Monday, May 30, 2011

La Carpio

Today was the hardest day for me in Costa Rica... We all went to La Carpio which is a "neighborhood" that is located outside of Heredia. We were given a number of warnings the day before because the town is known to be kind of dangerous. We didn’t want to stand out more than we already would. We were told to wear long pants, no jewelry, not to carry purses, and only carry a camera if it could fit in a pocket. Also, to only wear sneakers because the ground is filled with trash and sewage water. It was intimidating hearing all of the warnings and it made me hesitant to go.

On our way into La Carpio I think we passed over ten dump trucks because it is located in between a landfill and the city, so the only traffic they receive is dump trucks back and forth all day long. We arrived in the town and I didn’t get much of a chance to look around before we were rushed into the building that was our destination. I was able to smell the awful smell of trash and gasoline before going in. And got a glance of what seemed to be houses made of tin sheets and heaps of trash on every corner. We went upstairs and walked into the Montessori School of La Carpio. It was a very large room with bare walls, shelves scarce with toys and games, harshly used furniture and what seemed to be over 100 degrees.

Then we turned the corner and saw all of the children with their smiling faces. They brightened up the room and the mood immediately for me. They were just starting their day at the Montessori School so the leader asked everyone to take their seats at circle time. There were two other women that were helping out with the children. We all sat down in the circle and they greeted us in English. I could tell that some children were kind of giddy and antsy that we were there and other children didn’t even notice a difference. They sang a lot of songs that we all know, like The Itsy Bitsy Spider. They did it Spanish first and asked us to help them do it English. I couldn’t believe that those children were already learning English, especially in a town that I had only heard and seen negative stuff about. The students were actually participating in both languages and seemed eager to continue. It was so great to see how happy these children were in such an unfortunate situation. After circle time they asked us to pair up with one of the students to assist them with their morning work. I got together with a girl named Rebecca who was 4 years old. She was absolutely beautiful and never stopped smiling. We went to the tables and the teacher handed out a worksheet of garden animals. The assignment for the students was to fill in the dotted lines and then color the pictures. Rebecca had a little bit of a hard time, but when I encouraged her to continue she completed her worksheet. It was a good feeling to know that my encouragement helped her to finish. After she was finished she took my hand and brought me over to a table and we did a few puzzles. She didn’t want much help from me which came as a shock. But then I thought harder about it and realized that they probably don’t get much assistance other than from the one teacher who has to share her help with the rest of the children. So it was a different experience for them to have someone offering to help. Later Debbie gave us Popsicle sticks to build with and Rebecca and a few other children were ecstatic when they saw me un-wrap them. To me they were just simple sticks that were not anything special. But to them it was something new that they had probably never seen before. When I compared that to the US it really hit me how much those children didn’t have. They didn’t put the sticks down for over 40 minutes. I don’t think a child back in the US would stay occupied more than 4 minutes. I felt happy that we were able to provide them with some new materials, but at the same time it was hard for me to see how little they have.


-This was the wall of games and activities for the children


-Me and Rebecca, my buddy for the day

Even though they have scarce materials, I was very happy to see that the teacher at the Montessori school didn’t lower her expectations because they have a rough lifestyle. When I become a teacher I need to remember that just because children might have a rough home life, I should have the same expectations of them. If I don’t treat them equally among the other students then they will feel different and then they will retract and stop trying. It is my job to make them feel comfortable and encourage them to learn.

After a while the children started warming up to us and I could feel a sense that they were so happy to have us there. It was an amazing feeling to know that just us playing with them for a couple hours was something they may remember for the rest of their lives. Even if they don’t remember this day, I know that I will absolutely never forget this experience, ever. I personally had never seen or been in a situation anything remotely close to what I experienced today. I think that my interaction with those children is going to make me a much better teacher. I was able to teach with limited materials and teach to students who know nothing more than their rough lifestyle. Before this experience I was always one to worry about the little things; how clean things are, if they are in the right spot, how organized everything has to be, etc. You could say I am a perfectionist…But seeing how happy these children were with what little they had made me realize that it is ok if things aren’t perfect or clean. I know that in the future I am going to be able to think back to this experience and remember not to sweat the small stuff because it is the bigger picture that matters; the children and their experience in my classroom. They aren’t going to notice the little things; they are going to be happy with whatever I provide. They aren’t going to remember how clean my classroom is; they’ll remember how I taught them and if I made a lasting impression.

Gayle, the founder of the school took time out of her day to explain her methods and the history of La Carpio. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to listen to. The suffering of the women that were from Nicaragua now living in La Carpio was so terrible. On the other hand it was great to hear that Gayle had helped them out so much by giving the women jobs and a place for the women’s organization to sell their products. Gayle’s outlook on life was amazing and I strive to be so humble. She moved her family from US down here and has lived here for over 20 years in a town outside of La Carpio because she didn’t like how materialistic people back in the states were. People always complain or give teachers a hard time because of how little money they make, but to see what Gayle has accomplished and how happy she is made me comfortable in knowing that I don’t need money to feel happy, rather the experience I provide for others as an educator.





-Dreams

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