English Champs

by Katherine Ferry

I tried out a new testing method at the Telesecundaria this week and am thrilled with the results. After last semester’s many unsuccessful attempts to stop an epidemic of cheating in my classes, I decided to renounce written tests altogether and give individual oral exams. The test consisted of 18-30 questions, depending on the class level. Each student entered the class alone for 5 to 10 minutes, and I asked him or her questions in English. I graded each student on his or her understanding of the question, the accuracy of the response and pronunciation. Their performance far surpassed my expectations.

The slow academic progress at the Telesecundaria has often caused me to doubt my competence as a teacher, even when I acknowledge the countless obstacles beyond my control. But now I feel quite proud, as the success of a considerable number of students on the spoken exam is indisputable proof of their great progress! I was especially pleased with my first-year students, who hadn’t studied English before my class. There they were, after just a few short months of a foreign language class lacking even a textbook, having a conversation with me in English about themselves, the animals of Ziquítaro, school and personal objects, who the objects belonged to and where they were located!

I had been debating the right way to give awards to the students for outstanding performance, as there are a handful of them who always get the best grades and I thought that by giving out the traditional first, second and third place I might not acknowledge the students who made great improvements but didn’t get the very best grades. Instead I decided to grant all students who scored 80% and above with “English Champ Awards,” an idea borrowed from my third-grade teacher Mrs. Shupe, who named top test scorers “Math Champs.” Each student who earned this honor (more than a third, in my first-year class) received a certificate and candy. The “English Champ” I am most proud of is a girl in the first year who barely passed last semester, but has worked conscientiously since we started again and earned one of the best grades on the oral exam.

I have noticed that the students are more confident since I have placed more emphasis on speaking abilities. Now that their English capability is far more than just a memorized list of basic words, they are much more eager to talk and less concerned with making mistakes. Their eagerness means that they get excited to pay attention to the lesson and have fewer problems with discipline. And, I often catch them saying English phrases to each other during recess, which (hopelessly cliche as it may sound) is music to a teacher's ears.

Rachel Wickland's Blog Post

This is a very difficult blog for me to write.  It deals with many issues in the personal lives of my students that are extremely culturally sensitive. I hope all of the readers will give the same precaution in drawing their own conclusions from this entry.

In my last blog, I mentioned how I had spoken to the mothers of my students, advising them that some of their daughters in the 6^th grade were maintaining relationships with young men in the 8^th grade, and how this troubled me because of the gap in their ages, and undoubtedly their mentalities. Bearing this situation fresh in our minds, Katherine and I started noticing our male students from the Secundaria coming into the Primaria (elementary school) and loitering, presumably waiting for their girlfriends.  In light of the worry that the mothers had expressed in the teachers’ meetings, Katherine and I thought it prudent to put a stop to permitting the young men onto school grounds unless they had a legitimate reason to be there.  Little by little, the young men have dwindled off.  However, Katherine and I then began to notice young men of 17 to 20 years old waiting outside the Secundaria on the steps of an abandoned house, and leaning on the outside of the Primaria gate. This is very troublesome for me, as one of my students recently dropped out because she got married to a young man who I assume, used to wait for her in front of the very same abandoned house. 

The other day, I simply could not stay silent, refusing to get involved in my students’ personal lives, when nearly all of my afternoon 6^th graders were at the Primaria’s fence, flirting with the 17 year old young men standing outside. Katherine approached the young men and asked them who they were waiting for.  “Our sisters,” they responded.  A student of mine told Katherine, “No, they are waiting for their girlfriends.”  After a few more questions, Katherine scared them off.  As a teacher it is my responsibility to ensure the education of my students, and their security when they are on school grounds.  I have been very troubled by my students’ relationships interfering with their education.  I realize in ranchito such as Ziquitaro one of the highest aspirations of a woman’s life is to get married.  Katherine and I are constantly asked if we are married, and whenever we learn how to cook something new, or learn a new skill, are told, “Now you can get married,” followed by a list of available men. However, I do not believe that because a woman gets married, at whatever age, it necessitates her ending her educational career.  Katherine and I intend to have another parents meeting regarding this situation, and we hope that it will serve the worries of the mothers of our community as well as our own.

