Education
As part of my follow-up coursework, I wrote a series of essays on different aspects of my experience. This essay on education explains the story of one girl attempting to make her way through the education system in Honduras.
Alia is a seventeen year old, ninth grade student. I taught her in the colegio at the Finca. She has several siblings who attend Escuela San Pedro as well, in the younger grades. Her mother washes laundry for some of the voluntarios, at 75 to 100 lempiras a basket, that is $3.75 to $5.00 for around an hours worth of washing. Alia is an extremely bright student. She comes to school each day, having done every part of her homework (and sometimes some of her sister’s as well). She sits in class with her eyes rapidly switching from the white board to me to her notes. The look on her face shows that she knows what a treasure each bit of information and knowledge is, and how, especially compared to that received (or not received) by many of her rural Honduran counterparts, this education is a rarity.
In Honduras, children are “required” to attend school through the sixth grade. Having completed sixth grade is roughly equivalent to having completed high school or receiving your GED in the United States. This education, however, is not equivalent to education in the United States. Most of the students in the public education system are only actually in school for half of the year. The profes (teachers) are constantly going on strike. The schools shut down and the children stay home. When they do go to school, they are often grouped in classes of three grades. For example, there will be one teacher for first, second, and third grade. While the teacher instructs the first graders, second and third grade do “independent” work. Then the teacher moves on to second grade, and first and third grade do “independent” work. I would like to know what first grader is completely capable of doing independent work. I would also like to know how a classroom with that many students is conducive to learning. My gut instinct says that neither of these situations is very productive, and obviously not preferable. Yet these are just scratching the surface of Honduran education problems.
It takes students an average of 9.4 years to complete their education through sixth grade. Less than 32% of the students finish without repeating grades[1]. I saw this quite often in the school I taught in. Around 4 students dropped out in the one month I taught colegio, and my seventh grade class ranged from 13 to 17 year olds. Escuela San Pedro is a private school, and has been rated the best in the region. There are two issues that arise with this situation. First, that many students are dropping out and repeating grades, in a school that is supposed to be much better than the surrounding schools. What does this say about the conditions of the other escuelas? Second, a school that is half staffed with American volunteers, whose Spanish is by no means perfect, is rated the best in the region? American teachers with little to no education training, teaching in a language not their own, are the best option? I do not mean to say anything bad about the American volunteers – I was one of them for a short while – they are absolutely incredible teachers and are extremely devoted to the kids. They teach what we would learn in the United States, and they do it well. It just a commentary on the current Honduran education crisis that these volunteers, and a few devoted profas hondureñas, are the only hope for the children of rural Honduras.
Now back to Alia. She is one of the neighborhood children who has benefitted from the Finca school. She is also, con la ayuda de Dios, with the help of God, going to be one of their great success stories. By the time I left the Finca, I had formed a special relationship with Alia. I could see in her a passion to not only survive, but to thrive. The look in her eyes as she sat in class was a mix of desperation and excitement. She knew that this education would be her ticket out. Unfortunately for Alia, however, the next stage of education – high school in La Ceiba – was only provided for the Finca children. Here is this girl, with a fire and love for learning so strong I would have taken her back to the States with me if I could have. She wants to be a doctor. She wants to study. She wants the opportunity that none of us in America would ever really doubt. But Alia is the oldest girl in her family, and her role now is to take care of her siblings and support her mother. She is a strong, stunningly beautiful young girl, with brains that could get her into Notre Dame. Yet her family “needs” her. Alia knows that she has to get away from her family to succeed. She also knows that in getting away, she can provide for and take care of them, albeit in an “untraditional” manner. Unfortunately, the high schools in Trujillo are not worth the time. One must go to La Ceiba, a bigger city 4 hours away by bus, to receive an adequate education.
I left Honduras not knowing what would become of Alia. Just yesterday, I talked to a long-term volunteer from the Finca who has since returned home. He told me that they set up a scholarship program through former volunteers and other various donors to pay for the neighborhood children’s high school education in La Ceiba. They have enough to pay for Alia, and have found a woman there for her to live with who will become a pseudo mother. Not every neighbor child from Escuela San Pedro will have the opportunity to continue studying. But I hope and pray that Alia will not be the last. A girl who taught me perseverance, compassion, determination, grace, and joy, deserves the life she has the capability of thriving in, if only given the opportunity. And si Dios quiere, if God wants it, one day we might just see the word médica in front of her name.
