Wanting to Learn

Confucius said:
Learning without thought is labour lost. Thought without learning is periilous.
Confucio dijo:
El aprendizaje sin pensamiento es un trabajo perdido. El pensamiento sin aprendizaje es peligroso.

There are a number of striking things walking into school in this part of the world and when I talk about this part, I specifically mean the isolated communities in the Sierra, because there is most certainly a difference in opportunities depending where your school is located. The first thing to remember is that these schools are particularly small. Most average 25-40 pupils per school and they are peppered around the mountainside of a span of something like 5-10 km apart. There are usually 2-3 teachers per school, taking a number of grades at the one time in the same classroom, but with a fairly good pupil-teacher ratio (teachers tell me that in Quito and in big cities there can be as many as 47 students per class). Teachers usually come from other towns than the one that they're working in, so they live on site from Monday to Friday and return home to their respective towns at weekends. This leads to the curious phenomenon of seeing the teachers hanging out their underwear on washing lines in the school grounds, getting dinner ready and perhaps doing some gardening. Life is basic. There isn't usually refrigeration for food or heating in winter. In one of the schools, there is a partition in the classroom, behind which the teacher has his bed by night and on the other side, class by day.
Having said all this, the classes run fairly efficiently, depending largely on the motivation of the school principal-come teacher. The school day starts at eight and finishes at 1 or 1.30. The first part of the daily routine is general cleaning up. Children usually come early to school to brush and water down their classes and playground. This starts from the age of six. Students are expected to work, be autonomous and participate in the maintenance of their school. This is followed by the distribution of the "colada", a state-provided high-energy mueseli drink to help get the children's minds working first thing. Students always brush their teeth after breakfast, and although the toilets don't always look the most hygienic, students are taught to take personal hygiene seriously. All the students have part of a school uniform, usually a jumper and shirt, while the bottom may be jeans or trousers. Then it's straight to work. One noticeable feature in each class is that the register of attendance is ALWAYS complete. Children don't miss school for any reason and parents send their children with the greatest hope that they will better themselves through education. Once again the word privilege comes to mind. Here, education is seen as a something special and something to be grateful for.
For even the youngest pupils, work is intense. Children seem to have a good level in Spanish and are completing complex activities by the time they are nine or ten. Access to subjects like English varies depending on the location of the school. This means that better communicated schools lower down in the valley have, more likely than not, access to an English teacher. Where I teach, the last time the pupils saw an English teacher was two years ago when the last volunteer popped by. Why is English of such prime importance at an early age? Well, the state provides grants to students who get the best grades, thus paying for books or part of their education. Students compete within their region to get these grants, based on good grades. Unfortunately, the schools in my area always fall down on English, leaving their children further behind in the hopes of finishing school.
The classrooms are basic, but have all the necessities, including blackboards (and whiteboards), pens, chalk, paper and books. It is true that stationery is excessively expensive relative to the cost of living, but it is rare to see a student without a pencil, pen, rubber or ruler. Both schools have a cd player and a small library of books and their are some small games for younger children. Computers have arrived to one school, as a donation from the last volunteer, but these haven't been installed yet. In any case, there is no internet access, so these are largely teaching as opposed to research tools.
What is most outstanding of all is the children's genuine desire to learn. A small example: even though the children have the week off for a state holiday, most have asked if I can give extra English classes so that they can come to school even if there are no other teachers. So I have arranged for younger students in the first class and older in the second. Some students have asked can they come in early to repeat the class twice, some have said that they are trying to get off working from the farm to come into school and others simply want to show off what they are starting to do and say in English. The children are hard-working and bright and in a couple of weeks are already showing signs of good progress.
Based on all these observations, I can intially say that a good English-language programme here is an absolute bonus for the children. It gives them a good start in life and provides them with the same rights and opportunities as others have in larger communities. They deserve this chance to add to their skills and abilities in Spanish and expose them to new cultural elements that they wouldn't otherwise see in their area. I can only hope that the experience is as enriching for them as it is proving to be for me.
Querer aprender
Hay muchas cosas importantes entrando en un colegio en esta parte del mundo y cuando hablo de esta parte, quiero decir específicamente las comunidades aisladas de la sierra, porque ciertemente hay una diferencia en oportunidades dependiendo donde tu colegio está situado. La primera cosa para recordar es que estos colegios son particularmente pequeños. La mayoría tienen 25-40 alumnos per colegio están salpicados por las montes en un espacio de 5-10 km de separación. Normalmente hay 2-3 profesores para cada colegio, llevando más de un grado a la vez en la misma sala, pero con un ratio profesor-alumno bastane bueno (los profesores me dicen que en Quito y en las grandes ciudades puede haber hasta 47 alumnos para cada clase). Los profesores normalmente vienen de otros pueblos que el donde están trabajando, así que viven allí de lunes a viernes y vuelven a casa los fines de semana. Eso lleva a un fenómeno curioso de ver los profesores colgando su ropa interior en el patio del colegio, preparando su cena y incluso quizás haciendo algo de gardínería. La vida es básica. No hay refrigeración para la comida ni calefación en invierno. En uno de los colegios, hay una partición en la sala, detrás de que el profesor tiene su cama de noche, y por el otro su clase de día.
Aunque digo todo esto, las clases son eficaces, dependiendo en gran parte en la motivación del director-profesor. El día empieza a las oche y termina a la 1 o 1.30. La primera parte de la rutina diara es la limpieza. Los alumnos normalmente vienen al colegio temprano para lavar las clases y el patio. El trabajo empieza con seis años de edad. Esperan que los alumnos trabajan, ser autónomos y participar en el mantenimiento de su colegio. Esto está seguido por la distribución de la colada, una bebida de alta energía de muesli y leche dado por el estado para aumentar el rendimiento de los alumnos. Los alumnos siempre lavan los dientes después y aunque los servicios no parecen lo más higénicos, enseñan a los alumnos tomar en serio su higiene personal. Todos los alumnos tienen una parte de un uniforme escolar, normalmente un jersey y camisa, cuando la parte de abajo suele ser vaqueros. Empiezan a trabajar imediatamente. Una cosa notable en cada clase es que el registro de asistencia está SIEMPRE completo. Los alumnos nunca pierden su colegio por ninguna razón y los padres manda a los alumnos con la gran esperanza que se mejorarán a través de la educación. Otra vez me ocurre la palabra privilegio. Aquí la educación se ve como algo especial para sentirse agradecido.
Para incluso los alumnos más jovenes, el trabajo es intenso. Los niños parecen que tienen un buen nivel de español y terminan actividades complejas cuando ya tienen nueve o diez años. El aceso a asignaturas como el inglés se varia dependiendo en la locación del colegio. Esto significa que los colegios mejores comunicados en el valle tienen normalmente, acceso a un profesor de inglés. Dondé enseño yo, no han visto un profesor de inglés desde hace dos años cuando vino el último voluntario. ¿Porqué el inglés tiene tanta importancia a estas edades tempranas? Bueno, el estado da becas a alumnos que sacan las mejores notas, pagando sus libros o parte de su educación. Los alumnos compiten dentro de su región para conseguir estas becas, basado en buenas notas. Desgraciadamente, los colegios de mi zona siempre fracasan en inglés, dejando que sus hijos se quedan por detrás y pierden la oportunidad de terminar su escoloraziación.