Making changes

Today was a good day. The teacher that I am with has been in education in Belize for around 35 years. She, Miss Flores, is retired and has been out of the classroom for some time. She has just began teaching again two months ago. She has been frustrated with the behavior and feels she does not reach the students any more. I have bit my tongue out of respect and only listened and observed what goes on in her class. Yesterday she asked me to be honest with her and inform her of any changes that  I would make. I hesitated and said "Miss you are a wonderful educator. You have been in administration at the school ministry for sometime and I believe that times have changed and that students have changed." She asked me to be honest and tell her what the problem is.  "Miss to be honest the students are bored and it's not you so much but it is the students." You have to change with them. They need to be engaged." Miss Flores then asked me to take over all of the classes and show her what to do. And,  I did. She took notes the whole time. It was the first time I had been nervous the whole time. I turned the class from the lecture type courses they were doing into a student lead class. The students were engaged and completed the tasks I set before them. She thanked me and asked to meet outside of class to go over some ideas to help her. So, now I will spend the rest of the evening researching and writing down resources that I know will aid her through the remainder of her time here. I love Miss Flores. She is opened minded, not set in her ways and still cares deeply for the students. She is a great example to me. I am honored to be working with her.
Stay tuned.......