Tico school, by Jodi
I don't think I will ever complain about anything in the U.S. school administration again. Not after experiencing Tico school. The great thing about it is that everything is completely laid back. No one marks you tardy. No one even scolds the kids if they're tardy. I accidentally dropped Autumn and Jack off half an hour late yesterday and Jack didn't even realize he was late. Autumn only realized it because she actually pays attention to the fact that everyone was in their desks working on classwork when she walked in.
The down side of that is the crazy scattered organization. Maybe because I'm not used to it, I don't see their system as organized. But, it is crazy to say the least. Two of my kids go in the morning and two go in the afternoon. Then, the following week it switches. They go from 7-12:10 or 12:30-5:40 on Mon through Wed and then on Thurs and Fri it's 7-11:30 and 12-4:30. Unless it's not. Tessa goes for 3 hours in either of those blocks of time. So, I go back and forth to the school at least 4 times for pick ups and drop offs each day.
There doesn't appear to be any substitute system. So yesterday, Jack's English teacher couldn't come, so he got out at 3 instead of 4:30. They have no communication system to alert you to this, other than the guy that guards the front gate, Jordan. You just have to hope he remembers to tell you and has correct information--which we've found he doesn't always have. Today, I dropped off Sadie and Tessa and luckily I stay and watch to see them make it into class. Apparently, Sadie's teacher was sick today, so Sadie got to come back home with me. Last week, Autumn didn't have school at all. I still don't know why. This week Tessa had 2 days off because her teacher couldn't be there. It's crazy. I think my friend Magaly said that they have problems when they lose a teacher and the kids in that class just don't have school until they find a new one (I say "I think" because Magaly only speaks Spanish so I'm never completely sure that I understand everything correctly.)
Autumn and Sadie have found some really sweet girls in their classes that are taking good care of them. Tessa has a couple of friends but it doesn't sound like they play together that much, I'm guessing because she doesn't know how to talk to them yet. Jack has had a bit of trouble with his transition. It's funny, because of all my kids, I thought he'd have by far the easiest time. He's the least shy and boys just seem to be more inviting. But, there's no soccer field at the school and that's what he does at recess. Without a soccer field, he doesn't know what to do. I can't believe we live in Latin America and there's no soccer field at the school. This week he told us that some boys in another class were messing with him and pushing him and laughing and running away or smacking him on the back of the head and saying "gringo" and then running away. It didn't sound mean spirited the way he explained it, just that they were looking for something fun to do and probably didn't realize how it would affect him. He just doesn't know how to tell them to knock it off. So the second day, apparently he picked up a big stick to communicate that he didn't want to play like that. I guess that worked. I haven't figured out how to help him since the school is completely closed off. I did get his schedule though so I can come and watch during recess and make sure everything's going o.k.
The most amazing part though, is that the kids have really bonded together with this whole transition. I asked Jack what he did at recess yesterday and he said he walked around with Autumn. She would have never let him hang out with her at school in Utah. I asked her about it and she said, "well yeah, I wasn't going to let those kids just mess with him." I could have cried. She has always struggled with her patience and tolerance for her little brother, so this is monumental. Sadie looks out for Tessa too at recess and is trying to help her learn some words to communicate with the kids she wants to play with.
It's funny, because my initial reaction when things were appearing a little too hard was just to pull the kids out and bag it. But, we came here and decided to do the public school route in part because we wanted our kids to learn how to do hard things. Not at the expense of being bullied, of course. So, if things get any worse for Jack, we'll pull him out. But, I'm so impressed with their tenacity and how they've pulled together to make it through this whole process. I couldn't have asked for any better.
We've started practicing Spanish a little at home. I'd been reticent to push any more Spanish on them after sending them to full immersion school each day. But, our friend Magaly told us that another gringo family did the same thing with their kids a few years back and their kids still didn't learn Spanish. That totally freaked us out because we'd been under the impression that sending them to school was full proof for learning Spanish and we wouldn't have to supplement at home at all. So, now we practice verb conjugations in the car whenever we're driving somewhere.
Sadie brought Kayla home from school on Tuesday and I heard Sadie helping with her seatbelt and she said, "sube. uno momento." I'd honestly never heard Sadie speak Spanish up to that point because she's very reserved about it. It was so cool though to hear her interacting with her cute little Tica friend and being able to communicate a little. On the way to school today, she was teaching Tessa how to say, "you want to play with me?" and she had me write it on her hand so she remembered it right.