Another troubling issue we have recently encountered is the issue of drugs in the community.  The other night at dinner, we received an urgent call from the parents of one of my students.  Apparently, their son had been suspended from school that day for alleged possession of marijuana.  There was no proof, but nonetheless he was sent home. The rumor spread, marring his and his family’s reputation.  We became involved because the Director of the school had falsely cited Katherine and me as the ones who had pointed out the student as possessing the drug.  I had never even hinted at the fact that the student may have been involved in drugs, and Katherine did not even know who the student was.  We addressed the Director the following day, with the student’s parents, and he had a lengthy run-around, avoiding taking any responsibility for the circumstances, or naming the true informant.  Undoubtedly, drugs are a huge issue in our community, as the majority of the young men who have been deported from the US back to Ziquitaro are drug abusers.  Falsely accusing my students of drug use, however, is not acceptable grounds for suspension.  Katherine and I both stood very firm in the meeting that a person is innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around, and that proof is needed for an accusation rather than an assumption. 

Always one to try and shed some light in the midst of darkness, we have had some wonderful events happening as well.  Last Thursday, a speaker from a University in Mexico City came to speak with all the students and mothers of my 9^th grade class.  I was so thrilled that they were getting exposed to a level of higher education that for many, seems intangible.  Many of my students listened intently, and considered the possibilities of a University education.  Even that spark of an idea can mean the difference in the future of my students.  Also, I am overjoyed to let our readers know, that Alejo will be returning to high school here in Penjamillo on Monday.  After hard work and a trip to Morelia, he has received his transcripts from his school in Sutter County, California. 

To everyone out there reading this, I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  In Mexico it is called El Dia de Amor y Amistad, and I simply cannot express my continued gratitude for the love and friendship of all who support us, near and far. I send my love to all of you, too.

 

 

Gratitude

By Katherine Ferry

I am happy to report that this week that I had the opportunity to discuss the English classes with many of my students’ family members and was pleased (and, honestly, a bit surprised) by their interest.  This week I held group parents’ meetings for each of my public school classes while continuing to hold individual meetings with difficult students and their teachers and families.  In spite of regrettably low attendance by parents, I was still very pleased with the conversations I was able to have with the parents who did show up, and with the parents’ desire to be involved with their children’s education. 

My best meetings were with the parents of my two fifth grade classes at the elementary school.  In the afternoon class, a mother of one of my star students boasted that her daughter was telling her family about her pets in puro ingles (just English).  Another mom, whose daughter is very quiet but a conscientious student, reported that her daughter gives regular English classes to her younger siblings, posting a list of vocabulary words on the wall for them to study.  In the morning class (which is made up of thirty-five students – by far my largest) I was delighted when the classroom nearly filled with mothers, fathers, and adult siblings.  I talked awhile about the structure of the class, demonstrating the book and video (provided by school) that we use in class.  When I finished talking I asked if there were any questions or comments.  A mom in the front row said, “All I have to say, and I think I speak for everyone, is how grateful I am that you’ve come to teach our children English.”  I think prior to my meetings I sometimes felt like I was just part of the scenery to the parents I saw in town, that they walk by me without realizing how important their children are to me and how hard I work for them.  I’m very glad that both Rachel and I were able to hold meetings with our students’ parents because we now have relationships with the families, and it gave many of them a chance to say that they are appreciative of our work and concerned for their children’s education.       

On a personal note, I would like to recognize and thank everyone who made my birthday this week an especially good one.  Most of all thank you Rachel, my “familia adoptada”, and other honored guests (Alejo) for the great parties; thank you to Maestro Marte and the first-year Telesecundaria class for the birthday wishes over the loudspeaker and to all the Telesecundaria teachers for the barbeque party; and thanks to many more who made sure to wish me a happy birthday.  

Update from Rachel Wickland

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 (9^th 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.  

Paso a paso

By Katherine Ferry

This week Ziquítaro became more like its former self as we knew it; as the priest promised us, the after the dance (the culmination of days of celebrating) the carnival rides and vendors vanished from the plaza and many visiting family members left to resume their lives in the United States.  By 9:00 PM the plaza is nearly silent, with only a few people taking the traditional stroll, in stark contrast to the days before when it was clogged with re-united families and the music until 1 AM.

The end of all the excitement meant that Rachel and I have resumed our classes in the schools and the church.  One of our main goals this semester is to encourage more parent involvement and to have more communication with our students’ families.  Rachel held parent meetings on Tuesday wish great success.  I decided to start the semester by holding individual meetings with the parents of a handful of students at the Telesecundaria who were severely disrupting the classes last semester.  To expedite the scheduling of these meetings, I made it clear to the two teachers that these students would not be allowed to enter my class until there had been a conference with the student, teacher, parent, and myself.  Put another way, the teachers – who usually take a break during English class - would now be responsible for supervising these students during the class period.

