The Next Stage of the Project

The volunteers are now back from their semester long stay in Ziquítaro, spending the holidays with their families and friends. Michel and I - as well as town members in Ziquítaro - are ecstatic that both Rachel and Katherine will be returning to the town to teach another semester of English on January 7th. While there have been some rough spots in the organization and implementation of the classes – such as the problem the lax school system presents for a continuous English course – the classes have been a success. They will both be writing an entry shortly in order to convey their concluding thoughts about this first semester and present some of their initial ideas and expectations about the new stage of the classes for spring 2009.

Michel and I are currently working with attorneys from San Francisco law firm Baker & McKenzie under their pro-bono program in order to acquire 501(c) 3 status. This semester we will also be starting a fundraising effort in order to raise the much needed funds that will make the continuation and growth of the program a reality. In the meantime Katherine and Rachel have expressed the immediate need for certain items which could assist their classes. If you would like to donate any of the following items or provide a general donation to the project please contact me at rachelmiers@gmail.com.

Happy holidays!

Rachel Miers

Donation Items:
-Old magazines (for both genders)
-Computer paper
-Computer speakers
-Printer/ Scanner
-English books
-English to Spanish dictionaries
-Board games
-Legal services
-Crayons, Colored Pencils, Markers
-Candy
-Classroom labels
-Blank writable CD’s

-American football

Why We Are Teachers

by Katherine Ferry

The appalling condition of the junior high school defined the past two weeks for me. Two teachers vanished altogether from the Telesecundaria, a school already characterized by an exasperating lack of professionalism and a lamentable quality of instruction. As always happens when teachers are absent, the students came to school as usual and were left to sit in their classrooms alone or wander the grounds. One group, in the third year, was eventually sent home for causing trouble. A new teacher arrived for the first group a few days later, and finally the director took over the third-year class. This instability was compounded by even more frequent absences by the teachers who do still work at the Telesecundaria and talk of more school closures due to union strikes. Finally, at the end of the week, another incident caused me to finally address the laziness and disorganization that complicates my job each day.

Thursday at lunchtime Rachel was approached by the teacher of one of her classes to see if she could “borrow” the students to practice a dance for one of the festivals, and that she would give them back when they were done. This notification came minutes before the lunch break was over, and Rachel was giving a test that day. A similar inconsiderate scene has happened to me many times, when teachers enter my class without knocking to “borrow” the majority of my class. I’d had enough this time, and I went to say something. I simply asked her if it wouldn’t be possible if they could tell us more than five minutes in advance when our classes would be essentially cancelled for the day. She was overflowing with excuses about how it was in fact impossible to provide such a courtesy but that on Monday we would discuss it with all the teachers.

Much to my surprise, today the maestra actually called a meeting with the teachers and director to discuss my request. Not surprisingly, the meeting was dreadfully disappointing. The director and teachers reiterated what we had heard from many other sources: that the teachers are at the mercy of their union and that all activities expected at a school (teachers showing up for their classes, a reliable school calendar) lie below union activities on a list of priorities. One teacher explained that sometimes they will get a call at noon saying there is a meeting at 1:30, meaning classes must end early. This is why they sometimes have to interrupt English class, because the teachers have to leave school early and if there is a dance coming up it must be practiced before the teachers leave. (Clearly, a dance routine is far more useful to these children than English.) The teachers went on to further hide behind their union, and to say that we just didn’t understand their culture and system, that ours was much more “formal”. They said the union decides if there will be a soccer game on Wednesday or a strike on Friday, and they never know until the day of.

I asked if there was any way they could possibly tell me when classes would end before Christmas, to know if I had to change my final exam. Naturally the answer was, “well, no, we never know exactly when we’ll come to work, but if we don’t we’ll have someone leave the gate open for you.” All was all I could do to bite my tongue and not say, “Don’t you feel any sense of responsibility to these children? Can’t you do any better than this?” At the end of our chat, the director turned to me and said sarcastically, “Will there be anything else, Maestra Kati?” I said no, smiled sweetly, and thought to myself, when there is you’ll be the first to know.

I am sometimes surprised by the strong emotional reactions I’ve had to the difficulties at the Telesecundaria. The school’s environment is as heartbreaking as it is frustrating. I often feel angry or powerless. After my initial conversation with the maestra I took a bus ride to another city and had a lot of time to sit and think. I realized that oftentimes my anger about my work is misplaced. My students’ performance is mostly a result of where and with whom they have to study, and I must realize this before losing patience with them. No one taught them how to behave in class, how to prepare for a test, or how much their lives could be enriched by an education. I promised myself to consider this reality and to speak out against the disrespectful actions of my fellow teachers who prevent me from doing my job. Kids deserve teachers who believe they can make something of themselves, and their English teachers may be the only ones who will. There will be no improvement at the Telesecundaria unless people refuse to accept its shameful circumstances. I will continue to refuse.

