Pedro El Viajero

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Something to do

It may only be for two hours a week, and the pay may be zilch, but I finally have a job.

On Monday, Steve took me to CEIPA, a school for teenage working kids. According to a CEIPA pamphlet I picked up, Guatemala has the highest rate of child labor in all of Central America, with the number of working children between the ages of 9 and 17 just under one million. CEIPA (pronounced SAY-pah) enrolls these kids in school for three years, preparing some of them for high school, some of them for work, and some of them simply to be more educated members of society.

Steve's and my idea was that I could volunteer here for a couple months as an English teacher. I didn't want to step on anyone's toes, like take away work from the current English teachers, so I tread carefully. I remembered my incautious first days as a Peace Corps volunteer, and this time I knew better. In these situations, it's better to be led and see the conditions before outright proclaiming what you want to do differently.

So Monday, Steve and I met Margarita, the school principal, who was enthusiastic about having me. One of the other teachers, she explained, had just had a baby, so Yudiza (Judith), the current English teacher, was working double and substituting for the teacher on leave. Margarita figured everyone would be happy if I took the English classes so that Judith could concentrate on the classes for which she was subbing.

The only problem was that Judith wasn't there on Monday, so we couldn't talk. I agreed to come back on Tuesday afternoon to meet with her, and Steve and I left Margarita's office to talk to some other teachers he knew. While we were talking with the librarian however, the phone rang. It was Margarita, calling Steve to let him know that Judith had just arrived, and we could talk with her. We returned to Margarita's office to meet my counterpart.

Judith is one of the nicest ladies I've ever met. She's likely in her 40s, but has an elementary school teacher's smile that takes 10 years off. She was ecstatic to have me volunteering, and she showed me tests and books to show what level the kids were at. We agreed that I would sit in on her lessons Tuesday, the following day, and then take over for her completely the next week.

The lessons are going to be incredibly low-level, since the kids only have one 35-minute class of English per week. But I'm looking forward to it. In Moldova, I had to work on a strict state curriculum, even if the kids weren't ready for it. Here, since it's a private school, I can teach however I want, and be as basic or as complex as I want. I'm looking forward to creating new visual aids, teaching them song songs, and more.

Although I've already taught my first day with them, I'm going to have to leave that entry for another day, since my internet time is running out. But boy, does it feel good to have something to do, and a partner teacher who's excited about me being here.

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