Great expectations

Art day for the preschoolers today and literacy with the older kids. After only one day of teaching the youngest kids the school 'expectations', their classroom behaviors were much improved. The art lesson, which can usually be mayhem, went smoothly, kids listened and did not shout out and they helped clean up the area after the activity. No complaints. Ahhhhhhhh.

In the 'big room', Naomi and I were working with about 7 older kids (yes, dream class size, 7 kids with two teachers) on CSF expectations. The other day we nailed down our five main expectations and have been teaching them to each group: 1) Cuida el espacio, 2) Respeto 3) Usen voces bajos y escuchen 4) Responsibilidad 5) Ten un buen actitud. 

It is incredible to see this group of kids go from screaming out questions and grabbing pencils from others' hands to asking for things (in low voices) and working quietly on a project for an extended period of time. 

To reinforce the learning, the kids did mini-skits to demonstrate the 'Normas' and created the class poster to remind kids of the expectations. Everything went so well, I had to pinch myself to make sure this real life. Teaching has always been a bit of a high stress job for me while in Colombia, but this was pure bliss. I was able to wander from group to group checking on their work and they were ALL ON TASK the whole time.

The kids were working so well independently that I took a few minutes to check out the other literacy teachers' classrooms. Karol was reinforcing expectations with a game of 'quemado' (burned aka hangman). Cerys was freed up to work on literacy with kids that are on the cusp of being fluent readers and writers. During the course of two hours, she was able to pull out all of the kids in Karol's class to give them one-on-one attention. Increible. 

As my kids began to finish their poster pieces, I pulled out kids to read to me for a few minutes...they were the ones to get that started. One of the boys found a book about reptiles that he wanted to read and when I asked if he would want to read it out loud he practically pulled me outside to begin. Did I say I love this place? I swear I will try to stop saying this kind of stuff, but I am still in the 'wonder' faze of this experience. 

Libia used the time today to work with a student, Duban, who has shown some psychological concerns and has demonstrated very aggressive behavior during his time at CSF. He was not able to participate in activities today due to the fact that he had spent art day running around doing his best to disrupt all the other kids and his 'coup de tat' of the day was to take handfuls of paint and smear them all over the other kids.

Instead of let Duban 'sit it out' at home, Libia sat and talked with him about his decisions and she helped him to write an apology letter to the teachers. Then at the end of the day, she called the teachers into the school and read Duban's letter (while he hid under the table). If you could have seen this kid's face when we thanked him...it brought tears to my eyes. His relief and joy at having accomplished something great was beaming out of him.

I suppose you need to know a little bit about Duban's story to really understand how far this kid has come. When Libia, Cerys, and Brigette started the foundation a year ago, Duban had been one to explode on a regular basis. This had greatly concerned the teachers so after further investigation into the matter, Libia found out that Duban had recently found out (via other kids in the barrio...chisme) he was abandoned by his parents and that the people he thought were his mom and dad were his aunt and uncle. In addition to this, Duban was still suffering from an incident that he had witnessed a few years earlier. He found his older brother after he had been murdered. Unfortunately, this kid has endured more than most and the fact that he is coping at all is astounding.

Today I received an email from a psychologist that is going to donate sessions to Duban. The amount of great things that are happening for this foundation are occurring at an exponential rate and I know it is because at the core of these teachers...everything is good, positive and well meaning. As Winston Churchill said, "You create your own universe as you go along."...CSF is creating an undeniably beautiful universe.

Dolex...the common cure for everything

Apparently, I am not in the throes of Dengue Fever, but need a massage and a Dolex (Colombian version of Tylenol). This is the diagnosis one gets when running a 'two for one' plan. Cerys went in to the doctor yesterday and found that her trusted doctor was out. She was referred to a guy who made her get in a paper gown to take her temperature, poke her a few times, and listen to her heart. She described him as Mr. Bean...Colombian medical version. Ohhhh, no bueno.

Needless to say, we both are not feeling our best, but I still went to the school. I contemplated wearing one of those paper masks. Awesome.

