famous singer there with hair down to his knees) Brazil Chile Argentina. I speak 7 languages but our classes were in 100% English.

I first began teaching in Brazil and at our school, if a teacher was caught speaking one word of Portuguese in the school, they were fired on the spot!

I am very lucky that facebook allows me to keep in touch with many of my La Jolla ex-students and high school classmates. Many of them have helped me with the various projects over the years: one ex-student from Puerto Rico now sponsors tuition for La Bocana Olimpia who is studying law in Ensenada. Valery from Italy paid twice for dental work to be done on two different students who required removal of wisdom teeth. My high school amigos Nina (best Norwegian friend), Kiu (Chinese) and Patty (Argentina/Cuba) helped sponsor the bike club uniforms way back in the day.

It takes a village and my village is huge hahaha

Thanks to all the many, many nomads who continue to help me make an impact

:biggrin: