School for the visually impaired

1.5 weeks in my new project have already passed, so I can now give a first impression.

As I mentioned before, I am now working at a school for visually impaired children, which is actually an inclusive school, so not all children are visually impaired or even blind. I work in the preschool class where, for example, out of 8 children, only one is blind and the rest can see normally. However, one of the other children has a severe learning disability or even a mild intellectual disability, which the teacher does not know yet.

Based on my observation, I don't think the teacher of my class studied education (I still need to ask), and she is not doing a good job integrating the blind boy. So, I have taken it upon myself to do most of that. But I can also do a lot of things with the kids on my own, as preschool can be done without a completed bachelor's degree and with enough common sense 😉 Because of that, I always have something to do and I don't get bored like I did at my old school. For example, yesterday I substituted for the teacher of the first grade for the whole school day. After that, I was exhausted because the kids were running circles around me, calling "teacher, teacher, teacher" continuously for five hours straight, and they showed no respect towards me.

But well, I barely survived it 😄.

My working hours at the moment are from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., which is perfect in terms of length. However, I think the school day is too long for the five-year-old children, because it's noticeable that they can't concentrate for that long and after the break at 10:30 a.m., their energy is pretty much drained. That makes the last 1.5 hours quite exhausting, but I don't want to complain. I still need to think about whether I will stay in this class or look at other classes. I think my help could be needed in many classes since the teachers are always alone. I especially feel sorry for the blind boy, thinking that he spends most of the day sitting there without any occupation and not being involved in the lessons. But at the latest, when I leave, I assume it will go back to the way it was before.

On April 27th, the holidays will start again, so my time at the school is generally limited.

I'm glad that the sun and warmth have finally arrived in Germany. Here, it's getting colder and colder, so now I leave the house in the morning with only 13 degrees Celsius.

By now, I'm already starting to count the weeks until I can see all of you again. I definitely don't want to miss this time here, but I have also learned to appreciate life in Cologne again. I miss the city, my friends, and salsa dancing a lot, so I'm really excited about all of that and of course, also about seeing my loved ones in Siegen again.

Sending you a big hug ❤️❤️