Before school we had a meeting to firm up lesson plans by talking through them and figuring out the 'kinks'. I am so impressed by the teachers, while they may not have a lot of formal teaching education, they are so motivated to create interesting lessons for the kids. Their interest in learning new ways of connecting with their students is truly inspirational. 

As we were doing the planning inside, the kids were milling around outside and hanging on the windows, eager to enter. The picture at the left gives one an idea of what the daily scene is before classes start. Love this...no bells, no teachers or administrators yelling at kids to 'get to class'...not necessary when kids WANT to be in school. 

 

With art day there was the general chaos of excitement before the lesson, but the kids did really well with getting settled and listening to Rachel's instructions. The project was natural 'printing' so Rachel had an assortment of leaves, potato stamps, and styrofoam plates for creating prints. 

Even though the kids were about to bust with excitement, I was, once again, in awe of the fact that they were able to keep their hands off the supplies until Rachel gave them the 'green light'.

I have been working on behavior modifications for some of the students so I spent a lot of the art lesson time wandering between groups and assisting with issues. One great success we had was with Yesid, a rambunctious little guy that has been told he has to wait to have parent meeting before returning to school. He managed to slide into the activity unnoticed and when Karol (a veteran and daughter of the founder) caught on, she was not too happy with his sneaky behavior. I had a quick conference with her before she acted on anything and we decided the best plan would be not to send him home, but to privately give him the choice of having a quick discussion of his decision to not follow through with his consequence from the previous day of class, then let him come back to finish as a reward for making the choice to calmly take time out of the activity to talk with his teacher. 

 It went very, very well. Yesid really appreciated the chance to stay in the activity and was extremely helpful all day. I caught him organizing the paint bottles at the end of the day while all the other kids were outside running around. 

When I talked with his teacher later, she was really relieved to see such incredibly responsible behavior from a student that often is a bit 'wild'. It is so fun to be working in a place where people understand that you 'catch more bees with honey' when it comes to behavior management...and pretty much anything you want in life. 

Everything went very smoothly during the first hour and a half of the art lesson, but as printed pages were filled up, the kids became a little too creative with the paint. A few of the students started to use their own bodies as canvases. We were able to quash a paint war, but there were a few colorful casualties of an early 'battle'. Javier, Jr. was one and this picture says it all: "Javier, how did all that paint get on your face?", "I dunno...it's Duban's fault.". Oye vey.

In the other room, Natalia and Rob were teaching a pre-school lesson that they had prepared regarding the expectations of the school. They had been a bit hesitant that things would go according to their plan as the young ones have much shorter attention spans than the older kids.







After discussing their plan together before class, they utilized some of the strategies we brainstormed together. When I asked how things had gone, they were both happy to report that they had enjoyed a very successful lesson. It was very satisfying to be able to use my teaching experience to help other teachers create lessons that  made their time in the classroom more enjoyable. Is this place for real? I hope so because I plan on being here for at least a year.

My favorite quote of the day came from Rachel, the art teacher and my roommate: "Why are so many kids making prints with 'Jesus' on them...must be some really religious folk." My reply, "Rachel, those are their names." Jesus.

Enferma y todovia...I go to work

Woke up with 'Dengue Fever' this morning. Okay, maybe that is a little drastic, but when you don't have health insurance, yet...WebMD is my only doctor at the moment. I am hoping there was a computer glitch. In any event, I don't feel so well and my roommate is demonstrating the same symptoms soooo we are going to do a 'two for one' special. She is going to go to a doctor and get a diagnosis and then the remedy will be applied to both of us. Smart, huh? Who needs health insurance when you are geniuses like us??? I know my mother is hyperventilating while reading this and my uncle is calling her with all the best foreign health insurance plans on the market. Too bad I can't afford any of the options they are going to suggest...I am learning how scarcity truly does develop creativity. I am becoming more and more creative by the minute this year.

While I haven't felt amazing, I did make it to school and the teacher trainings. We started 'trying on' the new routines that the teachers developed the other day and they are already making a difference in student behavior. The kids were lined up by class and entered single file. They didn't complain about the new procedure...actually, quite opposite, they really enjoyed it. In a place where there really is no order, I have a feeling they appreciate being part of a community where they can anticipate what is going to happen next.