Fortunately teaching provides a full range of emotional experiences. Along with the anger is a unique joy I never anticipated. Earlier in the week one of my elementary school students handed me a piece of folded notebook paper, telling me it was a letter and I was to read it later. As I read it on my walk home, I remembered why my job is so important. My student wrote my that I had taught her lots of English and that she always thought of me when she studied for English class, that I am lots of fun and that she appreciated me for coming from so far away to be her teacher. She had decorated the page with drawings and designs. I was so touched that she took the time to write me this letter. It felt particularly special because this girl is not the same as any student. After my first class with her group, her teacher told me that she suffers from a disorder that makes school very difficult for her. Due to Ziquítaro’s size and weakness of its educational system, there are no special services available to her, and her teacher told me that we “just have to take care of her.” When I read her letter, I thought, how wonderful that someone whose life is so tough would try so hard in my class and be the one to go out of her way to thank me. This is the stuff that reminds us why we are teachers.

Rachel Wickland's Thanksgiving Blog Post

I can say that without a doubt, this Thanksgiving holiday has been the most out of the ordinary of my life. Instead of waking up late, starting meal preparations with my Mom, watching football with Dad, sleeping off my full belly, and then going back for more food, Katherine and I worked. You see, contrary to the belief of some family members (which will remain nameless), Mexico does not celebrate Thanksgiving, or have an equivalent. Katherine and I questioned this lack of celebration however, as all of the teachers at the Secundaria decided to take vacation Wednesday and Thursday without warning. Who knows, maybe they too are enraptured with visions of turkey, stuffing, pilgrims, and Native Americans? All sarcasm aside, Katherine and I arrived at the Secundaria at the time of our scheduled classes. Two students showed up to my first class, and two showed up to my second class. Katherine had better luck with her classes as most of her kids came to class, however unprepared, unequipped with notebooks or pencils.

After our sparsely attended classes, Katherine and I hopped on the bus and took a little trip to the Bodega Arruera (an American-style supermarket owned and stocked by Wal-Mart—go global capitalism!). Preparations for our Mexican Thanksgiving dinner had begun. Soon after entering the grocery store, we were faced with the biggest decision of our day: frozen solid turkey, pre-packaged and pre-cooked turkey, or a chicken? After much debate, in the end Katherine and I decided that we could not defrost the turkey a la ice block, and that we did not trust a pre-packaged turkey undoubtedly filled with artificial preservatives. The chicken came out on top.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner when we got back to Ziquitaro. Our guests were the Priest and the Doctor here in town. Katherine and I created a wonderful spread of deviled eggs, green salad, biscuits, roast chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and wine. It was a meal fit for a king…or rather two English teachers, a priest, and a doctor. At the end of the meal, our bellies were satisfied, as well as our nostalgia for family and friends on this truly American holiday.

To really close out this blog, I would like to post something I do every year, however, with a new perspective from here in Ziquitaro.

Reasons I Am Thankful:

1. I am thankful for a supportive and inspirational family. Not only do I have one family in the United States that fills my life with love and joy, Katherine and I have an amazing family here in Ziquitaro with the Mejias. They are fantastic people who have made our stay here incredibly comfortable, and taken us in as part of their own family.

2. I am thankful to be an American citizen. It is incredible the privilege and status one is granted by simply being born in the United States. I will never have to worry about applying for a visa to visit family, I will never have to immigrate for the necessity of finding employment, and I will never have to experience the stinging racism that goes along with being labeled a Mexican.

3. I am thankful for my education. Fortunately, I have received one of the most complete and quality forms of education in the world. However, I am daily faced with the reality that next year, most of my students will be ending the educational careers with nothing more than a Junior High School education. But please, do not make the mistake of assuming that this level of education would be equivalent to what we maintain in the United States. No, administrators who do not recognize the huge amount of responsibility they hold for giving these students a proper education have taught this level of education, and frankly, they could care less.

4. I am thankful that Katherine and I can be here in Ziquitaro teaching English. No matter what, all issues of immigration aside, it is pertinent for a person in this day and age to speak English. No matter if our students stay in Mexico, or decide to go abroad, because they have an understanding of the English language, they hold a key that will unlock many more opportunities for them that will perhaps help break the cycle of Ziquitaro as an uneducated town, with uneducated people.

5. I am thankful for my family and friends in the United States. Thank you all for supporting me and loving me. You know who you are. Without you, none of this would be possible. I think of you every day and I send all of my love.