More About Teaching

Hey everyone!



Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I have lots to say so this might be long one . . . either that or I may have to split it all up between the next few days.



Before I came to Cayambe, on two (or more) separate occasions I heard that frustration is a good thing. Luke Hill at one point was talking with me and the rest of the Sunday school class at church was talking about how becoming frustrated with someone is actually a good point to reach in a relationship because it means you care about what is happening with that other person. Scott and Joanne (teachers and so much more in the Beyond Borders program) also discussed with us that reaching the point of frustration (with an institution or whatever) means that it matters enough to you to want to change it. Both types of frustration are connected in that they both involve genuine care about something and a desire to change what is going on. I have reached that point with the school system here in Ecuador.



When I first arrived, I was expecting things to be different here. So I just went (or tried to go)with the flow of what was going on here in the school. As I spend more time teaching here, I am becoming more aware of both the strengths and weaknesses of the education system. The trouble is that I don't want to judge the education system, either. I am here to be a part of what is going on, and not necessarily change it. It isn't right for me to decide that the way we do it in Canada is right and every other country needs to hop on board. Even if that was the case, it isn't realistic. Not every country can afford public education. But I do want to express my thoughts and feelings about all of this.



The difference that was most obvious to me first was how short the school day is. I think, how can they manage to cram in all the necessary information into less than four hours a day? On the other hand, though, children are able to spend more time with their families this way. Most businesses close for a few hours at lunch time, which is how I am able to spend lunch time with my host family. It's nice.



The thing that I am struggling most with is the very different education available to kids in and around the very same city. I still don't fully understand the system here, so perhaps not all of what I write will be totally accurate. It seems to me that there are both public and private schools here. However, it is not the same kind of private school in Canada. Many schools are private in a sense, but that does not mean they are really expensive or exclusive in the way we conceive of private schools in Canada. I have no idea how much they cost per year, but I am sure they are more expensive than public schools. I think my younger sisters go to a private school, and sometimes I look at their homework. They have these colourful workbooks in which they fill in the blanks, draw pictures, practice letters. My students copy everything into a plain lined notebook (for English class, at least). They often use tiny stubs of pencils to write their notes, and sometimes they don't have one at all. Pencil sharpeners are hard to come by. The youngest class has very few functioning pencil crayons. One day I was trying to teach a lesson, but had no markers for the white board. I had to use the peeling chalkboard instead, which is also smaller. There are no school buses to my school, so every student has to pay to take the city bus to school or walk (though maybe you have to pay for school buses too, I'm not sure). Though $0.30 doesn't sound like much for a one-way bus trip to school, it is a fair amount of money here. For one day of busing I could buy three of the chocolate buns I love so much. I just keep thinking: why should my students have to learn like this? Why should I and the other teachers have to teach like this? Why shouldn't every child receive equally stimulating educational experiences?



I am also beginning to become conscious of the poverty present in families here. Perhaps I didn't want to see it at first. But I notice the little things, like the little girl in dress-type shoes and no socks. Or the backpack that is falling apart. Or the rainboot with a big hole in it. The thing that really hit me was that one of my students is a is sponsored through Compassion Child. She was very excited to have received a letter from her sponsor family and showed it to me.



My school is (supposedly) funded by the government, so the students recieve a warm drink called colada and a packet of two biscuits for breakfast every morning. The colada mix and biscuits are made by a government agency or the education system. I have tried both kinds of biscuits and they taste alright, but more importantly, I looked at the nutrition label and they are fairly healthy as well. For lunch they get rice. Sometimes they have beans, vegetables or fish with the rice, but one day I saw one of the students collecting money from others to purchase these extras. In order to drink the colada and eat lunch, students need to have their own dishes. Fairly often the children do not have dishes, and usually they are not bothered by this, but nothing breaks my heart more than a four-year old girl crying because she forgot her plate and can't eat. I asked a former FRI supervisor (FRI is the organization I am partnered with here) about this, and she says that they try to do things that are sustainable, and they know plates will just get lost. It makes sense on some level, but it is still upsetting. Kids forget things all the time. Seems a silly reason to miss out on nutrition.



My internet time here is coming to a close, but I just wanted to express all these things. I have much more to say, but it will have to wait.



On a happier note, here are some random things that I thought you might find amusing and/or interesting I have come to notice while living here



The silverware of choice here is the spoon. Ecuadorians use them all the time. My family has a few knives and forks, and they normally give me one set, but typically they just use spoons. And fingers.



It gets dark here around 6:30. I thought it would stay late longer on the equator. I will have to talk to Uncle Jim and he can explain using his marvelous geographical knowledge.

More later!!
Comment please!!
-Amy