My Workplace

Now that the Fiestas Patrias are over and therefore so is marching band practice, I have one less thing to contend with in order to instill the minds of tomorrow with the knowledge of English. However, the instituto still does not exactly provide an excellent learning environment. Classrooms are set up around a central courtyard and don't have windows, so noise from other classes or kids out in the courtyard can be a lot sometimes (add to that marching band practice and you understand why I might be a little happy the holiday has passed).

Here´s the school´s courtyard:


What's that you say? Why are the students so noisy, aren't they in class? Funny you should ask. My first couple weeks I was amazed by the number of students just wandering around the schoolyard and no one seemed to be doing anything about the fact that they weren't in class. So I finally asked one of my counterparts and he told me that either their teachers didn't show up so they have a “free hour” or maybe they just aren't in their classes. And even if they're in class, sometimes it seems like the kids do about 5 minutes of learning and then literally seem to just scream for the next 45 minutes. I guess it's not quite that bad, but with 40+ kids in a classroom you can see how it can get real loud real fast!

The classrooms themselves, despite being without windows can get really hot, especially in the afternoon when the sun has been beating on the zinc roof for several hours and the breeze dies down. I don't even want to think about what teaching will be like come March and April, the hottest months of the year here- I'm already sweating up a storm during some of my classes. Ick. Even more ick are the two classrooms closest to the bathrooms, which are ironically called “hygienic services” but judging by the stench they are nowhere near being hygienic. Now throw in the fact that the walls are covered in graffiti, half the desks are broken, and most all of the lights are nonfunctional and that about paints an accurate picture of my current workplace.

Classroom:


Seeing conditions like that, I wasn't surprised that the teachers receive almost no resources to speak of – they buy their own white board markers, no paper or markers for making visual aids, and most definitely no copy machine – and the students don't even have copies of the decades old textbook. However, we do have a computer lab with donated computers from the local cement plant, and that has lights and air conditioning. And the teacher's lounge has lights and air conditioning. I still haven't figured out where the resources for that come from though.

I have a huge amount of respect for the teachers and students here, it is not easy to teach in such an environment let alone to learn in one. More than complain, my intention with this post is to draw attention to the challenges faced in education in Nicaragua. Only with the election of Daniel Ortega did school become free for all to attend, that's a big step and it was only 2 years ago. The importance of education is so immense and I really am glad to be able to work in the schools, last little tidbit I'll throw at you: 50% of Nicaragua's population is 18 years of age or younger, 60% is 24 or younger. That's how important this young generation is, if they can start out right then this country can grow in a whole new direction. And if not....