BajaBlanca - 5-20-2012 at 07:35 PM
Most of you probably remember that I started teaching English officially last year here at the local high school. Many of you also may recall that one
of my classes was downright MONSTROUS. I have taught ESL for 30 years and they were giving me a definite run for my money. They yelled in class,
cheated on tests, left class without permission .... it was horrid. I have always taught in private schools and had never ever encountered any of
this.
I tried all sorts of strategies and some of them sort of worked (art - splitting the class up - making the class as varied as possible bla bla bla)
Well, the students were still not cooperative enough and I was frustrated that these kids were not learning all that they could ... so I came up with
strategy # 967,098,769 and I invited all 35 to come to our house for lunch. I would prepare everything and they would be my guests. We would learn
about the different countries and I chose those that I have arts and crafts from / photos of / knowledge about.
WEEK 1 The first meal was Indian/British with 2 different curries and rice and 5 different desserts. About 8 kids came and they loved it. Les and I
ate curry for a week and had all the neighbors over for some since I had made enough for an army. When I went into class the following Monday, there
was a slight change in attitude but not too much.
HERE IS A PIC OF THEM IN OUR ROOM - for all it was their first time at the house so they got a grand tour:
WEEK 2 was Brazilian food and I made various meat dishes and cheesebread and even served a Brazilian soft drink (guarana') that is made no where else
on Earth except Brazil. Again, it was the usual three days of preparation. I also made 5 desserts - cakes and jello and Brazilian brigadeiro. About
15 kids came, we had a blast and on Monday the class visibly felt different, but nowhere near perfect, nor near what my dream class would be.
PIC OF KIDS WITH GUARANA - TALKING TOGETHER B4 LUNCH:
WEEK 3 was Russian food. I spent 3 days preparing for this one ... we had piroshki (try making enough for 35 !!) and strogonoff and again the 5
desserts. Probably 15 kids came, with 2 being new ones.
PIC OF PIROSHKIS AND STROGONOFF:
That Russian themed lunch was last Saturday and guess what? The following class was on Wednesday and Friday due to Tuesday being Teacher's day) and
..... drumroll ..... thunder ....... all 35 kids were quiet and paid attention and wrote in their notebooks, answered correctly and for once, actually
learned English. First time. in the 6 months. that I have been teaching them. I AM SO SO SO HAPPY.
WEEK 4 's lunch was yesterday and a good friend was in town who has worked with GATE kids in the States. He said we could make Italian pasta for
ravioli with a tomato sauce and a white cheese sauce as well as biscotti, all from scratch . The kids would be divided into groups and all would
participate. Bear in mind that boys do not cook at all in Mexico (their dads do BBQs) ...well, it was a huge success and here are some of the photos
from this wonderfully productive day:
Here we have the desserts: biscotti, 2 cakes, applesauce, Brazilian creme de abacate made from avocados:
So, I feel very accomplished, folks. I took this as a challenge to be met head on. It was a tough, very long 6 months. Especially since my husband
was against my working in the first place - ummmmm we are supposed to be retired and able to travel at the drop of a hat HAHAHAHA and now everything
revolves around not only high school but also middle school !! But that story is for another day ....
[Edited on 6-17-2012 by BajaBlanca]
Barry A. - 5-20-2012 at 07:50 PM
Wow, that is such a neat story--------made my day!!! Well done, Blanca!!! Great photos, too.
Barry
acadist - 5-20-2012 at 07:52 PM
AWESOME JOB!!!!!
bbbob - 5-20-2012 at 08:04 PM
great story..everyday I learn something new..Thanks.
Bajaboy - 5-20-2012 at 08:19 PM
Blanca, that's awesome. Break-throughs like that are addictive.
shari - 5-20-2012 at 08:24 PM
way to go Blanca...you have found the way to their hearts AND heads!!! I am amazed at your energy and dedication and very proud of you amiga....lucky
kids!!!!!!!!!
BajaBlanca - 5-20-2012 at 08:30 PM
LIKE. thanks.
danaeb - 5-20-2012 at 08:41 PM
Brava Blanca. Brava!
David K - 5-20-2012 at 08:55 PM
Winner Winner!