I only had two of my six kids today in my literacy group as the others were helping parents with household chores and watching younger siblings. This seems to be a bit of a regular issue and so we are planning a parent/community 'get together' next week to talk to the parents about how we can help them get their kids to the center every day. I would like to eventually have the parents meeting with us regularly (bi-weekly or monthly) to have a lunch where we can discuss concerns, celebrate student achievements, and socialize.

One (of the many things) that I love about the philosophy of the foundation is that we all acknowledge, 'it takes a village (barrio) to raise a child'. Thus, we are constantly looking for ways to strengthen our relationship with the people in the community.

Even though there were only two kids, Lucelis and Camilo, I wasn't complaining...I actually revel in the opportunity to have such intimate lessons with my students and rarely get the chance to concentrate on a few students for an entire two hours. We started their interactive notebooks with a lesson on 'respeto/respect' in order to reinforce one of the main expectations of the foundation. They did some mind mapping around the topic and then we read a story, El Abuelo y Los Tres Osos. Before, during, and after reading we related the story to the topic of 'respeto' and I was really impressed by the kids' answers.

It just reinforced the fact that it doesn't matter how minimal the materials, or how poor the community, all kids have the capacity to achieve at high levels when served with quality education. High quality education is the key to eliminating poverty. Period. These students get small class sizes at the foundation, personal attention on a daily basis, dedicated teachers, and structure. They are improving in literacy, math, and behavior at a rate that has made the parents in the community take notice and start demanding better education in their public schools. They are finally realizing it isn't their kids that are low achieving, it is the public school system that is failing their students.

At the end of the day, I sat down with one of my students to do a profile on him with luke-warm success. During the course of our conversation he was constantly relieving himself of post nasal drip and distracted by the kids swinging from the trees behind us.

This is Camilo Andres Polo Abendano. He is 9 years old and is in 4th grade at La Quinina. He lives with his mom and dad and younger sister, Estefany. His favorite comida is apples (manzanas). His favorite class is informaticas. He is a rule follower (and a bit of a 'tattle tale') who is always the first to tell you when someone is 'out of order'. Camilo didn't get to tell me what he wants to do when he grows up, but would imagine 'solider/soldado' would have been top of his list.

As we were reading the story today, I noticed Camilo was very distracted stacking crayons and fiddling with stuff while listening to Lucelis reading. I, initially, figured that he wasn't getting anything out of the oral reading, but was pleasantly surprised when he was able to tell me in detail what had been read. I was amused as he is quite like me when I am listening to something...always fiddling, but still completely aware of what is being said. My reminder of the day: always give a student a chance to 'show what he/she knows' and never assume that fidgeting is a sign of inattentiveness. I plan to have plenty of doodling paper and manipulatives available for Camilo during our next session.

The day ended with hugs and kisses as usual...think I might have found a teacher's heaven.

Sports Days

Finally, I get to use what I am learning in my masters program! I have been working on a masters in Teacher Leadership for the past two years and am now going to get to apply what I am learning. I had a great meeting with Libia, the founder of Colombia Sin Fronteras and she is excited about having me do teacher development on a daily basis.

Currently, the program is run by Libia, a former public school teacher (with 15 years teaching experience), Cerys, a British university student who took time off school to work to start the foundation last year, and Brigette, a San Diego native that came to Colombia last year in search of an opportunity to volunteer in a grass roots education program. The rest of the staff are volunteers from (mainly) the US and England who are dedicated to working in the foundation for at least two months...and they often stay longer. 

One issue that Libia and I were able to discuss was the fact that many of the volunteers have no formal teaching experience and could benefit from teacher development meetings. We have fleshed out my role a bit more in the program in that I will be conducting daily meetings with the other teachers that will address any concerns around teaching strategies, program structure, and foundation policies/guide for future teachers.

We spent 3 hours in meetings around teacher roles and development today and I walked out feeling like meetings can actually accomplish things...surprise, surprise...

