XOXO

-M

I attend the Canterbury Episcopal School, and today I participated in the Pre-GED School Conversation class.  It was a lot of fun for both myself and the regular students.  At first I was confused about the idea of a “conversation” class.  However I soon found out what the class was all about.  The first half of the class, the part I attended, was basically a vocabulary lesson.  We played two different games.  The first was a word unscrambling game.  Students were given the definition of a word and a jumble of letters written on pieces of construction paper.  The first team that could spell the word that corresponded with the definition was awarded points.  I could tell that this was very exciting for the students.  It was intense competition, but at the same time everyone was still friendly.  What was great to see was all of the students getting so excited about learning.  The teacher really did a good job of making class fun and educational at the same time.  The next game we played was a dictionary game in which students were a given a vocabulary word and whoever was able to find the word first was awarded points.  Then we would read the definition and the teacher would further explain the meaning of the word, the pronunciation, and how to use the word if some students did not understand.  I was impressed at how eager everyone was to enhance their vocabulary.  Students were not afraid to ask questions if they did not understand, and the teacher was always ready to answer.  This part of the class reminded me a lot of our vocabulary lessons at my own school.  When students encountered a tough word that they were struggling to pronounce, the teacher would tell them how and encourage them to keep trying.  Although I was not able to attend the last half of class, the teacher told me that they would asked each other conversation-starting questions to practice speaking English, hence the name of the class.  Overall, this was a great experience and I hope to see such enthusiasm about learning more often.

During my time spent in the writing class at The Pre-GED school, I discovered that the class was extremely helpful. The teacher was patient and helpful. From the moment I walked into the room, I was warmly greeted. This was the same for every person that walkedinto the room. The interactive class made it easier to grasp the concepts. Even though I have spoken english my whole life, I still expanded my vocabulary just by sitting and listening. Overall, my experience in the writing class was a good one.

On Wednesday, November 11, 2009, some fellow students and I took a half of a day off of school at Canterbury Episcopal School to come to do community service at the Pre-GED School in Dallas, Tx. It was a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience, where I got to meet new people and help them in their English speaking and writing skills. Although I was not expecting to actually BE the teacher, it was still an enjoyable experience. The Pre-GED School is a very impressive and important organization, and I would love to come back here to volanteer again.

The other part of the class is the typing skills.  They LOVE the Mavis Beacon typing program!  The games especially.  Most of them are typing at 2-5 words per minute currently.  They mostly hunt and peck when they type, but I’m hoping that by the end of the semester they might be able to type with a little more ease.  The program is definitely helping them get to know the keyboard a little better and to get used to using both hands to type.

A favorite moment was when the students were using the Mavis Beacon program and several were laughing out loud at one of the games.  It’s a game where a lizard eats leaves that have letters on it as the students type the letter.  Ants are holding the leaves.  If they type the wrong letter the ant screams and leaps off screen.  This was a big hit.

I’ll post pictures when I can figure out how to do it.

Mikal Hughey

At the time, immigrants were staging large scale demonstrations and talk of changing immigration laws (or enforcing laws on the books) was widespread. There was legislation in congress that would potentially open immigration to many, and the test for citizenship had just been revised. So it was a time of conflict and change. We had lively political discussions.

It is always gratifying to teach our hardworking and eager students. This class was even more intense because we discussed hopes and dreams. We talked about how to influence the government by voting and by communicating with elected officials. We made a photo of the class and sent a letter to our US Representative. I was amazed hearing how differently government functions in our student’s native countries.

We also looked at the founding of our nation and the successive expansions of who may become a citizen: the transition from colonial to state and federal structures; suffrage, Civil War, through Civil Rights. All of these changes came about with struggle, conflict, and debate. It was at times very difficult to be the privileged white male explaining to our students how change comes about in this country.

Because of work schedules, I was not able to finish that year. But I am back this year teaching writing. I saw many familiar faces, including Josefina Banda who was in my civics class. At the break, she was very excited to tell me she had applied for and received her Citizenship after taking my class. To my surprise, the main thing she got from my class were the practical instructions on how to fill out the forms, show up for the interview, and answer the questions. Forget all the historical insight and political debate. One of the most important things our school can do is make our students feel welcome and confident they can function in their newly chosen home.

“We have a lot of fun,” says the personable volunteer whose background in engineering makes him a natural math teacher. “Our students have different skill levels in math and in their grasp of English, so we end up working together on more than mathematical calculations.”

Jim says he particularly enjoys the challenge of helping his students tackle tough word problems.

“The other day we had a problem that contained the word, rather, and not everyone knew what that meant,” he explains. That called for some discussion and explanation that put Jim on his toes and even gave him the chance to call on his Spanish speaking ability.

Although very little Spanish is spoken in the school, Jim says rare occasions like this one have helped him improve his grasp of the language over the years.

There’s a camaraderie between students and teachers that inspires everyone to work together to overcome whatever challenge is at hand. Jim says that, throughout his years at the Pre-GED School, his students have always been eager to learn English and absorb whatever knowledge they can to help them join the society they find themselves in.

“They want to improve themselves and be able to help their children,” Jim says.

With five children, 12 grandchildren, and a great grandchild of his own, Jim understands the motivation behind making children a priority. Jim married Elva Pegel in 1947, shortly after completing six years in the navy, including a five-year stint aboard the USS Honolulu in the Pacific Theater. He is a survivor of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor as well as three torpedo hits on his ship later, while earning ten battle stars in the war of the Pacific.

Jim is a Dallas native and a 1951 graduate of the SMU School of Engineering. He has been a licensed, professional engineer since 1957. Jim and Elva have been active members of the St. Matthew’s Cathedral, which houses the Pre-GED School, for nearly 50 years.

“Four days a week is a good sized commitment; it seemed like the students were very motivated.”

Betty, a first-time tutor, came to Pre-GED School through family connections. She felt drawn to the educational mission of the school and the committment of the students. This semester she teaches a conversation course.

Betty reflects her student’s commitments with her own desire to make the students feel comfortable in the classroom. She understands how difficult it can be to live in a country without a grasp on the language.

Betty has adjusted quickly as a new teacher. To understand her students’ learning styles and interests, she tries to teach in a new way for each class. Around Halloween, Betty brought in a pumpkin for each student to carve while her students carried on conversation about the project. During the election, her students spent the whole day discussing the candidates and the issues, even conducting their own mock election.

“I found out they know alot about the U.S., the election, and politics. We had a discussion of nearly all the major issues, and the students knew them well.”

Betty is a native Texan, born in Fort Worth, and she moved permanently to Dallas after completing her B.A. in Political Science at Colorado College.

“I’ve been very fortunate; my children have had a fortunate life. I have a duty to give back, be kind and help other people.”

Service has been a part of Betty’s life since she was a young candy-stripe girl in the hospitals of Fort Worth. She has served the Dallas community through the Junior League, volunteering in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital, supporting the classrooms of DISD, and working on the Hiett Prize of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.

“Education is the place to start…for solving a lot of our problems in the world today.”

Betty’s humble demeanor can’t hide her passion for helping others. Her vision of service and education makes her an invaluable asset to Pre-GED School.