Having the opportunity to engage in conversation with my friend Becca regarding her experience teaching Kindergarten and preschool in Huehue, Guatemala has been extremely rewarding. The conversations she's encountering at the school and orphanage in Huehue are so different, and yet remarkably similar, to those we have been having in this class. Ultimately, conversations in Huehue come down how to best use resources to create consistent, quality teaching and relationships for the children attending the school and living at the orphanage. Resources, obviously, look very different in Huehue, but the relationships hold the same importance in both settings. As a school run by an international nonprofit organization, questions of politics and government policies bear little impact on Becca's school. Questions of equity, however, bear a lot of weight on the minds of the teachers and administrators of the school. Limited resources mean limited enrollment, but of course there is always a hope that they could be reaching more children and providing a wider range of care.
Becca has found a strong network of support among the current and former teachers with More than Compassion. Learning together the best ways to teach in early childhood has been a challenge and an exciting adventure. The team is constantly striving to provide better education for the children, but doesn't always have access to opportunities for professional development.
Becca isn't sure that her professional goals will always keep her in the realm of early childhood development, but that she will remain in the world of missions and international aid. At least for now, she and her husband plan to stay in Huehue to teach for another year, then reevaluate their opportunities. She hopes to see the continued growth of the school in Huehue and continued development of relationships in the community and among the parents of her students. I look forward to seeing her continue to grow in this role and hope that she can see what a beautiful impact she is having on these young children.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading about your conversations with Becca and I am amazed at the work she is doing at her school. It opened my eyes to what we take for granted here and how much we should expand our support.
Good luck in your future courses.
Shanon
What a wonderful opportunity for someone to have. I think that what your friend Becca is doing will probably be the most enlightening event of her life. That would be such a wonderful opportunity for so many people. Maybe our world policy makers should be required to do the same type of thing. How different would early childhood education programs be if the policy makers were required to go educate children from all around the world?... with the same resources and situations that educators are facing now?
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