After the meetings, there was a 'sports day' with a local sports development program that works with low economic areas of Santa Marta. The program leaders visit the barrio every Friday for a little bit of chaos and a lot of fun. This week the kids played a game of 'Tunnel Tag' and a few of them might have actually played the game correctly...the rest were running in circles with the sole intent of watching the dust fly around their bare feet. While the running around and water breaks were fun, the kids mostly gathered to share less structured time with their teachers. Each teacher had at least one child nestled beside them and there was plenty of laughing and chatting going on while the games were in session.

One thing that Libia and I have talked about being a very important aspect of the teaching is that teachers develop authentic relationships with the students. After watching the warm interactions between kids and adults, I don't think this is something we are going to need to worry about developing. Loving the kids, giving hugs, and showing genuine concern for them and what is going on in their lives, is definitely a top priority of this foundation.

Down Came the Rain...and Washed the Children Out

On the way up to the school today, I noticed the looming clouds. The air was hot and thick and there was no doubt that rain was on the way. I just hoped I wouldn't get caught in a deluge as I had visions of the moto skidding out in thick mud...a slight disruption to my usual moto bliss en route to CSF. 

In any event, I made it safely again and happily paid my 1 mil to the pre-pubescent driver. Walking into the classroom I was struck by a wall of stale heat and exited yips from the kids. Today was art day and our resident artist (and my roommate), Rachel, was gearing the kids up for creating 'God's Eyes'. Her example piece had the kids enthralled and they were all wiggling, eager to start. 

I decided to take the first few minutes to have a chat with another 'student of the day'. As he was having a difficult time sitting still and was causing a bit of havoc in the beginnings of the lesson, I figured Duban Alfonso Jimenez Martinez would be the lucky guy. 

 Duban is 10 years old and lives with his mother, father and 6 year old brother, Carlitos. He has lived in the barrio his whole life and is in 3rd grade at the 'La Quinina Uno' (which I am dying to visit as most of the kids are there during the mornings).

Duban's favorite food is pizza with verduras. This surprised me as the rest all say, "arroz, frijoles, tajada, y jugo". The fact that he likes verduras (vegetables) on his pizza was unheard of around these parts.

When I asked him what he liked to in his free time (outside of colegio) there wasn't a second hesitation before he said, "Ven pa' aca." (coming here...to CSF). I was not surprised by this response as it seems pretty obvious that the kids love the school and one of the greatest punishments they can receive is to be told they have to leave for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, this has happened with Duban a number of times as he has a bit of a history of misbehavior. He has a hard time focusing and some other issues that the teachers have been addressing (and are seeing good results).

He may have bad days, but his 'good ones' seem to be increasing as he spends more time with the teachers at CSF. And for good reason...they shower him with hugs and consistency that is not always present in many of the families in the barrio. He knows his teachers will be there every day and that they always start every day 'fresh'. He knows he is loved.

I was lucky enough to spend time with Duban when I first visited the foundation and he was one of the reasons I was convinced I had to work with CSF. He was challenging, but under his squirrely demeanor, there was a very sweet, conflicted little man who was obviously thriving in a place that most children might have a hard time...were there not a foundation in the community to support them. 

As we were finishing our interview, we started to feel raindrops and looking up there was a curtain of grey completely obscuring the landscape...the rains had finally made an appearance. We had a millisecond to duck under the roof before the sky started to dump buckets of water. 

Now in most schools and education facilities, children are expected to stay out of the rain and keep their clothes dry...not here. The teachers were the first out of the building, arms flapping, hooting with joy as they had just spent the past 30 minutes boxed in a small, sweltering classroom. Of course the kids were not far behind and the place turned into a soggy free-for-all. I loved it. I loved that the kids were encouraged to run out and enjoy the storm and marvel at the sudden change in their surroundings.

Talk about living in the present, these kids (and teachers) are experts in such an existence. You can read all the books in the world, post all the quotes about the matter that you want, but when you see it being done by a bunch of little kids, it is quite humbling. Many adults spend their lives searching for this...learning to live in the moment, enjoy the present to its fullest...maybe we just need to spend more time with kids, they seem to have it down. I wish all teachers could experience the freedom that I did today. In traditional school we often get caught up in 'objectives' and 'learning outcomes' so much so that we lose sight of the fun in learning. 