Cypress - 5-21-2012 at 07:49 AM
BajaBlanca, Thanks. I'm hungry!
wessongroup - 5-21-2012 at 07:55 AM
Thanks much, looked like a lot of fun ... great to see
DavidE - 5-21-2012 at 11:45 AM
You are a talented teacher! Two ears and a tail!
I wish it were an affliction and highly contagious 
[Edited on 5-21-2012 by DavidE]
gallesram - 5-21-2012 at 12:16 PM
It's tough enough to get a class here in the US to cooperate; what an accomplishment to pull it off down there! Very creative; and the kids are lucky
to have such a dedicated (and determined) teacher. Great job!
CP - 5-21-2012 at 01:41 PM
I must repeat; Brava Blanca! What a fantastic idea and wonderful success. Your commitment is impresive.
Natalie Ann - 5-21-2012 at 01:42 PM
Obviously, Blanca, you are a natural born teacher to think of this approach and have the wherewithal to carry it through. Those kids are lucky to
have you.
I would, however, be cautious about offering them guarana again. Guarana is rich in caffeine, about twice the strength of good black coffee. 
nena
BajaBlanca - 5-21-2012 at 03:23 PM
I know ! Guarana does have a lot of caffeine .... I don't have any more anyways.
thanks all for your kind words, and there are so many stories to be told ... hang in there and I will write them down, slowly but surely. and be
prepared to laugh ! these kids took me for a bumpy ride !!
Family Guy - 5-21-2012 at 06:41 PM
I'm impressed! You really get to know the kids as people and they responded
nicely! Nice to see they are doing more of the cooking.
Iflyfish - 5-21-2012 at 08:02 PM
There are teachers, they focus on content, then there are Educators, they focus on the whole person and think about life as learning. I guess we know
which category you move in!! Lucky kids indeed! What do you know and what is the next step eh??
My brother tells me of a Masters in Education class in Mexico where the teachers were asked to split up into groups and make ice cream....what, make
ice cream???? lots of resistance.....lots of questioning.....what, we pay you to teach us how to teach, we have out notebooks open for you to tell us
and you tell us to make ice cream??!!
Well they made ice cream, had a tasting contest and then discussed what they learned from making ice cream.....mistakes, triumphs, flavors.....why did
you use ice and salt???? hmmmm chemical reaction....producing cold.....hmmm what do you know about that....formulas on the board etc. etc. etc. This
is what education looks like, kids making something and enjoying it and learning from it....what is Russia?.....who are they, where are they, how are
they like/different from us??? Can someone show us on a map where they are?? Why would they have food made out of these ingredients rather than maize?
On the discovery goes. There is a lot more learning here than is on the surface....as you say, men cooking.....but doing it in a safe
environment....smiling and learning...
Wonderful Blanca, just wonderful!!!
American Education has been degraded by this dumb focus on the 3Rs and our test results show it. No Child Left Behind was a very cynical way to focus
the entire educational system on rote learning and to not have to spend more money in the process. The result is a generation of students who have
missed out on the arts, music, shop and other classes that help the student feel part of their learning and stimulating the greatest historical
strength of America, it's creativity and generativity. When you systematically focus an entire education system on rote learning and teaching to the
test you take the joy out of learning and stifle curiosity and creativity. Have them make ice cream and talk about what they have learned. That my
friends is education!
Thanks Blanca for sharing this journey with us, you all obviously have grown from what you have gone thru.
Iflyfishinaweofeducators
windgrrl - 5-21-2012 at 08:25 PM
You are so super cool. Thanks for the lesson and the inspiration. Hope to meet you one day,
w
Ken Bondy - 5-21-2012 at 08:47 PM
Blanca you are terrific!! What a great story!!
My daughter Coleen teaches high school English in Los Angeles. Her kids are mostly Latino. They are fluent in English but their parents, for the
most part, are not. She goes through a lot of the trials you describe but in a slightly different way. You remind me of her. She was recently
interviewed on NPR and described some of her teaching philosophies. You might like to hear the interview:
http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_050812.mp3/view
[Edited on 5-22-2012 by Ken Bondy]
Iflyfish - 5-22-2012 at 06:57 AM
"If a student has one person in school who cares about you then they are less likely to drop out" Paraphrase of Colleen Bondy. How do you quantify
care? There is no test for the impact on the heart/mind/soul of a quality Educator.
