“For the second straight year, there are two different sections of summer enrichment classes here at Centro Escolar Roberto y Marziano Marzari. The classes I teach, in theory, are broken into four age groups and cover a potpourri of math, English, social studies, science, and whatever else I feel like teaching on any given day. The environment is casual, fun, and as focused on helping kids remember that learning is fun as it is on exposing them to new subjects or reinforcing important foundational elements,” says Josh.
Well, here I am again. Sitting by myself in an empty classroom, projector and PowerPoint lesson ready to go. Last year, I barely had enough room to fit all of the students who came to my “summer” classes. But here I am, for the fourth straight day sitting in this room with no one to teach.
It’s kinda great.
Let me explain.
Sure, I didn’t sleep well last night, so there is a sense of relief to not have to teach a bunch of second and third-graders for the next three hours, but I’m not happy because I’m lazy. I’m happy because of what’s going on in the classroom next to mine. That classroom is filled with 2.5 teachers (again, I’ll explain) and a bunch of students.
Last year, with only one teacher and a focus on individual attention, 20 of the most in-need students were split into groups of six or seven and came two days a week. Those who didn’t make the “need cut” or who didn’t have class that day often ended up in my classroom. Now, with three teachers and a more proven track record, all 30 students on the list are attending every class.
For the second straight year, there are two different sections of summer enrichment classes here at Centro Escolar Roberto y Marziano Marzari. The classes I teach, in theory, are broken into four age groups and cover a potpourri of math, English, social studies, science, and whatever else I feel like teaching on any given day. The environment is casual, fun, and as focused on helping kids remember that learning is fun as it is on exposing them to new subjects or reinforcing important foundational elements.
The other section is a lot more formal. It’s aimed specifically at students in first through sixth grade who are still unable to read and write (in Spanish, obviously) with confidence. While these classes should still be fun, they are more results-focused. We desperately want to get these kids up to speed before they fall any further through the holes of the Swiss-cheese Salvadoran school system.
Astute readers will have noticed the pronoun change in that last paragraph. While I worry a lot about this second group of students, I’m not the most capable or qualified to teach literacy in a language I haven’t fully mastered yet myself. Thanks be to God, I have a wonderful collaborator from the community who is more than qualified to do what I cannot.
Carolina has years of experience as a primary school teacher. She’s creative, engaged, intelligent, and most importantly, she cares. She’s also a leader in the community and the local Catholic church and also has a second bachelor’s degree in child psychology.
Last year, when she told me she would love to help with my summer school project, I quickly organized the literacy classes for her to teach. I reached out to the public school teachers, talked to parents, and organized the days, times, and goals of the classes. Caroline did the teaching It was an experiment and it went really well. So, this year we expanded.
Another young woman in the community, Gabby, a fellow catechist who just finished her first year as a full-time teacher, has joined Carolina in the classroom. Also, I asked a teenager I know well who wants to be a teacher to serve as a teaching assistant. When I asked her to spend three weeks teaching little kids to read for free instead of playing around with her friends during her summer break, her face lit up.
Then, so did mine.
For the first three weeks in December, these three remarkable women are teaching four-hour classes Monday through Friday to help those students who need extra attention in their educational pursuits. And they’re robbing my students.
Last year, with only one teacher and a focus on individual attention, 20 of the most in-need students were split into groups of six or seven and came two days a week. Those who didn’t make the “need cut” or who didn’t have class that day often ended up in my classroom. Now, with three teachers and a more proven track record, all 30 students on the list are attending every class. With any prompting, Carolina has even decided to start doing math enrichment as well depending on what each student needs most.
The attendance numbers in my own classroom have plummeted.
The literacy classes will end in December as Carolina and Gabby have to go back to their regular jobs. Since public school won’t start until late January or early February and my section of summer classes will continue until school starts, I imagine my numbers will swell soon enough.
As I write this, a second grader showed up for my class. Finally, a student!
I know him a bit already and before we start the lesson, I decide to see how well he can read and write. I grab a children’s biography of Leo Messi from the library (see previous articles for that story) and ask him to read it to me.
He could use some work.
So, I enter his name into my spreadsheet of student information and bring him over to Carolina in the other classroom. He’ll be with her for the rest of the month and if he keeps showing up, I feel good about his chances of entering the third grade reading and writing at grade level.
Then, I walk back to my empty classroom.
It’s kinda great.
Josh Wetmore joined Maryknoll Lay Missioners in December 2021. He teaches and tutors in the rural community of El Cedro, near Planes de Renderos, El Salvador.
