la escuela

We visited the local school two days ago in the sleepy, little fishing village of El Jobo (we are staying in this village).  We picked up a bunch of little toys and school supplies before we left the states to bring them.  El Jobo is VERY impoverished and the school does not have much.  Thanks to our friends Bill and Anne, we also had several kick balls to bring down to the kids as well.  You can read a little about the school here: http://www.costaricarecreo.com/?p=37

The school is called, Escuela Gil Tablada Corea.  There are 104 students and it is K-6.  The children in El Jobo almost always never continue school after this age.  The village is so poor and very uneducated.  They are very secluded and fairly cut off from the rest of Costa Rica.  The road that takes you into the village is 14 miles of dirt and gravel and gigantic holes.  Most people here do not own cars.  Once kids finish grade 6 they are expected to be home so they can work and help the family.  On the rare occasion that a child is encouraged to attend high school, they must receive a scholarship and find transportation to a city some distance away.

Although it looks very poor from the outside, once you enter you immediately see how rich in compassion the teachers and staff are in regard to the children.  They were also extremely gracious to us and thankful for the things we brought them.  Our friends Bill and Anne also gave us several kick balls to bring down.  Upon entering, the kids became pretty curious.  They began following us around to see just what we had brought and who we might be.  They smiled and we said 'hola' to one another.  Many were very shy.  Several boys and girls began playing with the kick balls and were so happy.  All I could really stay was 'como estas?' but it was enough to break the ice with the few who played with the balls.  I tossed one back and forth with a little boy.  Our new friend (and manager of Recreo) Mike helped us communicate with two teachers.  One was an English teacher (whose name was unusual and I can't remember it) and one a kindergarten teacher named Grace.  She showed us around her classroom.  It was so organized.  Even though she doesn't have much and some of what she has has definitely seen better days, she was certainly making the most of what she had.  In one corner she had a little house that was made out of 800 (I think) milk cartons.  It took them 30 hours to make out of the cartons and rubber cement.  It even had a window with a curtain.  When you have to, you make due with what you have.  It was really impressive.  Each area of the room was dedicated to a different subject: science, math, music, home skills, hygiene and several more.  Although some of the toys were old, they were in tact.  That is much more than I can say for many of the students I teach.  Each year so many of my books are not replaced or ruined.  I'm afraid to leave things on my desk for fear they will be taken.  I constantly have to clean up piles of ripped up paper and candy wrappers.  These kids in El Jobo have little and I think they know it.  They and the teachers, really do their best to take care of what they have. 

The teachers showed us an art project the kids were working on for Mother's Day (celebrated at a different time here than back in the States.) The kids had cut out hearts and flowers out of cardboard and glued some kind of white paper onto the front.  They were planning on decorating them in various colors.  In the center, a hole cut out so a picture could be glued in.

We spent about an hour at the school and we made new friends.  I exchanged email addresses with the two teachers.  Grace invited us (through Mike's translation) to her home the next time we visit Costa Rica and called us her friends.  It was extremely touching.  I felt honored.  The English teacher spoke a bit of English but expressed that she is lacking in materials to teach the children.  It was very clear that these two women cared very much about their jobs and the children and have a great desire for education in El Jobo to improve.

Even though the conditions were different, the language different, the buildings very different, there were still several similarities that the two women as teachers experience that Vic and I experience as teachers back in the States.  We shared in the frustration for the lack of parental encouragement of education.  There are just some things that are universal no matter how developed your country is.

I plan on keeping in touch with the teachers and sending more things their way that they might need, (if anyone is interested in doing the same, let me know.) This was one awesome experience that I will never forget!