What was today's rainy day lesson, you ask? They learned a lot and no lesson plan could have quite captured the essence. The kids learned to seize a great moment, to be in awe of the power of nature, to see teachers as their conspirators in learning, and that these small memories build community. They, also, learned that the tile floor in the school is not a 'slip-n-slide'...

Believe it or not, we were able to get all these 'mojaditos' (wet little ones) inside to finish the art lesson. Rachel did an amazing job getting the materials put together and while the kids were very giddy, they were quickly absorbed in their creations. I kept chanting, "arriba, bajo, al lado, arriba, bajo y otra vez..." and somehow they understood me enough to put together some pretty incredible 'God's Eyes'. 

I think I was most amazed during the art activity by how quickly the kids settled down and were completely taken over by the colorful yarn piled on the tables. They don't get to do things like this outside of CSF and they know a good thing when they see it.

Walking home today in the mud, I couldn't stop smiling. I was already looking forward to tomorrow, yet not ready to say good-bye to today. I realized I was just soaking in every minute of my time in the barrio. Even walking through the immense sludge-puddle on the way to the road made me giggle...or it could have been Rachel's expression when she realized the end, wasn't really the end.

Anyway, I was reminded today to not take things too seriously, to enjoy each moment (cliche, yet, so true), and to take pleasure in the little things: a downpour, colored yarn, a friend's expression of exasperation, and music on the bus home.

Today was a very, very, very good day. Thank you CSF...I am pretty sure I owe this to you.

Beauty in a Barrio

I am quickly losing my fear of motos...I don't know if that is a good thing. I think I just like the few minutes in time where I get to enjoy the wind, bumping road, and no talking...it is a loud silence that gives me time to not think and just enjoy. I have been reading a great book recently, Gift from the Sea, which tells of a woman's experience of leaving the city in Connecticut a for a while and planting herself in a cottage on a deserted beach. In any event she discusses the idea of a need for one to take a few minutes each day for solitude and the opportunity to revel in the present. Somehow, these moto taxi trips do that for me...worth a mil at least.

While it doesn't exude conventional beauty, the barrio where the school is located reminds me of the rough yet sweet voice of Johnny Cash when he sings "Hurt". It is a gorgeous community that rises out of a most unexpected, seemingly devastated landscape. Trash is everywhere, baking under the unrelenting sun and houses are mere concrete/plywood/brick boxes. Donkeys burdened by large tanks wobble up the pitted dirt road to the barrio and deposit water from the only source, a battered plastic hose about a quarter of a mile from the school. 

The communal 'shower' consists of a plastic hose that runs a trickle of water all day to provide the only possible means of cleansing the film of dust that covers all inhabitants of the barrio. The 'cancha de futbol' is riveted with deep creases left by rains desperately needed, yet greatly destructive. Today a horse lay panting in the middle of field, sucking water from a bucket in an attempt to regain its footing and revive its emaciated body. 

This is not a place of great physical beauty, but sometimes (often times) the most beautiful places on earth are formed not by crystal waters and green valleys, but by the character of the people. in fact, I have found that such places, where the people create the beauty, never fade, but grow more attractive each day. This is the case with Valle de Gaira. 

Today my focus was on a young man by the name of Luis Felipe. He is 12 years old (in 4th grade at the same school as Alvaro, La Quinina Uno) and a middle child in a heap of 8 children. He has lived in Valle de Gaira for two years with his mother, step-father, and 7 siblings. He has attended CSF since the day the school opened its door and has since found himself drawn to the foundation for learning and love. 

When I asked him the compulsory questions that I was asking each student, it was his answer to the question, "Who is the most important person in your life?" that created quite an emotional response from one of the volunteers. He answered, "Seno Cerys porque me quiere mucho." (Cerys, because she loves me a lot). Cerys heard the response. It wasn't contrived; it was simply honest. The most important person in his life is the teacher that loves him. 

Later, at home, I was talking with Cerys about Luis' response and she got a little teary (this, from a gal that doesn't like to cry in front of anyone). I know she must know she is important in these children's lives, but maybe she doesn't realize the enormity of the impact her commitment and passion provides them. 

