I stand, swaying in the back of a pick-up, as we swerve
around hairpin mountain turns. It’s
chilly this early in the mornings, and the wind blows my hair in my face. The view of the volcanoes and the lake on
this road is spectacular. My fellow
passengers, mostly indigenous Mayan wearing their traditional clothing, seem
un-phased by the view. I wonder how long
until it’s just common place to me as well, and appreciating the beauty takes
conscious effort. I’ve done this trip several times now, headed to meetings and
school observations, and workshops, so now I recognize where I need to get
off. I knock on the window and the
driver pulls to a halt. Climbing off the
back, I reach through his window and pay him 3 quetzales (about 45 cents) and
then cross the road to the building where our meeting is held.
The room is crowded with 30 teachers, all sitting on small
student chairs, hunched over low tables.
There’s a buzz in the air, as they all work intently on their news
articles. Two of our facilitators are
leading a workshop on teaching writing in the elementary classroom, and now
teachers are practicing a technique they’ll be encouraged to use in the classroom. As they finish their articles, they step to
the front of the room. Someone grabs a
box that was sitting on a table and uses it as a fake video camera. “Lights,
camera, action” we all shout and the first reporter steps up. “And now, from
Naranjo school, a recent classroom soccer championship was held. . . this is
María reporting live for Gossip News.”
Small children giggle as they look at me. They’re probably not too used to seeing
foreigners this far off the beaten track.
It took me two hours to get here this morning, first a bus, then a
mini-van, then a pick-up, all forms of public transportation here in
Guatemala. Their teacher launches into
the lesson she’s prepared based on one of our workshops she’s attended. After reading aloud to the students, they are
broken into small groups to create their own version of the story. “Take a picture of ours!” one group begs me,
as they carefully add in illustrations to go with their story. The facilitator who’s in charge of follow ups
with the school takes notes to go over with the teacher at the end of
class. After some general observations,
recommendations, and praise for a job well done, we head off to the next
classroom where another teacher is ready for his follow-up.
***************
The staff sit around the table discussing plans for the next
workshop. They’re in disagreement about
which order they should present two of the points on the agenda, and the
opposing sides are giving their pedagogical reasoning. I’m enjoying the opportunity to see them
think aloud and reach consensus. I’m
still sitting back, observing, taking notes, assimilating myself to my new work
culture before I stick in my oar, as it were, but I smile to myself as they
finally decide on the order I would have recommended, if I’d made a
recommendation.
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