I noticed the kids at this school can do acrobatics that other kids cannot. They have a tiled area which is not common here. They run across the tile doing handsprings, cartwheels and all sorts of flips. You'd think that a tiled floor would not be conducive to acrobatics, but the tile is the only difference I see between kids who flip and kids who don't flip. Most homes have cement or dirt floors, so tile probably feels really fancy to them.
I also learned that teachers only work a half day. I knew the kids have a half day of classes. But I assumed the same teachers teach all day. Nope! Morning teachers arrive at 7 and leave at noon. Afternoon teachers arrive an hour later and teach until 4:30. Now I understand how they stay sane. They have over 40 kids in their class, but they only work a few hours each day.
Yesterday someone told me something interesting. An intern in our program said he is Catholic. I asked if he knew the pope is visiting the US right now. He said he does know the pope is visiting. He said the reason for the visit is to change US laws so that all of the people in the US have to rest on Sundays.
I told him the pope can not change US laws. He insisted that the pope is going to change the law and Central American countries would soon follow suit.
I served in a classroom where we taught the kids about self esteem yesterday. We had a "red carpet". The kids lined up along the sides of the red carpet and one child walked through at a time. The kids on the sides clapped and said nice things about the child, like, "You have a nice smile," or "You are smart." Most of them did really well.
Then we had drawings of a man and a woman. Each of the kids got a job or a descriptive word like "intelligent" or "obedient". The kids had to decide whether the words described a man, a woman, or both. So many of the kids believe that only men can work, only men are strong, only men are brave, only men can use tools. A lot of kids really believe that. The same kids also believe that only women can clean, cook, and be obedient. And only boys can play video games.
It was interesting to hear them discuss these things. Some of the kids are deeply entrenched in this mindset. It's clearly all they know and they can't imagine any other way. They were shocked to hear their schoolmates' families function differently. The boys and girls had a good time figuring out where to draw the lines. Most of them eventually realized that men and women are both capable of doing/being each of the things. It seemed to be freeing to them. You could see a light come on and then the boys started talking about washing their own underwear and cooking up a storm. I doubt they really cook as much as they say they do, but it was cool to hear them talk about cooking as a bragging right.
I also learned there is a thing called, "the test of love". It is when boys ask girls to prove their love through a sexual relationship. All of the kids seemed to know about this. We are talking about 4th - 6th graders!
Everyone learned a dance that accompanied a song called, "Piensa Bien". In English that means "think hard about it". The lyrics talked about making good decisions in order to live like a child and not grow up too fast. The kids loved the dance. They performed it today, then stayed late dancing and dancing.
Each classroom did an art presentation today about the theme "I Decide for Me" and they each wrote a song! At the end of the day they made a bracelet that signified a promise to themselves to make good decisions and respect their bodies. I was surprised at how much they accomplished in one day.
As a closing ceremony everyone lined up on the basketball courts, we discussed the theme of the three day campaign, and they all let go of helium balloons at the same time. It was the most still and calm they were in all of the three days we shared. They stood in amazement and watched all of the balloons drift higher and higher, farther and farther, until the balloons were out of sight.
As they left the teachers and principal thanked us for coming. They said everything was great and the kids really enjoyed themselves. We knew the kids enjoyed themselves, but it was nice to hear it from them.
I was proud to be part of something so impactful and well organized. It was exhausting but totally worthwhile. We will all sleep well tonight.
