Last week marked the beginning of my teaching career abroad! I am currently teaching at two different schools, both of which are in Cumbaya, only a few minutes from my University. One school is public and one school is private, so I went into this experience expecting immense disparities in the quality of education students at each school receive. Back in Boston, I found disparities between schools very hard to cope with. Working at the Jackson Mann School in Allston, and then working at the Underwood School in Newton the next day upset me to the point that I had to drag myself out of bed each day to go to the school in Newton. Thankfully, I have learned to cope with these disparities as I've been exposed to more and more schools. I will never be able to lose that pit I feel in my stomach or the occasional lump I feel in my throat when I see children being denied a quality education because of race or class, but I'm focusing more on figuring out what I can do as a teacher to bridge this gap in opportunities. Back to Ecuador...
My classroom is right in front of that gate.
Each morning that I enter the Carlos Aguiler school, 35 energetic five year olds come sprinting at me with their arms wide open. The teacher cannot pronounce my name, so I am known as Marci haha. The group of 35 five to six year olds exclaim, "Marci! Buenos Días Marci!!" as they form a massive group hug that almost knocks me over into the backpack area. It feels great to be greeted this way, and I am glad they enjoy my presence in the classroom. It is not a very easy classroom to work in, because there is very little organization, a lot of chaos, and not much I can do about it all. Handling thirty-five niños is not an easy task, so while the teacher is trying to teach there are often children up and about, wrestling on the floor, or playing with the items she is trying to organize. The kids are so sweet, but they seem to have trouble self-regulating their emotions, and often resort to aggression. The kids are very good at self-soothing after being injured or teased and are much tougher than students in the United States. It is hard because I am so used to being nurturing to kids that are hurt, but I do not want to baby these children, because I know for many of them they need to be tough to survive and fend for themselves. It is difficult because I cannot necessarily teach them to use good manners, to share, to be nice to your classmates, and to sit quietly because there are cultural differences surrounding these values and some of these values are not conducive for living well in the environment that they go home to. From what I have seen, these children are exposed to things students in the United States are not exposed to until they hit puberty. One of my students was stumbling around the classroom, chugging a water bottle, saying in a silly voice "Estoy barachoooo!" or "I am drunk". This is a five year old remember. Again, these children are incredibly sweet (and adorable I must add), and the teacher tries her best with what she has.
Colegio Menor, the private school, is like a utopia. You need to enter through the main gate by giving the guards some form of identification. Below is what you see as the gates open.
The school looks like a college campus. It is extensive, filled with green areas, basketball courts, soccer fields, and colorful classroom buildings. The atmosphere is so peaceful and relaxed, yet so under control.
I work in pre-kindergarten, in a classroom called Antisana. The teacher is wonderful, and I feel like I can learn a lot from her. She only has 15 students in her class, and always has at least one teacher helping out. The majority of students are very light skinned, and many have blonde hair. (The class system in Ecuador is extremely stratified, and the color of your skin determines where you fall on the social ladder.) These children are taught entirely in English, using Spanish for instruction only when absolutely necessary. The school is modeled after American schools, so children engage in morning meetings, circle time, centers time, and sing many American songs and poems. I am so glad these children are recieving such a quality education, in a peacful and beatiful environment, filled with so many recsources. At the same time, I am frustrated that you need money to recieve a quality education in this country. In the United States, there exists vast disparities in the quality of education students receive, but at least many parents there can rest assured that they can provide their children with a free public education that will prepare them to succeed.
Here is a video of Colegio Menor if you would like to check it out: http://youtu.be/BmssSDLUSis
