The school year in Honduras runs February through November to minimize the amount of school days during rainy season, especially since it can be extremely challenging and almost impossible for families to cross the planchas (essentially rivers that cross over the roads instead of under them) on days with substantial rainfall. Our first day of school this year was on February 1st, and we are SO, SO, SO blessed to have in-person classes this year!!! AHHHH SO EXCITING!!
As you could probably imagine, school is essentially impossible to do virtually in rural Honduras because none of the kids have WiFi or computers at home to access their educational resources. With that in mind, the majority of the kids in nearby communities outside the Finca gates have not received any education for most of the last two years due to the pandemic. However, we are able to safely have in-person classes this year, which is truly such an incredible blessing for all parties involved!
It warms my heart to see the children playing tag during recess with their friends, siblings, and neighbors and to hear their contagious laughs all over the school. The Finca maintenance staff just recently hung a small basketball hoop for each grade level, so it is so much fun to see all of the creative games that the kids come up with! During recess on the first day after they were hung up, some of the kids in primaria (1st grade-6th grade) played a GIANT, GIANT game of basketball with about 30 people. Needless to say, the “basketball” game turned into more of a rugby match, which provided all of the nearby teachers with endless laughs.
The kids are also so talented at making every teacher and missionary feel so loved throughout the school day. It is a FANTASTIC feeling to come to school at 7am and be greeted with 20 hugs from my students saying “Buenos días, Profe Nate!” during morning assembly. You can often find me playing soccer, basketball, or tag with my students during recess, and there is no other way that I would like my relationship with my students to be, despite some side glares from Honduran teachers! I thoroughly enjoy my time with them each and every day, and they truly do a terrific job of making me feel appreciated and loved. For example, every time I leave my 3rd grade classroom on a Friday, essentially the entire class gives me a big group hug at the whiteboard and says, “Buen fin de semana, Profe Nate! Hasta lunes!” My heart literally melts every week, and I simply thank God for the precious gift of the Finca and this school year being in-person.
The Honduran and missionary teachers are hard at work trying to get kids caught up on core subjects, such as math and Spanish, that they missed over the last two years. Two years is obviously a long time to miss in a child’s education, but every teacher, parent, and child is so grateful to be able to have in-person classes this school year and to start the process of learning crucial content missed over the pandemic.
For me personally, I am teaching English for 3rd, 4th, & 8th grades! I teach 8th grade five days a week and 3rd/4th grade for four days a week, and each class period is about 40-45 minutes. I have never been a teacher before in the United States and did not receive any formal education or training in teaching, so there have been plenty of learning curves, as you could probably expect! It is certainly a challenge, but I enjoy every single second of it! I really, really enjoy the personal relationships that I have already formed with most of my students, and I enjoy all of our laughs and jokes throughout each class period.
8th grade is probably my favorite class that I teach because the students are genuinely interested in learning English. While English is only an “elective” class in our school, most of the students in my class generally comprehend how important English will be in accomplishing their hopes and dreams, especially if they hope to leave their hometown in pursuing a better job or a better way of life.
3rd and 4th grade is a little bit more challenging, but I am enjoying meeting that challenge every single day and doing my best to meet them where they are at academically. In particular, 3rd grade is especially difficult because the majority of the students struggle to read or write in Spanish because of the lack of education the last two years. Therefore, I have found it can be a tad challenging to try to teach them English when they don’t understand the basic concepts in their own language.
Please pray for all of our students and their ability to learn the concepts that they have missed the last couple of years. Also, please pray for all of our Honduran and missionary teachers and our ability to teach every day to the absolute best of our ability. It is truly, truly such a gift to have in-person classes this year at our Finca school, especially given the cultural difficulties related to technology and ability to learn from home.
Nick and Alyssa got approved to come visit me at the Finca this June for 7-10 days, and I AM SO EXCITED!! It is challenging to share via blogs or phone calls the intricacies of daily life at the Finca and how much this place makes me so dang happy, so I am so excited that they will be able to experience for themselves such a big part of my life.
Please know of my prayers for all of you!
GOD BLESS!