My first class today was with Group 1B in which I have two students named Jonathan. Thankfully the volatile one was absent and just as thankfully, the model student one was present. Once the class was miraculously working on their handouts, I took a big risk and decided to talk to them even while they were actually engaged. I told them that this had been a very exciting weekend as I had found out that I became an aunt, and continued that my nephew´s name is Jonathan. So, I explained that this name is very special to me, as is another student´s name, Luis, since my nephew´s middle name is Louis. Yesterday I tucked a photo of Jonathan into my desk drawer so everytime I open it and see his beautiful face I smile. When I took the photo out of the drawer to share with the students, I sensed they were about to pounce. I quickly said that I would walk up and down the rows, awarding points to those students who brought the handout they received the previous week, and show each the photo of Jonathan. I was entirely satisfied that I had captured the students´ attention and that they had focused on the work at hand and mostly that the 50 minute class transpired without incident. And then the day took a 180 with Group 1C – as it has for the past three weeks. Without going into the details, as they are the same old, same old, I´ll summarize by saying that Karina, the coordinator of the Fulbright teacher program in Mexico, is coming to my school tomorrow. She and I will speak with my principal in hopes that we can all get on the same page. I need support at the school and have expressed this without seeing results. Now, as hard as it is to admit, I need help, I need someone else to be my advocate.
