An Interview

This week, in addition to lots of other work, I interviewed the local school director. Fletch and I have been in communication with an RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer) who lived and worked in Huehue in the 70’s. He’s still heavily involved with charities doing work in Guatemala and recently asked me some questions about the educational system to see how some charities could better serve schools. I didn’t know the answers to the questions, but I know someone who does. Minor, the director of our local school, has proven to be supportive and excited about our presence here in the community, so I called him and asked him if I could come into town and ask him some questions. He’s on “summer” break at the moment, but without hesitation he agreed to meet us Saturday at 10 am. Here’s the interview transcript I’ve sent to the RPCV, along with some personal commentary:

1. What school supplies does the government supply?

They give us books on communication, mathematics, and linguistics for kindergarten, 1,2,3 grade and they give the teachers 200 quetzales [that’s about $25 US] each to buy supplies for the year. He notes that this is an improvement from years past. When he first started teaching he said the Ministry of Education could only focus on paying the teachers their salaries. Now, in addition to the 200q stipend for yearly supplies, the M.E. is providing schools with funds for mid-day snacks for the students. He sounded upbeat about the changes.

2. Which schools get the supplies?

All the schools receive the same thing. [I would not deny that this is true in theory*. Read below to see the gaps in the plan.]

3. What grades receive supplies?

Kindergarten and 1-3. Grades 4,5, and 6 share books and look for older books to reuse.

4. Do the supplies last all year?

The materials usually arrive late, almost midway through the year. We usually use the previous year’s books for the first half of the year and then use the new books for the last half. It’s at the beginning of the year that we lack resources, not at the end.

5. Do students not go to school for lack of supplies (pencils/pens, notebooks, shoes, uniforms etc.)?

Yes, there are always students who don’t come for lack of some supplies, but there are fewer problems with that now that Mi Familia Progresa requires student attendance.

6. Is it true that parents will only send each child to first grade because

a) one year of school is enough?

b) parents can’t afford school supplies

c) kids need to stay at home to care for other kids, work, etc.?

d) all of the above

All of the above, or e) the father doesn’t want the child to go or the child no longer wants to go and the parents do not require the child to go.

7. If parents had more school supplies would they send their kids to school in spite of other problems?

Yes.

8. Why are there less kids in 6th grade than in 1st grade?

Lack of interest on the part of parents and a lack of interest on the part of children to learn. Economic resources. Customs and tradition dictate that girls get married around age 12. If they’re going to get married, the parents don’t feel they need to be in school or finish school.

9. Where are the poorest schools in Santa Eulalia located?

The eastern sector of our municipality has the poorest schools, Chujksunil, Quixabaj, out in those areas.

10. What differences exist between urban schools, aldea schools close to the municipio, and aldea schools far from the municipio?

The urban schools and the close-by aldea schools have good structures and separate classrooms, with desks and chairs for the students. The far-out aldea schools, some are made of wood planks and they don’t have proper desks and chairs or separate classrooms. In theory they receive the same supplies as we do, but if they’re only going to receive 5 or 6 books, no one makes the effort to come into town and get them, and no one takes them all the way out to the schools.

1 student materiales for one year

an average of 15 notebooks at 2.50 q/ea.

2-5 pens at 1.50q/ea.

2 pencils at 1.50q/ea.

*The government prohibits a uniform requirement, however in each school the Parents’ Committee can decide whether or not they want to enforce uniforms. In our village, the Parents’ Committee enforces uniforms so that poorer children don’t stand out from wealthier children. “All of the children play better together this way,” Minor says,”There are less problems if all the kids wear uniforms.”

75 q for a pair of pants (boys)

80 q for a white dress shirt (boys)

100 q for a simple black and white corte (girls)

100 q for a simple huipil (girls)

100 q for a sweater (both)

As you can see the girls wear a corte, huipil and sweater so their uniform is more expensive than the boys’. Remember that their father, if he’s a subsistance farmer, will make 30q a day when he can find work… about 3 or 4 days a week. I asked Minor what the poorest families do about the uniform, “They buy second hand or the lowest quality/cheapest version available.” Sometimes girls don’t attend school for this reason, but in our village 70% of the students are female. Minor says that opinions regarding girls attending school have changed considerably in the last few years because he and the teachers have given talks to parents addressing the benefits of educating girls. The Parent committee works to spread these messages. In every school ceremony we’ve ever attended, Minor addresses this issue and reminds parents that the world is changing, that women are as important as men, that girls should be educated and fed the same as the boys. I know he’s not giving us lip service in this regard, because I’ve been there when he’s talked to them, and the enrollment stats speak for themselves.

Today in our village, there are more professional women than men. There is one male doctor and a few nurses among the men. Amongst the women, there is one accountant, at least 2 secretaries, something like 5 teachers, and at least one nurse. Minor says the universities are seeing a greater enrollment of female students than male students. Why? One reason is that many boys and men go to the States. They still see it as a get-rich-quick scheme. It once was, back that when immigration started in the 80’s and 90’s. It hasn’t been quite as good for the last few years, and now with the economic crisis, it’s sometimes just better to stay in Guatemala than risk the journey and the debt to a coyote (human trafficker).

We’ve thought for a very long time that Minor is a pretty cool guy. He works hard with what he’s got, always trying to grow and expand the educational opportunities in our village. He admitted that in 1995 he himself was on the verge of leaving for the states, but he was studying and decided not to go. Now he is the director of the school and also the teacher of 6th grade. He says he spends a lot of time talking to students about why going to the states isn’t a great idea.

As I was listening to him, I began to wonder: do these trends mean there could be some sort of silent (or maybe not so silent?) women’s revolution? Perhaps this is just me fantasizing, but really, education is the key. If women are educated and have a way to earn income, they have the freedom to leave abusive partners in their lives. They have the knowledge and the income to take better care of their children as well as take care not to have more children than they can responsibly care for. The more educated women in the work force, the more women can demand that their rights be enforced. If what Minor has said is true, and it’s happening in pockets all over the country, not just here in our little aldea, and it feels like very good news for Guatemala. Only time will tell. What I do know is that there are larger numbers of Guatemalan children, boys as well as girls, attending school now than ever before, and if we can reach them, Guatemala will be better off for it. It’s nice to have good news once in a while.