Class Updates from the Teachers

Hello from the Mountain School,

There has been so much excitement in the last few weeks for the TTS21 family.  We left San Cristobal de las Casas during the second week of March following an epic week full of guest speakers and midterm exams.  The students were all wide eyed and sitting on the edge of their seats as we visited with supporters of the Zapatista Movement of Chiapas, Mexico.  The girls were all motivated by the camaraderie and strength they witnessed amongst indigenous people of Mexico.  The group grew stronger as they returned to Guatemala to embark on a 3 day backpacking trip through the steep volcanic mountains surrounding Quetzeltenango.  Each day welcomed the girls to a grueling 12-mile hike up intense slopes with overfull daypacks on their backs. Upon completing each couple hour summit, the girls all high fived each other and laughed at their dirt covered faces.  The mirador overlooking Lake Atitlan was the perfect end to the hike, or at least it was a moment to remember before greeting the parents two days later. The 2013 TTS Campus visit was an incredible success.  Parents each shared their strategy to keeping interests a part of their life during an iLife class, and there was not a dry eye in the room at the First Annual Campus Visit Poetry Slam.  The TTS21 journey continued via kayak, as the girls waved goodbye to their parents and paddled toward San Juan la Laguna and Semana Santa.  Full class days were back in full swing, with several breaks taking place to admire the many colorful and spiritual processionals that passed our hotel.  The girls became quick friends with the women at the cooperative in San Juan, returning to create an alfombra on Good Friday.  The girls were incredibly humbled and proud to be the only woman assisting a well-developed team of husbands and sons in the street full of alfombras from one end to the other.  It was truly an Easter experience the group will never forget.  Easter arrived and the TTS21 family headed to the hills outside of Xela to attend The Mountain School.  The girls have had 4 hours of intense one on one Spanish instruction each day this week, leading to an impressive development of Spanish speaking skills amongst the entire group.  The week was also full of guest speakers, including a former finca campesino (farm worker) who described life on a coffee plantation as well as a surviving Guatemala’s Civil War.  This week has been full of learning, and the girls are both exhausted and motivated as they continually start more conversations with the villagers using their newly polished Spanish skills.  The week will continue with more classes and meals at local homes, where the girls again use their Spanish to join families and enjoy three home cooked meals every day.  Classes will continue as our group heads to the coast for surfing lessons and to celebrate our final few days in Guatemala. 

Our best,

Jen

For a closer look at what each class has been working on throughout the past couple of weeks, each class has a brief summary of their activities below:

Science Update:

Following midterms, the science curriculum concluded the unit of study on tectonic plates.  Students interpreted and completed a comprehensive data analysis of the world's plates, discussing what type of plate movements created mountain ranges, islands, earthquakes and inland lakes.  Before heading out on the backpacking trip, the students studied astronomy and created their own constellations, incorporating regionally specific cultural components into their myths.  The students enjoyed admiring the Milky Way and watching satellites pass overhead during our super early morning hike to the mirador above Lake Atitlan by headlamp.  They waved goodbye to the stars, watched the sunrise, and then completed a field journal entry on the volcanic chain surrounding the lake.  Most recently, the students have begun the soil and agriculture unit.  Students collected soil samples alongside the waters of Santiago, and then used several identification methods to identify the soil components.  The unit will continue with a look at the regional agricultural practices, culminating with the semester's Food Day In Nicaragua. – Jen

Global Studies:

The Global Studies curriculum came to life in Chiapas, Mexico as students saw firsthand the human rights movement of the Zapatistas.  Several guest speakers shared their experiences living within the conflicted political reality of southern Mexico.  Students visited a cooperative, as well as an educational project where all of the students were vocational teachers and vice versa, and everyone from the local indigenous villages was welcome to study and help one another free of charge.  While observing the spiritual rituals practiced in Guatemala during Semana Santa (Holy Week), students discussed Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, dissecting their own pyramid of needs, and reflecting upon how their past choices may be influenced by various sections of the triangle.  Students spent time writing a reflection on the changes they see within themselves, and how they will incorporate those changes upon their return home next month.  Students discussed how making a change is difficult, compounded by any number of obstacles that can dissuade a person for sticking to their goals.  Central American gangs were analyzed, again with the lens of Maslow, which began a longer discussion about passing judgments on others.  Students will continue to work with the Hierarchy of Needs as they begin reading their novel, Enrique's Journey, next week. –Jen

