What a fun day! I say this despite the fact that I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and we are working 10 hours with crazy 4th - 6th graders. I am not sure how many hundreds there were. A lot.
The tiny classrooms are packed with over 41-44 kids per teacher. I don't know how the teachers are able to teach that many kids! Man do I ever respect them.
I am serving in the colonia adjacent to Los Pinos, but there is a lot of difference between the two colonias. Everyone always told me this colonia is worse, but everything I have seen so far makes me wonder. It may be worse crime-wise. But the kids sure looked great!
Of course I have only been there twice, so this is only based on my experience so far.
Therapists tell me that the parents consistently show up for their family therapy group. This is amazing to me. I am accustomed to seeing a huge lack of commitment and dedication to anything they are supposed to show up for.
The kids I met today ALL had black leather shoes. I didn't see one single shoe with a hole in the toe or the sole flopping off. All of them had pencils. The pencils weren't little stubs the size of my pinky. Many even still had an eraser.
Remember, in Honduras the school year ends in 7 weeks. The kids are not showing up in their new back-to-school uniforms like kids in the US. We are at the end of the school year here. Yet they are dressed in clean shirts with no rips. I only noticed one broken pants zipper. And their backpacks! They have beautiful back packs. The kids even have money to buy things at a little cafe right there on the school grounds. Most of the kids bought chips and candy. A few bought baleadas. All of them were eating during snack time.
I talked to the program director about the difference between the kids I know in Los Pinos and the kids at her school. Once I got home I talked to Fany too. Both women told me that the parents in Villa Nueva are more concerned about their kids' well-being and education. So far, the evidence suggests they are correct. But I need to know more.
Fany was specific. She said the parents of Los Pinos are more concerned about buying a big bottle of Coca Cola and chips, or a new cell phone, or even cable tv. Their kids' education is not a priority.
So now my question is, how to we help the parents of Los Pinos make education a priority for their children? I'm going to spend some time thinking about this.
I came home so excited! Exhausted, but excited. The program that my co-workers prepared is amazing! The theme of the campaign is "I decide for me." The kids are learning a ton and loving every second. I am also surprised at how much they already know. Today we talked about human anatomy and good touch/bad touch. The team found incredibly creative ways to make learning fun! It was like an all day festival. Except for when a boy fell out of his chair and another boy laughed at him. A fist fight broke out and I had to jump in and split them up. A co-worker grabbed one of the boys and hauled him out of the classroom.
I love working with such creative, fun, smart people. I am going to learn a lot here.
The kids in Villa Nueva don't seem to be accustomed to seeing any people from the US. I was a strange sight to them. They had tons of questions for me. The first question was, consistently, "Do you speak English?" They are dying to hear anything spoken in English. And they always want to touch my hair.
Fany just brought me a baleada. Yum! Time to eat and rest for tomorrow.
