Georgina Graham, a Footprinter Grant recipient, has completed her year volunteering with Project Trust in Honduras. Here is her final report on what teaching was really like.
Not the year I expected
Overall, it was a year that challenged me in so many different ways. It wasn’t the experience I expected before I arrived, but it taught me a huge amount, both professionally and personally.
At the beginning of the year, I started teaching Reading to the fifth grade students. At first, the classes were split into two groups, 5A and 5B. After a little while, the groups were combined, so I taught the whole year group together. There were so many kids in that class who were badly behaved, and some who struggled a lot and didn’t have the support they needed, unfortunately.
The accidental History teacher
Not long after that, the History teacher left the school, so I was asked to cover the History classes. At first, I was told it would only be for one day. Then it became one week. After that, I was told I would be covering all of the classes until December.
During that time, I taught two 7th grade classes, 8th, 9A and 9B, 10th, and 12A and 12B. I ended up teaching a huge number of students, including some who were actually older than me. At the time, I was 17, and a few of my 12th grade students were 19 or even 20, which was definitely an unusual experience.
First grade stole my heart
In December, the new History teacher arrived and I was moved to first grade as a full-time assistant. I knew that it would be harder from a language-barrier perspective, but the little ones did make me laugh a lot!
They completely stole my heart. They were kind, funny, caring, and every single one had their own unique personality. Saying goodbye to them at the end of the year was one of the hardest parts of leaving.
One of my favourite memories was teaching some of the first graders how to play “I Spy” in English. We’d often sit together during lunch playing the game. It was funny because I could understand what they were saying in Spanish, but they had to work hard to understand my English. It was a lovely way for us to learn from each other.
There were so many little moments that still make me smile. One day, I came back from buying lunch to find two first grade girls carrying my backpack together, each holding one shoulder strap so they could share the weight. They were running across the playground, fell over together, and everyone burst out laughing. One little girl loved capybaras so much that she somehow managed to mention them in almost every conversation. Another student would proudly tell everyone how easy maths was, “¡Es bien facilito!”, before we’d even started.
I also had a small reading group who would sit with me on the benches to practise reading. They’d hug me, climb on me, play with my hair, and make me feel incredibly welcome. At the end of the year, one student even gave me a small gift with “Miss Georgina” written on it. It’s something I’ll always treasure.
Finding a purpose
One of the challenges in first grade was feeling like I had a purpose there. The class teacher and the students naturally communicated in Spanish, so even though I could understand around 80% of what was going on, I was supposed to be there to teach English, and sometimes I felt I couldn’t give them as much English as I would have liked.
I put a lot of pressure on myself, but by the end of it I learned that just because I wasn’t doing as much as I would have liked to, that didn’t mean I wasn’t doing enough. And I also learned that I couldn’t just “fix” everything.
What I’ll take home
I learnt a lot throughout the year, especially socially. Living and working in another country is about adapting, communicating, being patient, and learning how to work with people from different backgrounds. I learned how important clear communication is, how to set better boundaries, and how much personal growth can come from stepping outside your comfort zone.
One of my biggest personal achievements was how much my Spanish improved. A year ago, I would have been incredibly happy to have the level of Spanish that I have today. Spanish has changed my life forever, and I don’t want to live without it.
Looking back, this year wasn’t always easy, but it challenged me, helped me grow, and taught me lessons that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. I’m very grateful for everything I learned, for the people I met, and for the opportunity to teach and experience life in Honduras.
Georgina Graham
