Private School VS Public SchoolThe Sunlight School is a small private school that offers preschool through 12th grade classes. In Costa Rica, much like any other country in the world, there are both private and public schools.
There are significant advantages associated with private schools that public schools cannot support. The largest differences between them is the size of the classes and, in turn, the attention given to individual children. At the Sunlight School, classes have no more than 12 students. At public schools, classes have 30 students or more. The size of the classes directly coincides with the attention given from teachers to students on an individual basis. The Sunlight school, as well as many other private schools, pride themselves on being able to give each student individualized attention. Each student is able to receive assistance in a way that is unique and personal for them. Not every student understands and learns at the same speed so by receiving one-on-one attention with the teacher, the student is able to better understand and grasp the material at hand. In public schools, individualized attention is unfortunately not offered.
This is due to the larger amount of students which makes it virtually impossible for the teacher to address each student's doubts and questions. When a child is able to receive individualized attention with their academics, it leads them to be more confident in their work and communicating. On the other hand, if a student rarely has their questions answered or doubts taken away, they are left feeling frustrated and will be more prone to giving up. Another key component and difference between public and private schools is that at the Sunlight School, children are learning to pronounce their syllables and form words as early as 4 years old. In the public school system, children are learning to pronounce their syllables and form words as late as the 4th grade. During my time volunteering at the Sunlight School I worked with the 7th and 5th grade English classes. |
| 7th Grade Worksheet |
The 7th grade English class touches on many different aspects of English and how to approach the language, with a primary focus on writing and speaking. In the past few weeks, the students have been studying occupations and professions as well as personal information and spelling. When approaching the idea of occupations and professions, the children completed worksheets in their English book and
would come up with sentences for each workbook scenario. Once the sentences were completed, they were shared with the class in order to improve the students speaking at the same time as working on writing. When it came to personal information, the students wrote and presented on their daily routines, members of their families, and other general information using primarily simple present-tense. Having the children present their work encourages them to do their best. Additionally, when they speak the language, the children are learning the connection between what they write and speak, and not only focus on book work. This allows the children to learn the language more rapidly and understand it better at the same time, assuming there is ample time for questions.
As a volunteer in the 7th grade English class I helped out in many different ways and was able to sit back and observe the way the children were learning English and how they reacted to troubles and successes. The class had 6 students and I was able to work with each one on one. Each student had different level of understanding English and I was able to cater to each one's needs. I was put to work helping the children with pronunciation, spelling, and usage of present and past tense. Once the children worked on a subject for a certain amount of time, they would present their work to the other students, the teacher, and me. I would then help them with sentence placements and how to speak properly. The children who were not as advanced spent extra time with me going over their work, and I was able to challenge the higher-leveled students by giving them a few extra exercises to do. The only girl in the English class had traveled to the United States so she was able to speak and understand English very well. I helped her by giving her English words to spell for an upcoming spelling bee.
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| 5th Grade Worksheet |
The 5th Grade English Class
Much like the 7th grade class, the 5th grade English class touches on many different aspects of English and how to approach it, with a primary focus on learning different tenses and doing bookwork, with occasional games involved in the lesson plan. In the past few weeks, the students have been focusing on the past and future tenses, as well as singular and plural nouns. The students were able to practice these lessons through bookwork, handouts, and board work. One of the children’s favorite activities was playing Hot Potato with a fake bomb. When the ticker went off, the student with the bomb would be given a past tense word that they would have to use in a sentence. Unlike the 7th grade, the 5th grade did not present their work to the class; rather they would go over things individually with the teacher.
As a volunteer in the 5th grade English class I helped out in specific ways and was able to observe them just as I had with the 7th grade class. In the class there were 12 students and they were assigned seats with two to a desk. I was put to work helping the children with pronunciation, spelling, sentence formations, and writing. During the class I would walk around to each child and help them one-on-one. Before a lesson I would explain things in English. When helping the children, I found that occasionally, because of the language barrier, the teacher would have to explain directions or use certain words in Spanish to allow the student to better understand what I was saying. This process was very similar to my interaction with the class and teacher in the 7th grade classroom. I was also in charge of checking all of the children’s work once they were finished.
When observing the 5th grade English class I noticed how different they were from the 7th grade English class. While the 7th grade class was more hesitant to ask for my help or to really engage in the language, the 5th graders were eager and very excited to ask for my help. The 5th graders were eager to speak to me in English as much as possible to get feedback and just have fun connecting. Just like the 7th grade, the 5th grade was a community when it came to helping one another. Although they did not focus as much on speaking English as a way to reinforce their skills, doing book work, worksheets, and playing games was an easier way for these students to learn and pick up the language. The experience allowed me to realize how different children learn at different ages and the way they react to what is presented to them. I had such a wonderful time working with both classes, and knowing I contributed to them learning English means a great deal to me. They ended up teaching me a lot as a result of me connecting with them. I felt like I was a part of the school rather than just a visitor.
Written by Sierra DiMartino
