Volunteer Rachel Wickland's Blog Entry: Week 7

 Winter has arrived in Ziquitaro. Things are slowing down quite a bit with the weather being cold and the prospect of holidays coming.  It is also a very exciting time here because with November and December comes the return of many men working in the United States. It is undoubtedly the most exciting time of the year as most families wait until winter to have weddings, baptisms, and quinceaneras. 

Things are really looking up at the Telesecundaria.  Contrary to the beginning of the year with Rachel and Michel, there have been little to no kids being kicked out of school, and it is very apparent that the teachers I work with are becoming more involved with their students.  Katherine and I have fostered a respectful, yet friendly relationship with the teachers at the Tele.  One of my favorite things that we do is play some sort of sport during recess.  Currently, we are in a basketball tournament—my favorite! The finals are coming up this week and it will be the teachers versus the Tercero B boys. (Ninth grade) I am playing with the teachers and it has been a ton of fun.  The only drawback to playing basketball at recess is oftentimes the games go over into my class time.  This means that some days we only have a half hour of class when I have scheduled for an hour.  This is clearly a detriment to my courses and something that I am trying to work out with the director at the Tele. 

Unfortunately, the arbitrary closing of schools continues.  It has been very disappointing to arrive at school only to find the gate locked, or the teachers absent.  After some investigation Katherine and I have found out that these closings have for the most part been due to teacher’s union meetings.  The teacher’s union in Mexico is a very strong political force, and attendance at the meetings is mandatory.  It is extremely frustrating, however, that we are rarely advised of the school closures, and that salary negotiations come at the cost of a child’s education.  It has been very uplifting to see that all my Telesecundaria students attend class without fail, even if their teachers are absent. 

I am becoming discouraged with my adolescents’ class as we have seen a dramatic decrease in numbers. When we began I had as many as 25 students at a time.  This week, I have been lucky to have three in my class. Hopefully I can get to the root of the problem and raise our numbers again.

 This coming week is Halloween, and Katherine and I have planned some fun cultural activities that you can look for in the next blog!

I have attached a picture below of my Telesecundaria 3o A class doing a fashion show project from last week. We have been working on learning clothing items and this was our grand finale.  So much fun!!