It's been awhile....

Okay, so we know that it has been awhile and we sincerely apologize for the lack of blogging in the past month but we promise a steadier stream of updates from now on! We have a lot to update you on, but we will try and keep this entry and as interesting and yet as reader friendly as possible.

Schools:
We have been busy for the month of February observing in our schools, getting to know our teachers and the kids that we will be working with, and learning about our school communities. Needless to say, we have been learning a lot this past month, while experiencing many frustrations and surprises. We both work in three tiny, relatively poor communities outside of the larger town where we live. Our job for the past month has been to observe the teachers to get a sense of their teaching style, as well as learn about the Nicaraguan school system. While we will be teaching Environmental Education to students in these schools, we will also be working with the teachers to help them have more participatory methods of education. Ideally, while we teach Env. Ed. In the schools, we will also be serving as a model for the teachers but it is a long process and we are only at the beginning.
Our initial reaction to the schools was probably one of shock and appall. All of our schools are multi-grade schools, which means usually one teacher who is in charge of kids between 1st and 6th grade in one room or two teachers who teach kids from 1st to 3rd grade and 4th to 6th grade respectively. The main and probably most obvious problem with this system is that there is one teacher who needs to cater to the needs of many different students at many different levels. A typical school day usually runs something like this:
The teacher comes in and the kids help clean up the classroom (there is dust EVERYWHERE because it is so hot and dry). Next, the teacher assigns math or Spanish work to the various grades while he or she may or may not work with another grade. The work is usually mindlessly copying out of a workbook. Once a student is finished (which may take hours because they may not be able to write, may not understand the assignment, or may just be bored out of his or her mind) he or she brings their notebook to the teacher who puts a check on it and then assigns them something else. Then they take about an hour long break for recess and dish out some rice and beans. After the “lunch” (school only lasts from about 7:30ish to about noon) they may finish up work from the morning and if they are lucky will have a ten or fifteen minute class of science or social-studies. Needless to say there is very little teaching going on and a lot of mindless busy work. Time is also not managed efficiently, and while there are about four or five hours in a school day, only about an hour of actual work gets accomplished.
This has obviously been very difficult for us to watch coming from the US where we were both lucky to receive wonderful educations. While schools here focus on the memorization of information (without really understanding it) we have been taught (in the US) that creativity and engaging with the information is a much better way to actually learn. Students here have trouble being creative and thinking outside the box because they have never been given the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, they do not even really know how to apply any of the knowledge that they may have accumulated and there are also big holes in what they do know. For example, Alex was doing a map exercise with some students one day and they could not find Nicaragua on the map. Once they were shown a map of Nicaragua, they could not figure out what department (similar to a state) that they lived in. They were completely confused by the entire exercise. There have been many other incidents similar to this one and probably more to come.
Unfortunately, the teachers here receive very little support and may have very little training. They only know how to use didactic teaching methods and are often stretched too thin. Trying to teach many different grades at once is an almost insurmountable feat. Another major issue is that many students are too old for their grades because they have had to repeat so often. Usually around planting time, students will be pulled out of school in order to help on the farms. Missing school and having to repeat another year is most frequently the result of these stints away from school. If a child is lucky enough to make it through the school system and even go to University, he or she will have a lot of trouble finding a job to match his or her skills so the motivation to continue with school is very low. While the situation has been frustrating there have been some silver-lining moments.
Probably the most rewarding thing about working in the schools has been the kids. They are some of the nicest, warm, friendly, and happy kids that we have ever met. They absolutely love any attention that you can give them, even if it is something little such as telling them good job on one of their assignments or something big such as helping them write a paragraph for about two hours. They are also very generous, and will often give us their snacks and leave nothing for themselves. For the most part they are respectful of their teachers and overall, just want to please you. Everyday we are usually greeted with big smiles and hugs, which make a lot of the other frustrations, seem a little less important. One really great experience that I had with my schools is making school gardens. The theory behind making the gardens was that it would be a class project that the entire school would be responsible for while simultaneously yielding fruits and vegetables to boost the nutrition level of the kids. All the students loved digging in the dirt and had a lot of knowledge from their farming experience. (My mom also came to help one day while she was visiting and even though she could not speak a lick of Spanish, the kids were very sweet to her). The kids can be a handful but we are very lucky to get to work with them for the next two years. Our teachers (for the most part) have been really great to work with as well. While they struggle to teach many different kids, they have been warm and welcoming and genuinely seem to care about the kids that they work with. In short, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Our job is daunting and frustrating but we must do our best to overcome the obstacles and to enjoy the more rewarding moments.

Other stuff:
We have been working on several other projects in the past month as well. I have two sports teams that I have been working with, one girl’s soccer team and one girl’s volleyball team. Women’s sports are almost nonexistent here so any chance the girls have to get out there and play is a great opportunity. Unfortunately, women and girls tend to have a lot more responsibility here and many girls have to miss practice to cook or take care of little brothers and sisters. Alex is also involved with two soccer teams. He is helping coach a team for younger guys (around 16 years old) and he plays with the older guys on another team. Sports have been a great way for us to be involved in our community.
We have also been working with a sister-city project called Norwalk. They are a great organization who works with kids from low-income households. They have classes in photography, music lessons, cooking, sewing, computer, and other things. They also give scholarships to help kids go to school. We have been giving charlas (mini-workshops) on making organic compost by building compost beds and making worm-boxes. We will also be helping them with their reforestation project and their community garden.
Lastly, we have been busy with visitors and events. Kristyn and my Mom came down for a few days and it was GREAT to see someone from home finally. We took them to the beach, and toured Leon and Masaya (great shopping). Then, this past week we had a Spanish language workshop where we were bombarded with all new Spanish vocabulary and tenses. This week is Samana Santa where everything comes to a halt and people go to the beach and party. Next, my Dad and Kara are going to visit March 31st, after that we have another week of technical training in April and finally in May Alex’s parents will make the trip down. On top of all that we will be teaching in the schools and hopefully figuring out our secondary projects.
Okay, well I hope this long entry will satisfy your appetites for more information. Thank you for being patient. I have also have lots of pictures to upload and they will be up soon. We miss you all and really love your comments and when you keep in touch! Nos Vemos! :)