TEACHING IN VENEZUELA

Hello Steemers...

In this post I am going to tell you about some things that happen when you try to teach in Venezuela. It's very sadness, but the joy that brings you teaching makes it work.

Right now I am studying education, and if you have read my “Introducing Yourself” post you can remember that I'm a biologist. But I decided studying education for some or other reasons. I am in the last semester and in this one, I have to make two internships, one is a administrative internship and the other is a “teaching internship”.

In the beginning, I wasn't very happy for doing these internships. I just wanted to do it very fast to finish it the soon as possible. Mainly because the high school that I was assigned it too far away from my house. So I had to get up so early, like 3.30 am, to arrive to school at 7 o'clock when my classes used to starter, for the all the inconvenience with cash and with public transport.

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As I was involving in the process, my perspective was changing. I was understanding the sad reality in which these teenagers are.

I figured out that some parents don't care about their sons and they get mad if teachers call them. I don't understand why you get obsessed if a teacher call you. I'm pretty sure the teacher has something better to do, but he really cares about your son. More sadly is when you figure out “like father like son”. Whit a lot of cynicism and apathy. Nevertheless, there is not all of them. There is a lot students that enjoy go to high-school, as well as learning. Most of them make a huge effort to go at least 5 minutes to class and finish their test in order to not fail. There is lot of them that need that need a little bite of hope of high school can bring to them for dreaming, grow and succeed. And that is what a teacher must be.

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The teaching internship was divided in two general phases. The first one was an observation of some classes and the second one was about to give a lesson.

During the observation I noticed that is impossible to hope that the students stay in their sit for more than an hour, they at least have to move. Even I move of my sit if am sitting for an hour. But they not only move pf their sit, they also talk to each other, play some sealy games, joke, etc. So I figure out that it is alway important to make a dynamic class and introduce an activity where they can drain all that energy.

In the second phases I tray to make them the subject the most familiar, because during the observation I realize that a lot of them where so boring. And with luck the subject that was assigned to me were related about my current job (Molecular Genetics). In this time a could said that I fall in love with them, because in the first class where I was explaining the cell cycle, one of them asked me if the cell cycle has something to do with cancer, and he explained his point of view. In that specific moment I was so happy because one of the motive of cancer is the cell cycle arrest. Just the fact that the student can relate the class with something that he knows was for me a dream come true. Then all of them star to ask other questions, and the classes turned in a Q-A class.

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In the second class I send them some homework about mutations. Specifically they had to investigated about a mutant (like Hulk) and explain what type of mutation has. Most of them make their homework, and the boys where more excited than the girls about the homework. When a I was teaching “mutations” one of their request was discuss the homework, because they were exciting about that, and luckily I was already seen The Avengers: Infinity War; practically I did not explain the class because they did it by their own.

Finally, the last class was about genetic edition. They were so surprise about what you can do right now with biotechnology, that some of them asked me if you can change your color eyes because they wanted to have green color eyes, and I answered no, but I said “not yet”.

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Be a teacher it is not easy and less in this reality in my country. To be a teacher today it is necessary had a big intra and interpersonal intelligence, and sometimes I brave to say, a little bit of indifference.

So let me know what do you think about teaching and this post.

XOXO