Teaching at Calle Viquez Primary School

     Today we visited the Calle Hernandez School where Dina works.  She is a very industrious teacher who had previously spoken to us all at CPI (our language school).  Dina mentioned that it is the "love of language" which drives her students to learn English and I found this to be very true with our group as well as her children.  She went on to say that one her main goals was to improve education because even after 11 years of English, she felt the "quality" of language could still be improved.  "English is conceived as a linguistic and cultural tool for communication which compliments education as a whole."  Dina feels that learning another language provides the opportunity to gain a broader sensitivity to other cultures and continually stressed that as teachers we should: "teach the child to love himself."

The Fabulous Sock Puppet !

     In Costa Rica, all public school teachers must teach English.  Preschool children (what we know as kindergarten) receive 40 minutes per day of English learning.  The expected result by high school graduation is that all students will be bilingual.  Dina and her supervisor; Andres described the 4 Main Blocks of Preschool to our group:  -1. Who am I?  -2.  I communicate with others in different ways  -3. I discover and enjoy my surroundings and -4. My relationship with people.  They were both so very passionate about the public education system and went on to tell us that; "Attitude is EVERYTHING in life!  Because even a Harvard graduate can be a poor teacher."
     The challenges these teachers face can be enormous at times. According to Dina; inadequate facilities, lack of classroom space, lack of positive attitude, and limitations of the teacher's own English-speaking ability all factor in how well students succeed in the Costa Rica public schools.  But you won't find anyone working harder than her for her students!
     Everyone in our group was matched with a partner and we all taught a lesson on body parts in English.  My partner (Matt) and I worked with Esteban (Steven) and we were able to develop a good rapport with him very quickly.

     Matt loves to interact with the kids, and is a youth sports coach.  He was able to engage them as they played soccer (futbol) and I'm sure he enjoyed it all just as much as the children.  We walked around the playground with Estaban encouraging him to point out colors and shapes as he spoke in English.  There were many children who were especially interested in us men, and on our second visit here two days later, they quickly sought us out and visited with us.

     When we came back the following Thursday we taught a different child; Johan.  He had been removed from his family by the local government due to an abusive situation.  Johan was a fast learner and afterwards during the group session he proudly answered each question posed by all the other teachers of our group.

     After we were finished teaching, one of the mothers prepared some fruit with jello and served it to the children and all of us.  Later, while speaking with Dr. Aram, I received a beautiful compliment from Dina as she turned to Dr. Aram and said:  "This one has that spark we spoke about!"