. : Friday 21st June 2013…as my Grandma would say…”a little bit of this, that an tuther!!!!!!!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Friday 21st June 2013…as my Grandma would say…”a little bit of this, that an tuther!!!!!!!

I am saying it again another dreary coolish day….. had an appointment down town this morning at 10.30am so I went down to little Blackey and the rear tire was flat…so I walked her over 2 blocks to a tire shop that is owned by the husband of my cleaning lady, Pati…..I left it with Silvestre and told him I would come back in the afternoon for it and then walked about 50 yards and got on the local bus

So 5 pesos and 10 minutes later I was downtown where I had an interview!!!

San Miguel School of English

History

The San Miguel School of English was founded in 1952 by Augusta Irving, a young school teacher from Brooklyn. She taught the first classes in her home. Later, as she got more teachers to volunteer, they gave classes in their homes. As the school grew and progressed, there were classes for several different levels.

For a period of time, the school held classes in some rooms at Instituto Allende. Then in 1986, when the Jose Vasconcelos bilingual school opened on Calzada del Obraje, SMSE moved to this location and for many years, using the facilities in the evening three nights a week. A graduate of SMSE, Jesus Ledesma, is currently the principal of Jose Vasconcelos School. In 2010, through the assistance of another former graduate Jorge Bustamante, the school was able to move to the Heroinas Insurgentes elementary school on Recreo.

In September 1998 there was a flood in San Miguel. Students were so motivated to come to their classes that they put large stones on the flooded bridge over the arroyo in order to cross to the school. The police finally closed the bridge. On the day of this flood, the school’s founder, Augusta Irving, died.

Current Status

The San Miguel School of English is a non-profit agency incorporated under the laws of Mexico to offer classes in English for Mexican residents of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.

The Mission of the school is to teach beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of English to residents 16 years and older to enhance their employment and cultural abilities.

The school year goes from late August/early September until the end of April with approximately 250 students in six levels of English. The students’ ages range from 16 to 70. We use a lottery system for beginners because there are always more beginners than we can accommodate with classrooms, seats or teachers.

All SMSE teachers are volunteers. The students pay 300 pesos tuition per semester and buy their own books. It is difficult for some students to pay, so we provide scholarships for need (10), perfect attendance (30) and academic achievement (10) each year. The scholarships award the students free tuition for the year; academic scholarships also include books for the following year. (Books can cost more than the tuition.)

The school has a structured teaching system with books, workbooks and exams and excellent teachers’ guides. Students are required to take a test after each chapter and a mid-book and final exam. They must have an average of 70% or above to pass to the next level.

Each April there is a graduation ceremony at which the students receive diplomas for the level they have passed. There is also some exhibition of accomplishment by the level-six class and the awarding of the scholarships, followed by a party.

As all teachers are volunteers, we try to help them in any way we can. The teachers’ manuals are very clear and helpful. We also have a library for the teachers to use for extra fun activities like Bingo, crossword puzzles, matching and other exercises. We also have audio-visual aids to supplement the teaching/learning process.

Volunteers may teach a class full-time, share a class with another teacher or serve as long or short term substitutes. As volunteers our teachers like to take time to travel, attend concerts, go to parties and enjoy other aspects of life as well as experience the sense of fulfillment that teaching gives. To make allowance for this time off, we have a number of substitutes who can fill in for a day, a week or even a month when needed.

I applied for a volunteer teaching post two nights a week starting In September and I was accepted …I am quite excited about this and look forward to another opportunity to help and learn myself!!!

I walked back to the bus stop to get a bus to come home and this lady is at the stop with her daughter…

Check out the girl’s face…priceless!!!

So I bought these for 30 pesos..so cheap and of course some candy for the little girl.

These photos were taken all around the bus stop..a typical mexican day!!!

I went to pick up Little Blackey all done…cost 50 pesos!!!

My lovely friend Robin came for afternoon tea great to see her again and to catch up and she brought these gorgeous flowers for me…thanks Robin!!

As a bonus tomorrow I have heard from Casa Hogar and I can have Daniela tomorrow afternoon so I shall need Little Bluey which is parked at Linda and Guy’s so I set off on foot at 4pm to walk to their casa….I went on the road for a while and then cut down onto the railway tracks and went the back way

The gloomy skies..

Linda and Guy this next photo is for you…….this is in your back yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I enjoyed the walk and I got the car and stopped at Paola’s house on the way home she was out biking so I did not see her but so glad she is using the bike but I saw her Mum and asked if it was Ok to pick up Paola tomorrow at 1pm and she said it was fine…..

memory shots!!!