Monday was our first full day in Quyquyho, and what a day it was. We split into two teams, with one team going to two different schools and another team staying at the home to do activities with the girls. The school team, consisting of Yuliana, Guillermo, Leah, Rob, Elias, and me, first went to a school where the ages ranged from 7 to 10 or so.
Loma School
I was tasked with cleaning out some computers, which mostly involved wiping the hard drives and installing Linux on them. After that, the teachers wanted some lessons on how to use it, and I found myself without a translator! It turns out that teaching technical subjects in a language you only half understand is not the easiest task, but by the grace of God I managed to get through it and they seemed to actually have learned something. This was basic stuff, how to save a file, type a few sentences, and so on. In the afternoon, we went to a second school where there wasn't a lot for me to do personally, but the other team members gave their presentations, which covered topics ranging from art and movies to alcohol and child abuse.
The Teachers at Loma School
It turned out that whatever I said to the teachers at the first school must have sunk in at least a bit, since they wanted more training. Thus I found myself on the way back there, but this time with Sam (Guillermo's contact here who helped us plan the trip) alongside me to help translate. At this point, we found out that one of the computers had some official documents that were to be sent to the government. At least, it did before I wiped the hard drive. Oops. Fortunately they didn't seem too worried, since there was nothing we could do about it anyway. It all turned out OK on Tuesday when I went back again in the afternoon. That visit started with "can we reinstall Windows?" (no, since we didn't have the CDs for it) and ended with a big grin on the teacher's face. A lot of their trepidation was just because they weren't accustomed to anything other than Windows, but after a quick run through of the applications and educational games, and seeing that their cell phone could easily connect for Internet access, they were delighted. Thank you God and the open source community :)
Sam and Some of the Girls
Sam tells us that the style of learning in Paraguayan schools is mostly a simple lecture format, where the teachers write on the board and speak, and the students simply copy down and memorize facts. The kids have very little concept of critical thinking, creativity, or the idea that there is any answer but exactly what the teacher says. This was driven home during one of Guillermo's creative exercises, which involved drawing a bunch of shapes on a piece of paper. He drew a rectangle on the chalkboard representing the paper, and some shapes inside it as an example; some kids just copied that down exactly on to their sheets, including the rectangle. During a free form drawing session, the kids were encouraged to draw anything they want, and one of the kids was so baffled that he started crying. Guillermo helped the kid along and eventually he was drawing a bit on his own, but this was just a glimpse into the state of education in the country.
I'm hoping that as more computers get installed in the schools and the Internet becomes more widespread in the rural areas, this will change, but there is a lot of precedent to get past and not a lot of initiative to do so. I don't think it's necessarily a matter of the teachers not wanting to interact with the kids, but more just an issue of this being "how it is."
Tuesday commenced with the entire team going to the local school in Quyquyho, where the normal school team gave their presentations again, and the others played with the kids. Along with the games, there was some music, face painting, and balloons. Some of the issues facing the community are starting to become more apparent; during one of the presentations about child abuse, one of the kids looked like she was holding back tears, and we saw even more indications of this on Wednesday, which I'll detail in a future post. This area definitely needs your prayers.
The experience of learning Spanish through immersion has been interesting. I came in a bit above a basic conversational level, but I'm picking up a lot, and becoming more comfortable with it. Still, many times a day I realize that a sentence I just said was nonsense. For a while I was telling one of the teachers to click and drag the mouse, and I was using the verb "atretar," which I thought meant to drag. Later I found out it actually means to press. And even later, I discovered the word is actually "apretar," so I wasn't even really saying anything at all. When showing one of the girls a typing game in which a penguin eats a lot of fish, I intended to say "He's going to be very fat," but instead said that about myself. So it helps to be able to laugh at yourself and just know that you'll make all sorts of mistakes.
Movie Time
Face Painting!
Balloon Animals!
Hot Potato!
Thoughtful
Yuliana Finds the Tool Tree
Justin's New Friend
Stylish
How Low Can You Go?
Faulty language attempts can be amusing. Wondering why you didn't install Windows to begin with. Is Linyx easier or better in some way? And the kid with the big eyes -- such big, sad eyes! Lots going on in that sweet face.
ReplyDeleteAnd my final comment: how sad that the kids were so stymied at creative attempts. I'm sure the teachers teach as they've been taught. I'm thinking, also, that when there's much lack or suffering, creativity is not a concern, as though it's a luxury for people who aren't concerned with survival issues. In fact, God uses it to sustain and heal, among other things.
Great posts! Can't wait to hear more when you return.