I am thrilled to report that I was able to hold one parent meeting and it felt very productive.  Unfortunately, it was just one because one of the students I want to meet with is already suspended, and the teacher of the others informed me that he wants his difficult students expelled and refused to pursue any other solution.  This coupled with the fact that the director suddenly announced he would be absent for part of the week (which also resulted in his failure to appear for a meeting we had scheduled with a group of community leaders) and that the school apparently keeps no list of contact information of the students’ parents, makes meetings tough to arrange.  Fortunately I’m not one to give up and will do whatever is necessary to make these meetings happen. 

In the meeting with my second-year student, I spoke with both his father and teacher first.  I talked to the father about his son’s poor academic performance and behavior.  His regular teacher complained of similar difficulties with the boy.  The father was very cooperative and acknowledged that his son did not study much.  After that we invited the student in and expressed our concerns.  I had him write a contract stating how he would behave in English class and some measures to take to improve his grades, including a set time each day for homework.  (His dad agreed to help assure that he did this.)  We all signed the paper and said goodbye on a pleasant note. 

The next day, my student came to class with his homework completed.  He even did it more accurately than most of his classmates!  He was more enthusiastic and didn’t protest when I asked him to practice speaking.  I made sure to go a little overboard on praising him – and I could see appreciated it.  After class his regular teacher came up to me and said he was very proud of the boy’s performance for the day as well.  While it’s a small step, I definitely feel we made progress.

The philosophy of not giving up on a student, which is undoubtedly very optimistic given the educational environment in rural Mexico, is a requirement of being a teacher.  My meeting with my student shows that change can come if new measures are taken.  Despite the excuses and laziness which are currently preventing me from holding more of these meetings, I intend to make them possible and give the students a similar chance at redeeming themselves.  

Blog Entry Week 1: “Welcome Back, Gueras!!”

By Rachel Wickland

Coming back to Ziquitaro was like coming back to an entirely different place.  Everything about our little town, the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the atmosphere transformed a dusty, slow-paced speck on the map to a lively, colorful, exciting town, throbbing with energy.  We found ourselves in the midst of festivals and celebrations, tamales and bunuelos, carnival rides and fireworks, and most of all, a renewed energy and vigor that we had otherwise not experienced. The whole of Ziquitaro was engulfed in celebration when we arrived on the 8^th of January, two days after the Dia de los Reyes Magos, and leading up to the town’s biggest celebration on January 12^th.  (They celebrate a month later on January 12^th instead of the more traditional December 12^th for the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe)

            Not an hour after putting our overweight suitcases in our rooms, we headed off to mass, the most heavily attended mass I had been to until that point.  It was great to see so many familiar faces.  I told Katherine I had made out a list of all of my favorite people that I couldn’t wait to see, and I was thrilled to have seen them all the very first night we arrived.  I saw Mago, the mother of one of my students, who makes the best enchiladas in Ziquitaro, and our number one cheerleader in the constant uphill battle we face with the teachers at the Junior High.  I saw Pina, our Mexican Mom, who constantly fills the air with her infectious laughter and works tirelessly caring for those around her.  I saw one of Katherine’s students, Juan de Dios as we call him, who never ceases to crack me up with his exclamations in English, my favorite being, “Hey you lady! Let’s go to the house!” I saw the Priest, our number one man to go to if we ever need advice or just want to have some pancakes and watch novellas together.  And I saw Alejo, the young man that I have been striving to assist with continuing his education in the United States, who was overwhelmed with emotion as I showed him a church bulletin from my church in California where we have his name printed on our prayer list.  It warmed my heart to receive so many big hugs, and smiles from all our loved ones here in Ziquitaro.  It was a great joy to feel so welcome to our home in Ziqui, especially after only spending a short time with my family back in California, and still feeling the pang of sadness in having to leave them so soon.

            In the next couple of days we continued to see the town transformed into a place I hardly recognized.  As bands played all day long – constantly interrupted by the crack of fireworks - I began to notice another change: everywhere we went we started to hear little snippets of English being spoken.  One of the reasons for the great surge in population was that many families had come back to visit their hometown from the United States.  What a fantastic example of how closely the people of Ziquitaro are tied to life in the United States, and how we are constantly diminishing the distance between our two countries as our cultures, people, politics, and economies intertwine.  But I digress. The 12^th and 13^th of January were nearly upon us, the two most important days of our celebrations in Ziqui.  On the 12^th, our little, seemingly insignificant town was to be graced by the presence of the Bishop from Zamora, and on the 13^th we awaited the excitement of the Jarripeo (rodeo) and the much anticipated concert to be put on by Tierra Cali, a very famous Mexican Banda group.