Algebra 2:

The midterm exam concluded the class study of logarithmic and exponential functions.  Chapter 8 began with an analysis and application of direct and indirect variation equations.  Students applied the variation principles to problems in chemistry and other real life word problems centered on our travels in Central America.  The course continued with an intensive look at rational functions.  Students used factoring and least common denominators to eliminate and simplify complex functions, solving for a variable and then checking their answers using substitution.  Students analyzed function transformations and practiced graphing several parent and altered functions on the same graph.  While completing problems on inequalities and rational equations, students applied several strategies to determine any extraneous solutions.  Students are now completing chapter 9, involving the study and application of step and piecewise functions.  Students created tables for complex data sets then analyzed the data to determine any linear, exponential, or quadratic patterns.  Following a unit exam this week, students will begin their study of conic sections as we head into Nicaragua. – Jen

Math Concepts:

For the midterm project in math concepts, students summarized their learning for the first half of the course by creating a personal financial survival guide.  Students explained the important aspects of budgeting, managing ATM cards and bank accounts, credit cards, and how to maintain a strong credit history.  They also addressed loans, debt, identity theft, and lease and rental agreements.  Each student identified personal financial goals and strategies to use to achieve her goals.  Following midterms, the math concepts class began their unit of study on careers and employment.  Students discussed and analyzed the various job markets of personal interest, then chose a specific job they would each realistically like to apply to in the near future.   Students each created a resume and cover letter for their chosen job opportunity, implementing confident writing styles into their letters.  Students discussed and analyzed strategies to prepare for an interview, how to best represent themselves in an interview, and how to follow up with a potential employer.  In preparation for upcoming mock interviews, students interviewed each other and provided feedback, specifically focusing on body language and other nonverbal behaviors that could impact and interview.  Following the unit on employment, students will begin reading and critiquing different types of investment opportunities.  – Jen

Pre-calculus:

Emelia and Ruth are enjoying finally being able to work together in Pre-calculus now that they have completed the independent study section of the class. After midterms, they spent two weeks working with trigonometric identities and equations. Verifying trigonometric identities can often be tricky because there is not a set procedure to follow, and students must instead try various strategies to progress through these problems. Ruth and Emelia had fun creatively solving these trigonometric puzzles and were able to find more than one solution path for many of the problems. Additionally, through work on verifying identities, we were able to practice writing more formal mathematical proofs.  In the last section of chapter 5, the girls combined their previous knowledge of trigonometric functions with their experience using trigonometric identities in order to find solutions to trigonometric equations. Previously, the girls have solved many problems involving right triangles. With the addition of the law of sines and law of cosines in chapter 6, they are now able to solve problems involving non-right triangles as well. – Heather

Beginning Spanish:

The beginning Spanish students can hardly be called beginners anymore! Following midterms, the girls read what was for many of them their first book in Spanish, Patricia va a California. Without having to directly translate every word, the girls were successful in understanding plot and participating in discussions about the book in Spanish. They enjoyed following the story of Patricia, a girl from Panajachel, Guatemala who goes to study and live in California. We started the book while we were visiting Panajachel, just before meeting up with the parent group, so the story came more alive thanks to the students' personal familiarity with places mentioned in the book.  Students practiced new vocabulary and verb conjugation patterns as they appeared in the text and wrote a letter to the main character to tell her about the United States and ask her questions about Guatemala.

This week, the girls are achieving enormous personal growth during their language immersion experience here at the Mountain School. Each student receives four hours of daily one-on-one instruction in Spanish tailored to her specific needs.  The students' language progress was evident on a recent visit the home of a Mayan priest in a nearby village. On the hike to the village, they engaged our guide in a discussion about the history of the surrounding town. The girls were able to understand most of the description of the ceremony without the help of an interpreter, only needing a few hints about key new vocabulary related to the ceremony. – Heather

Advanced Spanish:

The girls are in the heart of the Mountain School where they are receiving one-on-one Spanish instruction for 4 hours a day.  They've been speaking, reading out loud, writing, and working on mastering grammar concepts.  They've also had the opportunity to practice what they're learning at meal times with their local host families.  After this week, I'm sure that their confidence will soar!  As we go into the final weeks of the trip, the girls will be finishing up El Principito (The Little Prince), reading current event articles from local periodicals and newspapers, conversing with people we meet, and aiding with local logistics in Nicaragua! --Liz