If Valle de Gaira had a theme song...it might go a little something like this:

POR FIN...first official day at CSF

For the first time in two years, I jumped out of bed to go to work. I honestly could not wait to get out the door and wasn't even in need of my coffee (although, I did take a cup just to be safe). The two British blokes (Rob and Will) who were found via Cerys (one of the three original founders of CSF...and my roommate) bellowed their arrival to my apartment and we began our giddy jaunt to the catch a bus. After picking up the last volunteer, Naomi, we were headed in the right direction...Valle de Gaira.

The bus stopped for less than a second to plunk us down outside the Bomba Azucar (sugar pump) and already the motos were surging forward to flash their 'steeds'. I felt like I was choosing a horse for a race, but in this competition, it was not speed I was focused on so much as the seeming 'surefootedness' of the mount. One hears plenty about moto mishaps in Santa Marta and while I may be one to walk on the wild side, motos are not my adventure of choice. I didn't care how fast I arrived, just as long as it was in one piece.

My mount, a sleek red dirt bike that looked fairly new, was driven by a boy that couldn't have been more than 13 years old...gulp.

While I had visited Colombia Sin Fronteras before, this was my first full day experience and my first time seeing the morning program. As a few students trickled in, we quickly became aware of the fact that the attendance would be minimal. Once everyone had shown up there were about 6 kids who had braved the mid-morning heat to improve their reading and math skills.

As I realized I wasn't going to be able to do much teaching during the early session, I decided to start working on developing a portfolio of the students. My first subject was Alvaro Enrique De La Telea.

Alvaro is 8 years old and has been attending classes at Colombia Sin Fronteras for almost a year now. He attends a public colegio (along with most of the other students) which he said was called 'La Quinia Uno', but  I have yet to find it in any database. I will be checking this place out for myself... Alvaro lives with his mother and grandparents (dad was not mentioned...not an uncommon situation in these parts). He has two siblings: Yelibanz (11), and Emilio (5).

His favorite food is arroz con pollo, tajadas (platano madura frito en aceite muy caliente), y jugo (maracuya). His best friends are Camilo, and Juan David (both CSF cronies). He love math, science and Spanish (Castellano). His favorite person is his mom, Mayelis, and he loves helping her around the house (I swear this is what he said...albeit in Spanish and I could have mistranslated, but he added that he likes helping her with the wash...no joke).

When he grows up, Alvaro wants to work on building houses or washing big trucks (lavado mulas...I thought this was washing mules at first, but no...washing big trucks seems to be a coveted position around these parts). I later brought up the idea of a doctor and he honestly had never let that possibility cross his mind. Wow. The question is: is that a bad thing? Should we all feel like we need to become 'doctors and lawyers and such' in order to be successful?

While Alvaro didn't tell me this, I was impressed by this anecdote: Cerys told me that when Alvaro first came to the school, he was 'like getting blood from a stone'. What he was then and what he is now was not the same person. The founders and staff had believed Alvaro was depressed, but that after achieving a feeling of belonging in the CSF program, he became more open and gained a confidence through education. Hearing about this was pretty powerful as the student that I met was precocious, open, and proud of his ability to read. What a difference a year makes...

 When I returned after the lunch hour for the afternoon classes I was amazed by the number of students that were pouring out of the tiny schoolhouse. There were around 30 lively, excited kids jumping on volunteers and hugging anyone that had recently arrived at the scene. The place exuded love and happiness and I was impressed...very, very, impressed. The materials were minimal, but the commitment of the staff was unlimited.

I was immediately put to work teaching a class on reading comprehension with the higher level reading students. The material consisted of list of 'true/false' questions that the students were expected to read and discuss. I was completely entertained how a statement such as 'there are only three animals that have blue tongues' created a very heated discussion and required a slight teacher intervention. Colombia es pasion...la verdad!

Needless to say, I was amazed at the level of reading (and comprehension) that these students had achieved in such a short period of time. I was able to put one of the students, Luis Felipe to work as the 'maestro' helping the small group correct their true/false responses while I floated to other groups helping with management and observing the work being done by the incredible volunteers.

As I left the school around 4:30pm today, I walked and thought about how lucky I am to work with such passionate, creative, determined people...and the volunteers are pretty great, too.