Opening Doors

Hello again!

We are only halfway through the week, and I already feel as though we have accomplished so much. Primarily, Jared and I completed our third lessons in both of our English sections, and the classes were very successful. After playing a hot-potato/categories game to review last week’s material, we then instructed new vocabulary about the “Family” and played a game that required the kids to run to the blackboard and use a flyswatter to slap the correct English definition of a Spanish word (the 4th boys especially loved the slapping aspect). I couldn’t have been happier with the activities’ results. Not only did the usually timid students participate actively and enthusiastically, but the whole classes also seemed to retain more information as the game progressed. In the future, we will definitely continue to incorporate elements of competition and physical activity into our lesson plans.

Now having spent a few days in the classroom, I realize why countless people find teaching to be so rewarding. As numerous children approached me after class to practice their new English skills, I was filled with immense pride and excitement at their enthusiasm and mastery of the material. I can hardly wait for the next class on Thursday, in which we will be incorporating the “Family” vocabulary into simple sentences concerning age.

Equally exciting, after numerous discussions and debates, my team and I have completed our formal program proposals for teaching English. Comparing our lesson plans, required resources, long term goals, and short term objectives for each of our classes, we grappled with the underlying questions concerning MPI Guatemala’s purposes for the program and also the benefits of learning English for the children in Chaquijyá. With the help of MPI Executive Director Lori Scharffenberg who is staying with us for one week (more to come on Lori’s visit in the next post), we formulated answers to these questions and decided upon the following long term goals for our English program:

1. To build relationships with the teachers, students, and parents
2. To prove ourselves to be a reliable and supportive partner organization, as we work to aid the need expressed by the community
3. To empower and motivate children with new choices and opportunities so they may take ownership of their own educations and futures

We will definitely keep these goals close in mind, as we compose our official mission and vision statements for MPI Guatemala later this week.

For me, the most perplexing question that arose from our discussion concerned the benefits of learning English for the children of Chaquijyá. Although building relationships with the teachers and students clearly aids MPI Guatemala’s goal to work closely with the community to create new programs, the need for English in Chaquijyá at first did not seem so obvious. Why is English important for these children, who live in an isolated Maya and Spanish-speaking community? Is English actually useful for various professions in Chaquijyá, or is the language solely a status symbol in the community? Furthermore, in Chaquijyá, many children, particularly boys, do not continue to the next level of schooling after Primaria, but instead they travel to the United States and work illegally in order to earn money to jumpstart future careers as bus-drivers or other similar professions in Guatemala. Consequently, is teaching English only providing more incentive for the children to leave their community and forego additional educational opportunities?

Let me tell you, my group and I struggled with these questions for hours. Finally, we decided that although learning English might not make an immediate impact in the lives of the children, the program helps break the cycle of poverty in Chaquijyá. At its baseline definition, poverty signifies a lack of choices. Impoverished people do not possess the opportunities to overcome their destitution and obtain basic needs such as food, health care, clean water, or education. In the United States, though most children do not suffer the same levels of impoverishment, all students are required to study a second language in their school in addition to English. Why? Because learning a language provides one more open door to students, one more option for students to broaden their horizons and seek their passions in a variety of careers that require the knowledge of a second language. This concept of opening doors and providing options is universal. No matter whether the students live in a wealthy suburb in the United States or a poor, farming community in Guatemala, learning languages provides one more option about which students can become passionate and use in their future lives. By teaching English in Chaquijyá, we give the students another option in their lives, an option which by definition helps to fight the cycle of poverty.

I believe that I have mentioned this next statement in all of my previous blog posts, but in all truthfulness, I am so grateful for this opportunity to be working in Chaquijyá. Every day has imparted new lessons, which continue to challenge and expand my worldview. I hope that MPI will have so deep and positive an impact on the lives of the residents of Chaquijyá, as the organization has already had on me.

Peace
Ginny Savage