I get total anxiety when I think about moving home. I know I'll want to eventually, but for now, this has been the most amazing family building experience and I fear that when we move back, everything will go right back to the way it was. The kids will be much more interested in friends than siblings. The extracurricular will take over all of our after school time. And life will just get complicated and stressful again. I feel like we're able to live in a bubble while we're here and I don't want it to end.
The down side of that is the crazy scattered organization. Maybe because I'm not used to it, I don't see their system as organized. But, it is crazy to say the least. Two of my kids go in the morning and two go in the afternoon. Then, the following week it switches. They go from 7-12:10 or 12:30-5:40 on Mon through Wed and then on Thurs and Fri it's 7-11:30 and 12-4:30. Unless it's not. Tessa goes for 3 hours in either of those blocks of time. So, I go back and forth to the school at least 4 times for pick ups and drop offs each day.
There doesn't appear to be any substitute system. So yesterday, Jack's English teacher couldn't come, so he got out at 3 instead of 4:30. They have no communication system to alert you to this, other than the guy that guards the front gate, Jordan. You just have to hope he remembers to tell you and has correct information--which we've found he doesn't always have. Today, I dropped off Sadie and Tessa and luckily I stay and watch to see them make it into class. Apparently, Sadie's teacher was sick today, so Sadie got to come back home with me. Last week, Autumn didn't have school at all. I still don't know why. This week Tessa had 2 days off because her teacher couldn't be there. It's crazy. I think my friend Magaly said that they have problems when they lose a teacher and the kids in that class just don't have school until they find a new one (I say "I think" because Magaly only speaks Spanish so I'm never completely sure that I understand everything correctly.)
Autumn and Sadie have found some really sweet girls in their classes that are taking good care of them. Tessa has a couple of friends but it doesn't sound like they play together that much, I'm guessing because she doesn't know how to talk to them yet. Jack has had a bit of trouble with his transition. It's funny, because of all my kids, I thought he'd have by far the easiest time. He's the least shy and boys just seem to be more inviting. But, there's no soccer field at the school and that's what he does at recess. Without a soccer field, he doesn't know what to do. I can't believe we live in Latin America and there's no soccer field at the school. This week he told us that some boys in another class were messing with him and pushing him and laughing and running away or smacking him on the back of the head and saying "gringo" and then running away. It didn't sound mean spirited the way he explained it, just that they were looking for something fun to do and probably didn't realize how it would affect him. He just doesn't know how to tell them to knock it off. So the second day, apparently he picked up a big stick to communicate that he didn't want to play like that. I guess that worked. I haven't figured out how to help him since the school is completely closed off. I did get his schedule though so I can come and watch during recess and make sure everything's going o.k.
The most amazing part though, is that the kids have really bonded together with this whole transition. I asked Jack what he did at recess yesterday and he said he walked around with Autumn. She would have never let him hang out with her at school in Utah. I asked her about it and she said, "well yeah, I wasn't going to let those kids just mess with him." I could have cried. She has always struggled with her patience and tolerance for her little brother, so this is monumental. Sadie looks out for Tessa too at recess and is trying to help her learn some words to communicate with the kids she wants to play with.
It's funny, because my initial reaction when things were appearing a little too hard was just to pull the kids out and bag it. But, we came here and decided to do the public school route in part because we wanted our kids to learn how to do hard things. Not at the expense of being bullied, of course. So, if things get any worse for Jack, we'll pull him out. But, I'm so impressed with their tenacity and how they've pulled together to make it through this whole process. I couldn't have asked for any better.
We've started practicing Spanish a little at home. I'd been reticent to push any more Spanish on them after sending them to full immersion school each day. But, our friend Magaly told us that another gringo family did the same thing with their kids a few years back and their kids still didn't learn Spanish. That totally freaked us out because we'd been under the impression that sending them to school was full proof for learning Spanish and we wouldn't have to supplement at home at all. So, now we practice verb conjugations in the car whenever we're driving somewhere.
Sadie brought Kayla home from school on Tuesday and I heard Sadie helping with her seatbelt and she said, "sube. uno momento." I'd honestly never heard Sadie speak Spanish up to that point because she's very reserved about it. It was so cool though to hear her interacting with her cute little Tica friend and being able to communicate a little. On the way to school today, she was teaching Tessa how to say, "you want to play with me?" and she had me write it on her hand so she remembered it right.
I get total anxiety when I think about moving home. I know I'll want to eventually, but for now, this has been the most amazing family building experience and I fear that when we move back, everything will go right back to the way it was. The kids will be much more interested in friends than siblings. The extracurricular will take over all of our after school time. And life will just get complicated and stressful again. I feel like we're able to live in a bubble while we're here and I don't want it to end.
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