BajaBlanca - 2-19-2017 at 08:51 PM
so....Christmas 2016, I had the idea to have my students tell me what they were grateful for and here are some of their answers (8th graders):
7th graders:
Notice that TEACHERS are mentioned....melt my heart!
Here are the 7th graders when I recently gave them each a new pencil (thank you to those who donated). In this class we have one girl whose family
only now put her in school and she does not know how to write ... I create oral English tests for her. Her dad was a drug lord and recently got
murdered in Vizcaino. Another one is almost totally deaf and is so loved by everyone because she has an incredible personality - she is a doll!
Here are my 9th graders and I recently gave them rulers since they are doing lots of projects and I realized that some of them did not have a ruler.
(thanks to the educator who gave these to me!):
My 9th graders have spent the last 2 weeks reading about the holocaust - so we studied a lot of vocabulary and they had to choose some of the words
and use them any way they wanted - these are some of the results. What really impressed me was how most of them turned the negative into a positive.
Quite moving!
and that's all folks. Just wanted to give you a glimpse into my most interesting world.
MMc - 2-19-2017 at 09:43 PM
My mother (a teacher) had a student put together a reunion of their 4th grade class of 1971. Mom loved it.
You are changing lives. How many of us remember the great teachers we had? Good on you!!!
desertcpl - 2-20-2017 at 10:50 AM
very good, thanks for sharing
TMW - 2-20-2017 at 02:06 PM
Excellent, thanks Blanca.
David K - 2-20-2017 at 02:34 PM
Very very nice, Blanca!
BajaBlanca - 2-20-2017 at 02:55 PM
thanks all! I had some really incredible teachers in my life ... I was very lucky.
My philosophy is that if a student "fails" , in reality, I am the one who failed.
This really pushes me to reach each student and work with their aptitude. Help them find their aptitude. Believing in them so that they believe in
themselves.
Pens for you
rdrrm8e - 2-21-2017 at 12:16 PM
Blanca
I have several bags of branded pens I cannot use. Very nice pens!
Let's figure out how to get them to you. Anybody coming through Orange County CA in the near future??
fishbuck - 2-21-2017 at 01:30 PM
Very sweet.
BajaBlanca - 2-21-2017 at 02:02 PM
rdrm8e -perfect timing! someone made a donation of really beautiful pens that I have eeked out to deserving students over the years and they are just
about gone!
hopefully someone is coming down to see the whales and can drop them off in GNegro at Mario's palapa for me! My mom has some suitcases of stuff for
me as well - since the kids so love all the kitchen stuff at the last xmas party, she has been scouring garage sales and buying up plastic dishes for
the college kids.....as well as household items and clothes.
There is a guy who wants to come down on the 24th if he can find a co-pilot! someone???? anyone ????
rdrrm8e - 2-23-2017 at 10:59 AM
Call me at sevenonefour883sixsix70
or text or email me
chuckrobinsonjr@gmail.com
chavycha - 2-23-2017 at 07:25 PM
Great pics!
We had dinner a few days ago with a local fellow. He told some great stories from his secundaria experience - he was one of the last students from
Asuncion to go to the boarding school in Santa Rosalia. They'd be sent off to school in October and made it home only for breaks at Christmas and
Semana Santa. Over summer break (June-Sept) they'd work in the cannery or helping out the family. There were no buses for the students to and from
school - they'd hitch with friends, family, and strangers for the two-day trip (the road went via Abreojos / La Bocana and wasn't near as good as it
is these days). Quite a difference - lots for today's teens to be thankful for!
BajaBlanca - 2-23-2017 at 07:32 PM
I take my hat off to those students who live at boarding schools or with aunts / uncles to attend school.
BajaBlanca - 2-28-2017 at 07:45 PM
Here are the pens that rdrrme donated! They are on their way to San Diego ... and hopefully soon will be here in La Bocana!
Thanks so much:
rdrrm8e - 2-28-2017 at 10:17 PM
Blanca
I am humbled an honored to help you. Your efforts are noble.
I wish I could do more and will remember your students as much as possible. My employer closed the So Cal doors 1/31/17. I am struggling to open my
new business and maintain my clients and livelihood.
I assume I have it much easier than yourself.
Peace, love and fish tacos for all.
Your mom should have the pens today or tomorrow latest. I have a tracking# somewhere under the pile that is my desk.
In memory of my father that brought us to Baja when i was 6 or 7 years old
And Ensenada was a 1 street, dirt road town! and a kid with $5 in his pockets could buy all the horsechit cigarettes and gato negro firecrackers he
could carry. And stare at the rotisserie chickens cooking in the window and wonder at the squealing hilarious women being chased by sailors from the
bars.
[Edited on 3-1-2017 by rdrrm8e]
BajaBlanca - 3-1-2017 at 01:21 PM
So sorry that your employer closed the doors - having done it myself, I can assure you it is one very hard decision.
Best of luck with the business! Always exciting to follow one's dreams!
Thanks again for the pens - today was pencil day again and soon I will give them sharpeners.
This month we are doing the most exciting project in the 9th grade and I cant wait to share with all of you at the end of the month.
rdrrm8e - 3-1-2017 at 01:34 PM
If you need pencils just let me know.500? 1000? #2?
Geo_Skip - 3-1-2017 at 01:54 PM
We need to be reminded that the incredible advantages which surround us are not there for most of the world's inhabitants.
It's a lesson which teaches humility, and that seems to be a hard lesson for some.
I always pack more than I expect to bring home and the reward of giving makes up for any empty space.
Mexitron - 3-1-2017 at 02:33 PM
My wife is a teacher in the US and I understand what a demanding job it is, kudos Blanca!
BajaBlanca - 3-1-2017 at 08:39 PM
I can not tell you how much I love what I do. I do my best to make the little time I have with my junior high school students wonderful.
Today, one girl looked so gloomy. I sidled up to her and smiled and smiled til she smiled back! Hopefully, that smile made her day just a tad
better.
I am also quite strict - I believe that knowing what is expected of you is really important in Life. I give lots to them but I expect lots in
return.
Here is a shot of today's afternoon class for the prospective college scholarship recipients for next August. Four are in the program and the rest
are sprucing up their English. Awesome kids and so so so smart that teaching them is my pleasure.
