Posts Tagged: education

El Sexto

October 23, 2012

As I walked into the classroom with Juana, all I heard was gibberish: a word here, a word there, but mostly lots of noise as the kids settled into their desks. The teacher wore jeans and a t-shirt and she quickly established order: Literature was first. The students took out these mini notebooks that looked almost like my old composition books, complete even with stickers and drawings/colors. Before the teacher began to teach, she gave the kids a talking to– …

Sixth grade doesn’t change much

October 22, 2012

Sixth grade was such an interesting year for me: super small class (only 5 girls + the boys), incredible teachers, baby brother, and finally an entry in the science fair.  Sixth grade for Juana, Maria, Victoria, and the other students I met at St. Francis Coll is a very different experience than mine was; at the core, however, the similarities outweigh the differences. The day I worked with machetes  began with an opportunity to sit in with classes at St. Francis Coll for half of us …

How to do hospitality well…

August 08, 2012

… That’s what our arrival at St. Francis Coll was all about on our first day. As we entered the facility we were given small handmade placards that said “Guatemala” and had a small doll on them. We sat alongside the walls of the inner courtyard and waited, warily, to see what came next.  Andres informed us that an assembly would occur shortly and that we should sit tight. The bell rang. Chaos began as children poured from classrooms and …

A & B: Arrival & Beginning

August 06, 2012

Customs was the simplest I’ve ever been through: our luggage was safe, we had all our teens, and we walked out into chaos outside the airport. People were standing along the edge of a gate perimeter that was on the street.  We saw a sign “St. Francis of Assisi”! It was Carlos Andres.  He felt familiar and safe—just because I knew he was expecting us. “Please, call me Andres,” he introduced himself.  Andres introduced us to our driver, Juan Carlos, …