We began a new school year here in Guatemala on January 14, (School year, not semester. . .We go to school January to October) with a parent meeting to introduce the families to the staff. I was pleased to be included in the introductions this year, but more than a little surprised when Seño Marisol, the Director, asked me to explain to the parents what I was doing. . .I managed to stumble through a description of our “resource room” model in Spanish, and I’m told I did not make too much of a fool of myself.
My role at the school changed this year from being a consultant to a part-time teacher. In previous years, students were grouped by their academic grade level, so, it was possible to have a twelve year old who what just starting school in the same classroom with a five year old. You can imagine the challenges this presented for both the teacher and the student.
This year the administration decided to group the children in a more age-appropriate manner. This, though, presented new challenges to the teachers. Individualization is not part of the teacher training curriculum here, and while our teachers do an excellent job of meeting each individual child’s needs, having multiple grade levels of children in the same room was a new challenge.
I’ve missed having my “own” class, and, as Judy Kerschner (the founder of New Life) and I were discussing this, I suggested the idea of a “resource room.” In this model, the children are in their regular classroom part of the day, but receive more specialized instruction in basic skills in a “pull-out” classroom. After talking with Seño Marisol, we decided to give this a try.
I began the year working with four different groups of students for roughly 45 minutes a day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. One of these groups was our students who are deaf, and this was proving quite challenging for me, though they were teaching me a lot.
Yovany and Wendy
two of our students who are deaf
two of our students who are deaf
About a month an a half ago, Judy and I were visiting, and came up with the idea that, since we now have a number of deaf students, hiring a teacher specifically trained to work with this group would be a good idea. We agreed, but I have to admit I was doubtful of the possibility of finding someone qualified, now that school had started.
God, however had other ideas, and within two days Judy and Marisol were interviewing Gelga (pronounced Helga), who had previously taught at the school for the Deaf in Jocotenango. They had to let her go due to lack of funding, but their loss is our gain, and the deaf children now have their very own class in which they learn not only academic skills but also sign language communication.
The first week they were working with Seño Gelga, they could not wait for recreation time to tell me about what they were doing. (Their little hands were flying so fast signing to me, I didn’t have the heart to tell them I didn’t understand most of what they were “saying”) but this confirmed for me how they needed the special skills Seño Gelga brings to us.
We have some other special staff members I am privileged to work alongside also.
Jennifer Giesemann, a speech pathologist from Tennesee, joined us last June and has become a good friend as well as a trusted colleague. Jennifer’s parents were missionaries to Venezuela, and she is fluent in Spanish. It is so good to have someone here who “speaks the same language” (English and Educationese) with whom to brainstorm and problem solve. Besides that, as you can see from the picture of her with Damaris, Jennifer is just a lot of fun to be around.
I couldn’t do what I do without the help of another volunteer, Brian Taylor, a young man from California who has committed to work at the school for six months. Judy was gracious enough to allow him to work with me, and, with all the coming and going, and different age levels with which I work, he is a great help. He also has a genuine love for the kids that is priceless.
An added perk is that Brian has agreed to stay with the boys at Casa de Esperanza while I am in the US in late April and early May.
Nueva Vida (New Life) has got to be the happiest place in the very poor and spiritually lost village of Santa Maria de Jesús. I am so fortunate to be a part of what they are doing!
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