"I asked the kid who was skateboarding in my class and carrying his guitar in obvious defiance of the school rules to play his guitar for us and he
played incredibly and that turned his school and personal life around" Paraphrase of Colleen Bondy.
This is a great interview of an excellent Educator telling it how it really is. You should be very proud Ken of the wonderful daughter you have
raised.
As a society the US has blamed and scapegoated educators for the problems in education, totally ignoring the context of the children, the changes in
the society and the constraints on teachers to "teach to the test".
Listen to this wonderful Educator talk about how it was for her to be evaluated by the standardizing she is exposed to.
"Teaching at the end of the day is a relationship" Colleen Bondy.
Thanks for posting this very compelling interview.
Iflyfish
BajaBlanca - 5-22-2012 at 03:41 PM
thanks IFLYFISH and Ken and windgrrl and and family guy
It was David, who was our guest and now our dear friend, who said we should have the kids cook and the experience went way beyond my expectations ....
created a wonderful atmosphere and boy did it take the pressure off me
so, I just made teriyaki chicken for the first time in my life and it is easy and delish, so next Saturday they will help make it. since I have never
been to Japan and the idea was to talk about experiences in the countries I had gone to, I am adding sweet and sour chicken from China as well, for us
to prepare. I have been there and I have Yuan money and cloisonne items and photos of the great wall and various palaces and funny stories to share.
I loved the interview .... I could hear myself in her voice .... once you make the connection, you have won that kid over forever. and yes, one can
lose them probably much easier than win them over. Your daughter, Ken, is obviously very gifted. and California should be ashamed that it isn't
illegal to have 55 kids in a class.
so here goes another one for the record: two la bocana boys had dropped out of high school here last year. They were in the bicycle club and we
spent a lot of time together discussing bikes, going to the various villages for races and just hanging out here at the house. So, last summer I
suggested they go to work at the cooperative plant here in la bocana, so they could see what working with the body rather than the brain really was
all about.
They did it for 2 weeks and went to the high school and registered for this year !!! Oh my gosh !!! They both swore they would NEVER work at there
again, the experience was horrendous. The hours really long and the work for those doing temp work is the worst, which makes sense to the boss but
boy, were they shocked.
Now both Alfonso and Julian are straight A students and our discussions are about which college they want to go to and what major they might choose.
Their personal stories are sad, each one has had hardships that I wish I could do away with. But, my role, as I see it, is to inspire with my teaching
English. and now, with food/cooking too.
So, what I do ask, amigos, is that when you come to Baja, no matter what village you visit, or which school you go to (elementary - middle - high
school), bring some pens, pencils, notebooks and spread the fun. Trust me, the pen I give one student for doing good at a game or on a quiz or for
participating, may just make the breakthrough that Ken's daughter mentioned. And YOU can make this happen for a Baja teacher. An average class here
is 39 students max. Once it hits 40, the class is split. So, 2 boxes will give one full class a pencil. And the thing is, some kids have parents
who support their studies but most of the parents only have a 3rd grade education and don't realize that the kids need pencils and pens and high
lighters and erasers. So, I get these middle school kids with one inch pencils and no erasers voila, the next day the prize I give out is pencils.
Which, I might add, wonderful BajaNomaders have kindly kept me supplied with !!!
BajaBlanca - 5-25-2012 at 09:09 PM
wow.....wonderful baja nomader edzeranski brought me manicotti pasta .... I am so excited about a new menu item to add ....
two tidbits to add to this thread
1. I decided to take this weekend off ... after 4 weeks of three day prep time, I need a break !
2. careful what you wish for: yesterday was DIA DEL ESTUDIANTE, which is a huge celebration here in Mexico. So, for my morning classes, the
students asked if they could go outside and play soccer. Sure, I said. Then I told the advanced group that they could work in the audio-visual room,
if they wanted. And for the regular (read used to be monstrous) students, I also mentioned ... never ever ever thinking they would take me up on it
..... that whomever did not want to go outside could have class with me. and 10 students stayed LOL
so, my monster students are now very dedicated. I cannot tell you how astounded I was that they wanted class. I came home in absolute awe. They have
transformed beyond my wildest dreams.
