Katherine and I are definitely back in the swing of things here in Ziquitaro. Life is back to normal after all the festivities, and we are enjoying the quiet serenity of our small town. This week, I would like to share some varied recent experiences of mine. And I hope by this point in our blog posts that all of our readers have grown to appreciate that it is not just Katherine and I who are giving a voluntary social service, but that we are learning just as much as we are teaching, and that we are daily inspired by the people in our town and the experiences we have. In short, we are both teachers and students here in Ziquitaro, and I embrace the two roles wholeheartedly.
The very fist assignment I gave this semester was a short theme entitled, “What will I do in 5 years?” My intention was to start some sort of thought process on the future. Most of my students will be ending their education as of May (9th grade level). This is due to the fact that there is no high school in Ziquitaro, and any students wishing to attend the high school in Penjamillo, the next town over, incur fees for uniforms, books, bus fare, and daily lunch at the minimum. Many families in Ziquitaro simply cannot cover the cost of continuing their child’s education. Some of my “shining stars” as I call them, will simply begin to work in the fields, leave for the US, or help their families with household duties come summer. Even in the face of this impending situation, I received a wide variety of imaginative answers from “In five years I will build a time machine” or “In five years I will have a car of the current year” to “In five years I will find the woman of my dreams.” However, my breath was taken away by the following response:
My name is Berenice and I will be a very important doctor and I will travel throughout the whole world, and I am going to write a book about my life. I will go to Japan to see their inventions. I will live in Spain, or India. I will help my family to move forward. I will go to a place to climb mountains. And if I can, I will continue studying in order to achieve all of my dreams.
Berenice is one of my best students by far. Most likely, she will not continue her education after May. She is a casualty of a broken system of education, and a town that continues to be trapped in a cycle of poverty. After I read Berenice’s theme, I gave her a journal. I told her that even if she can’t continue her education, she should never stop dreaming. The world is a place full of opportunities and hope, and the one thing that is truly ours is our dreams. I hope she writes all her dreams in the journal I gave her, because dreams are the one thing that no one can take away from us.
Staring a new semester it became abundantly clear to Katherine and me that if we were to move forward and stifle our growing disciplinary issues, we needed the support of parents. To this end, I set up parents meetings as soon as possible. I invited all of the parents of my students in the Secundaria and the Primaria to attend our class, so that they could see what we are learning, my teaching style, and how their children behave in class. I also needed to inform them that Katherine and I have also set up our attendance system so that it directly affects the Progresa program, which at its most basic understanding means children get paid to go to school. I am thrilled to say that all of the meetings went extremely well. I was especially pleased with how the meetings at the Primary school went. I had noticed that many of the girls in my sixth grade classes were dating young men in my ninth grade classes. This was very worrying for me. I was very conflicted in approaching the parents about this issue, as I realize it is a very culturally charged situation. However, feeling that it was in the best interest of my students and their safety, I told the parents exactly what was happening. Much to my relief, the mothers were adamant that if anything like this were to happen in the future, that I would come to them immediately. In both schools, the parents more or less demanded that if their child is a disciplinary issue that I come to them directly to resolve the problem. I am so grateful and pleasantly surprised that I have the support of the parents who I had previously seen as quiet people who sometimes uttered a small “hello” on the street, transformed into forces to be reckoned with.
To close this blog, I would like to give a follow up on the situation of my friend Alejo. In the time that I spent in California for the Christmas holidays, I met with an attorney regarding Alejo’s situation. After reviewing all the information, we concluded that because Alejo has already exited the United States, there are no avenues for us to help him at this point. Therefore, his options are A) somehow come up with enough money to pay for his entire education in the United States are apply for a student visa, B) wait until his younger sister who is a US citizen is 18 (she is currently 8) and apply for his citizenship through her, C) cross back to the US illegally, leave his family, and try to seek legal help, or D) stay in Ziquitaro. Obviously none of these options are ideal. The idea of presenting this information to Alejo was overwhelming. However, when the time came, and with tears in my eyes I told him the cold, hard truth, he put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eyes and said, “The important thing is that you tried, and that means the most to me.” I was amazed by the maturity and composure that resounded from this 16-year-old young man, who had everything in life taken away from him.
Alejo is still here in Ziquitaro, however, he is no longer in school. He has been informed that he may not attend the high school in Penjamillo until they receive transcripts from his old school in the United States. Though it may seem like a small feat, for a person who does not have a phone or regular access to the Internet, the request can take months. The last time I saw him, Alejo’s skin was tanned and his hands we blistered from working out in the fields.
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