[1] Data from http://www.foreigncredits.com/Education-Database/Countries/Honduras/Education-System and http://www.blessthechildreninc.org/index.cfm?page=EducationFactsHonduras
Alia is a seventeen year old, ninth grade student. I taught her in the colegio at the Finca. She has several siblings who attend Escuela San Pedro as well, in the younger grades. Her mother washes laundry for some of the voluntarios, at 75 to 100 lempiras a basket, that is $3.75 to $5.00 for around an hours worth of washing. Alia is an extremely bright student. She comes to school each day, having done every part of her homework (and sometimes some of her sister’s as well). She sits in class with her eyes rapidly switching from the white board to me to her notes. The look on her face shows that she knows what a treasure each bit of information and knowledge is, and how, especially compared to that received (or not received) by many of her rural Honduran counterparts, this education is a rarity.
In Honduras, children are “required” to attend school through the sixth grade. Having completed sixth grade is roughly equivalent to having completed high school or receiving your GED in the United States. This education, however, is not equivalent to education in the United States. Most of the students in the public education system are only actually in school for half of the year. The profes (teachers) are constantly going on strike. The schools shut down and the children stay home. When they do go to school, they are often grouped in classes of three grades. For example, there will be one teacher for first, second, and third grade. While the teacher instructs the first graders, second and third grade do “independent” work. Then the teacher moves on to second grade, and first and third grade do “independent” work. I would like to know what first grader is completely capable of doing independent work. I would also like to know how a classroom with that many students is conducive to learning. My gut instinct says that neither of these situations is very productive, and obviously not preferable. Yet these are just scratching the surface of Honduran education problems.
It takes students an average of 9.4 years to complete their education through sixth grade. Less than 32% of the students finish without repeating grades[1]. I saw this quite often in the school I taught in. Around 4 students dropped out in the one month I taught colegio, and my seventh grade class ranged from 13 to 17 year olds. Escuela San Pedro is a private school, and has been rated the best in the region. There are two issues that arise with this situation. First, that many students are dropping out and repeating grades, in a school that is supposed to be much better than the surrounding schools. What does this say about the conditions of the other escuelas? Second, a school that is half staffed with American volunteers, whose Spanish is by no means perfect, is rated the best in the region? American teachers with little to no education training, teaching in a language not their own, are the best option? I do not mean to say anything bad about the American volunteers – I was one of them for a short while – they are absolutely incredible teachers and are extremely devoted to the kids. They teach what we would learn in the United States, and they do it well. It just a commentary on the current Honduran education crisis that these volunteers, and a few devoted profas hondureñas, are the only hope for the children of rural Honduras.
Now back to Alia. She is one of the neighborhood children who has benefitted from the Finca school. She is also, con la ayuda de Dios, with the help of God, going to be one of their great success stories. By the time I left the Finca, I had formed a special relationship with Alia. I could see in her a passion to not only survive, but to thrive. The look in her eyes as she sat in class was a mix of desperation and excitement. She knew that this education would be her ticket out. Unfortunately for Alia, however, the next stage of education – high school in La Ceiba – was only provided for the Finca children. Here is this girl, with a fire and love for learning so strong I would have taken her back to the States with me if I could have. She wants to be a doctor. She wants to study. She wants the opportunity that none of us in America would ever really doubt. But Alia is the oldest girl in her family, and her role now is to take care of her siblings and support her mother. She is a strong, stunningly beautiful young girl, with brains that could get her into Notre Dame. Yet her family “needs” her. Alia knows that she has to get away from her family to succeed. She also knows that in getting away, she can provide for and take care of them, albeit in an “untraditional” manner. Unfortunately, the high schools in Trujillo are not worth the time. One must go to La Ceiba, a bigger city 4 hours away by bus, to receive an adequate education.
I left Honduras not knowing what would become of Alia. Just yesterday, I talked to a long-term volunteer from the Finca who has since returned home. He told me that they set up a scholarship program through former volunteers and other various donors to pay for the neighborhood children’s high school education in La Ceiba. They have enough to pay for Alia, and have found a woman there for her to live with who will become a pseudo mother. Not every neighbor child from Escuela San Pedro will have the opportunity to continue studying. But I hope and pray that Alia will not be the last. A girl who taught me perseverance, compassion, determination, grace, and joy, deserves the life she has the capability of thriving in, if only given the opportunity. And si Dios quiere, if God wants it, one day we might just see the word médica in front of her name.
[1] Data from http://www.foreigncredits.com/Education-Database/Countries/Honduras/Education-System and http://www.blessthechildreninc.org/index.cfm?page=EducationFactsHonduras