Thanks again to Ed who really went out of his way to find the caneloni. and to my mom who sent me little gifts that I will put in goodie bags on the
last day of class these kids will have with me, at the end of June. What I was previously looking so forward to, I now dread. It will be a very sad
day.
[Edited on 6-2-2012 by BajaBlanca]
BajaBlanca - 6-1-2012 at 09:20 PM
got pencils and paper for the kids today .... lots of both ! yahoooooo
baja blanca
captkw - 6-1-2012 at 09:28 PM
I tip my hat to you !!! awsome !! K&T
BajaBlanca - 6-2-2012 at 07:01 AM
thanks captkw ! My hat tipped right back at ya !
DavidE - 6-2-2012 at 09:11 AM
Children especially adolescents are always hungry. Pilár now age 11 used to go bonkers over my banana nut bread. So at age 8, I struck a deal. When
she completed her homework assignment and I reviewed it and thought she had attempted to learn from it, I rewarded her with a slice of bread and a
glass of ice cold fresh milk --- things that are not easily available nor inexpensive (hence out of reach of her, her sister Dalia, or their parents).
Her teacher later explained to me that she thought the improvement was un milágro, a miracle. Then I involved both her and Dalia in the kitchen. Dalia
was then age five and desperately wanted to learn how to crack eggs without breaking the yolk or raining egg shell bits. After she learned I got a
huge hug.
Children NEED adult participation in their lives. All children of any nationality need to be read to starting around age two or three, at bedtime. Not
five minute's worth, but twenty to a half hour. They go to sleep dreaming of candy land and friendly huggable animals. It's Pavlov at his finest.
Children soon learn to associate reading with parental love, imagination, and sweet dreams.
Thanks BajaBlanca, I needed a booster shot for my beliefs and you and the responses above gave it to me.
-El Abuelito-
[Edited on 6-2-2012 by DavidE]
BajaBlanca - 6-3-2012 at 09:48 PM
de nada abuelito ... so here is more fun from Satuday June 2:
Three of our guests wanted supper at the last minute, so the boys and I went to work on dinner !! The meal was a sweet and sour chinese chicken with
rice on the side, chicken pesto and corn on the cobb, cole slaw, freah tossed salad, and a double chocolate cake. I was so impressed with the boys -
they plunged right in and did GREAT !! and they made $45 !!
LONDON HERE WE COME !
preparing the chicken:
reading the recipe:
preparing the chicken pesto:
and this last one was actually a hilarious scene ... Poncho had never used beaters before and I was busy elsewhere and he beat and beat and beat the
cake some more til I realized this had gone on for toooooo long. We all laughed a lot but the double chocolate cake came out REALLY GOOD. We had the
leftovers today and yum yum yum.
and here are our customers eating away:
I am really proud of the boys - they are so out of their comfort level and really showing motivation to work .... and at this rate we will reach our
goal.
BajaBlanca - 6-3-2012 at 09:55 PM
somewhere Shari asked about passports and visas....they will have to get their passports this summer while they are out of school. It takes about 2
hours.
There is no visa needed for England. It is given once you arrive.
We will most likely be leaving via san diego - that part I do not know .... I guess they will need a visa to leave out of a U.S. airport ???? maybe
someone else knows how this works...and I also do not know if they need a parental letter permitting them to travel out of Mexico without mom and dad?
In Brazil you do. In the US, I never used to need special permits but things may have changed now...anyone know ?
BajaBlanca - 6-17-2012 at 02:55 PM
I have been thinking about paypal - would someone in la paz and maybe someone in the states be willing to be our treasurer for all those friends who
want to donate ?????
BajaBlanca - 6-17-2012 at 03:00 PM
Here are some pics of yesterday's lunch ... it was stuffed manicotti - the pasta brought by EdZeranski and Mr. Valentine:
even had a middle schooler show up and watch the fun:
and the result was very delicious:
these kids are now hooked on Italian, I am afraid..... They have asked to make lasagna next week. One of my favorite meals, so bring it on !