Post #5: Overall Reflection

It's crazy to think that I fly home tomorrow, and this trip will officially be a closed chapter in my life. I am blessed beyond words that I was given the privilege to travel to Ecuador, work with the students at Colegio Menor, and venture around this area to become more aware of culture difference in and out of the classroom. I have gained an enormous amount of respect (more than I had from the beginning) for the states, my home, and the students I have worked with in the numerous schools in Kentucky. There is absolutely no place like home, but I will cherish all that I have learned here as a future Teacher!
On the other hand, this trip was far from what I expected in terms of the students. I knew that the students were bilingual, but did not realize how well they, the staff and parents would speak English, and I was not aware that the students would be considered "upper class". I imagined a poverty stricken school with little to no English, so this was a surprise to my benefit. It has been great to see the students speak English as a second language, as well as use their native language of Spanish to determine words and phrases in English. I was always there "go-to person" when figuring out how to say things properly in English! I also imagined that I would have more expectations as a student teacher inside the classroom, but there was not any. I mostly floated around, worked with students when needed, and assisted the teacher when it was beneficial. There is always an assistant in the room, so a lot of the time I was not necessarily needed. That is something that I did not expect because I am used to conducting solo weeks of teaching, planning instruction, and being super hands-on; however, it was not always a bad thing since I was experiencing other things here!!