            Katherine and I felt extremely honored when the Priest requested if we could please set the table that would be used for a luncheon with the Bishop and several other local Fathers.  However small the task, we were very happy to be involved in such a momentous occasion.  We also got to help the priest plan the menu for the luncheon, and I wrote out a recipe he wanted for Chicken Cordon Bleu, which happens to be one of my specialties.  On the day of the 12^th, Katherine and I were aware of the sense of heightened importance to the day.  After changing our outfits for mass from the usual jeans and a nice shirt to skirts and sweaters, we were awed when even after arriving ten minutes early, there was still no sitting room in the sanctuary.  We stood at the back of the church, craning our necks to see the distant altar.  Our most unexpected surprise was in the midst of mass, when Teresa, a woman who cooks for the Priest and has become a friend of ours, motioned to us to come over to where offerings and the communion chalice and host were displayed.  A little uncertain, Katherine and I timidly walked over, and Teresa instructed us to take up the communion articles and lead the procession down the center aisle of the church, to bring the offerings to the Bishop, seated on the altar.  I cannot even explain the surprise, nervousness, and excitement that was racing through my mind.  In my head I was screaming, “But I’m not even Catholic!!” We had no idea what we were supposed to do, I with the chalice and Katherine with the host.  As we ascended the altar, the Priest must have noted our uncertainty as he smoothly walked up to us and instructed us to give the items to the Bishop to bless, and then place them on the altar.  Once again, the Priest was there just when we needed him the most.  I was so honored to be involved in such an amazing event, and even more honored to have the blessing of the Bishop.  The luncheon went seamlessly and I was so proud that my table setting looked so beautiful with my napkins folded nicely (Thanks, Girl Scouts!), and the Chicken Cordon Bleu cooked perfectly. 

            The following day, Katherine and I prepped for the Jarripeo (like a rodeo in the US) and looked very authentic with our cowboy boots and braids.  To the best of my knowledge, all but one of the bull riders left the arena unscathed.  The concert by Tierra Cali later in the evening was a real treat.  Katherine ad I didn’t go in because the tickets were so expensive, but from what we could see peeking over the fence with Mago, it was a full-fledged party.  There were pyrotechnics, lights, big screens showing the artists up close, and a GIANT stage.  What struck me the most, however, was the fact that the emcee would ask questions like, “How many of you pretty girls have boyfriends in the US?” and announce songs saying, “This is for all the guys who are working in the United States!” Again, I was incredibly aware of how intimately our two countries are intertwined. Even yesterday, Katherine and I attended a mass and luncheon to send off the immigrants who had come back to visit their hometown, and bless their journey back to the US.  These, and so many more scenes that I cannot recount for the sake of brevity were a fantastic start to our upcoming semester.

            Our time here so far, however, has not been without incident.  In an endeavor to get the ball rolling on our classes, Katherine and I walked over to the Secundaria the day after we arrived to meet with the teachers and let them know that we were prepared to begin English classes.  Much to our chagrin, the teachers had already left for the day, even though we arrived fifteen minutes until two o’clock, the time that school is supposed to be over. Because it was a Friday, this meant that we would not be able to meet with them until the following Monday.  Thankfully, the Primaria was still open, so our purpose was not completely lost.  Our sense of another semester of impending hardship with the Secundaria increased when we were later informed that classes would not resume until the 19^th of January.  This news came on the heels of our last meeting with the teachers, as they stated with conviction that the classes would resume on schedule on the 7^th of January, notwithstanding the commotion of the festivals.  Needless to say, Katherine and I were infuriated that the teachers saw fit to take an entire extra week of vacation for a festival in a town where they do not live, much less participate.  Not to mention that Katherine and I could have spent another week at home enjoying the company of our families if we had not planned to begin classes around the word of the teachers at the Secundaria.  In a way, it was the characteristic “welcome back” from the teachers and administration of the Secundaria. 

            Never one to let a little bump in the road throw me off course, I am still determined as ever, and enthusiastic as ever to begin classes.  We have had the greatest experience being back in Ziquitaro so far, and I hope to maintain the sense of energy and exuberance that we have received in our first week here.  And whether it be the fantastic welcome we have had from the community, aglow with the light of a new year, or the disappointing and character-revealing welcome we received in the absence of the teachers at the Secundaria, the message rings clear: Welcome Back Gueras!

            

The New Semester Begins

Today both Rachel Wickland and Katherine Ferry are returning to Mexico in order to commence another semester of English classes. We have made a few slight changes to both the class schedule and the administration in order to assure a smooth semester of classes. Michel and I, the volunteers and the community members in Ziquítaro are all ecstatic about the next stage of the project. Keep posted for more blog entries from the volunteers as well as updates from Michel and me regarding the 501 (c) 3 status.