Week Two: Medio Ambiente

I didn't mention in my last post that this week of camp would be something new and special. Of course "new" doesn't mean that much because different people run the camp each summer, but this year instead of just having an "environment week" in English class, we were able to partner up with Yohaira, a biology student who lives in La Manzanilla, for lessons with much more depth. We learned early on in the planning that you can only teach kids so much in a non-native language (global warming, ecosystem, and limited resources were out of the question).

Yohaira teaching on the beach.

 Yohaira came to us with a solid, age-appropriate curriculum about natural habitats, waste, decomposition, and other very important environmental issues. We have positioned her lessons during recreo, so once the kids get to English, not only have they been introduced to the concepts, but they are tired out from walking down arroyo or beach in the morning sun. After their jaunts with Yohaira, picking up trash or exploring the ocean as a habitat (aka collecting sandcrabs in dirty cups they find), some of them aren't too keen on concentrating in the classroom, but they are quick to respond when we ask questions about the 3 R's, littering, and what is "good" and "bad" for the environment.

The kids were surprisingly eager to run around and pick up trash on the beach. Best Recreo ever!

 The lessons are reiterated, too, in art class, as they turn their own shoe boxes into seashore dioramas and their old toilet paper rolls into colorful pencil holders. Yohaira also wanted to work with the kids to share their knowledge with their families and the communities. She has provided quotations in Spanish for posters, which the kids decorated today and will hang with her tomorrow in the Jardín during recreo.

In many ways it seems consumption is much lower here because people reuse and repair things like clothing, toys, and appliances much more often. For example, when I first got here, we went to Melaque to repair Nancy's old fan. In the states many would consider the fan "old" and buy a new one. However, packaging waste and littering is a huge problem and hopefully Yohaira's lessons and the signs in the Jardín will get people thinking about it in a new way.

Yohaira's project this week has exemplified the benefits of working with local people and the skills and knowledge they have to teach different types of lessons through the Foundation's programs. This is necessary to keep in mind when planning future programs and evaluating the foundation's success within the community, discussions which have been raised lately as the fall draws nearer. We have observed our classes narrowing drastically in size during the late spring and summer and have many questions: Why don't more people attend our classes, when so many claim that learning English is among their top priorities? Does everyone in the town know about LCEF? Do we need a better way to spread the word, or should we alter the types of programs offered? Will a small fee make people more likely to dedicate themselves to the programs? We ask this question because a local woman charging a small amount for homework tutoring has a better turnout than our free tutoring program (still run by a local woman) does.

In response to all of these questions and our acknowledged need for some changes, Nancy is preparing a survey, which will be distributed in coming months. We all feel that regardless of participant number we must continue offering adult English classes, but we also see the need to discover what else we can do to attract long-term learners. This type of predicament also brings about questions of how we must work around and with cultural differences (when it comes to timing, commitment, advertisement, ect.) when planning. Hopefully further discourse with the community, especially the eventual surveys, will produce some answers that will make our programs more accessible to all.