UABIC was founded in 2008. The buildings are very nice and well kept. In some ways it looks like a California high school on a smaller scale. As I had mentioned in my last post, there is a green house and fish hatchery(Tilapia) on campus that is incorporated into the studies. Students participate in raising the fish and plants as well as the selling of the items of the items in town. The purpose of the school is to assist students of lesser resources attend school and prepare for the college entrance test. There is also a service-learning/experiential learning piece woven into each semester. On Monday I went back to visit my new favorite school and meet with a group of real live teenagers.
I met with a small focus group of students. They were bright and engaging. All of them have a clear plan of what or who they would like to be when they complete high school. They all plan to attend the next level of education (Whether it be university or career training). All of the also found English as difficult as I find Spanish.
The students reported that they attend school every day and did not find attending school difficult. None of them had after school jobs and for them the school day ended at 1pm. For the most part, they liked the cafeteria best ("What part of school do you enjoy most?") and favorite classes ranged from Physics to English. No one mentioned Spanish! The students had fears about college just like our own students in the U.S. and wanted to know more about learning English. I hope to set up a few intercambios for these students and some of my tutors back in the Ideas Center!
I really had a great time, it's great to talk to kids. Note, I did not ask too many personal questions of the group beyond future plans. All of the students belong to the group of families I describe below.
Of the 381 families sending children to UABIC school:
I know these facts because I visited Maestra Edith Diaz on Wednesday in the UADY central location (El Centro). She told me she was going to share los datos with me. I was not clear on what that meant but if you know me, you know I was hoping for exactly what I received: A copy of a survey of income based questions which actually serves as the application for the school accompanied by an excel sheet with the responses neatly typed in. More number crunching for your reading pleasure when I return home. Like my Fulbright counterparts in India, I had a hard time locating the Arriba "@" key and am generally struggling on this unfamiliar computer in the coldest room I have been in since arrival. Maybe as cold as New Jersey!
I am in this cold room because Edith felt terrible that I had to go "all the way" down to UABIC later in the day to meet with teachers. She, as do most people in Mérida, feels that 30 minutes of driving is VERY FAR (Muy lejos). She asked her assistants to find me a computer and an office and I spent the morning in the UADY Central Campus and arranged a ride for me to the school for my 1PM appointment.
I do agree that UABIC is muy lejos. I feel this was because of the six taxi companies that service Merida, only 1 company is willing to come down South (SUR) to pick me up. I still didn't think it would be an issue until Monday when my fail-safe cab company decided they did not have time to pick me up. I took a bus to the center of town, one comes by every 20 minutes or so (and took a 55 minutes trio to Centro ),waited another 20 for a bus to my house. Not exactly the kind of commute I want to experiance daily. The busses, by the way, are less comfortable than school busses - who knew something like that existed!
Nevertheless I have at least 2 more appointment to visit the school this week and next. I will be meeting with teachers involved in the community action program and the counseling and academic help staff. I hope to also sit down with the school principal but I am afraid the upcoming Carnival holidays will impede my progress. Vamos a ver (we will see).
I met with a small focus group of students. They were bright and engaging. All of them have a clear plan of what or who they would like to be when they complete high school. They all plan to attend the next level of education (Whether it be university or career training). All of the also found English as difficult as I find Spanish.
The students reported that they attend school every day and did not find attending school difficult. None of them had after school jobs and for them the school day ended at 1pm. For the most part, they liked the cafeteria best ("What part of school do you enjoy most?") and favorite classes ranged from Physics to English. No one mentioned Spanish! The students had fears about college just like our own students in the U.S. and wanted to know more about learning English. I hope to set up a few intercambios for these students and some of my tutors back in the Ideas Center!
I really had a great time, it's great to talk to kids. Note, I did not ask too many personal questions of the group beyond future plans. All of the students belong to the group of families I describe below.
Of the 381 families sending children to UABIC school:
- 203 families have a floor of dirt or cement (no tile).
- 308 families do not have a car.
- 143 heads-of-household did not complete primary school (grade 4), and 143 heads-of-household did not complete secondary school (grade 9).
- 94 families live on $146.00 USD per year and 256 families live on $368.00 USD a year. There are two families who report their income to be a bit less than $1,898 USD annually.
- The average number of persons in a family is 6 persons (with a range of 3 to 14 persons total).
- 31 of the families live in a one room house, 101 families live in a two room house and 139 have a homeof three rooms.
- 45 families do not have a bathroom, 319 families reported having 1 bathroom. Of the bathrooms reported, 48 families also reported that the bathroom is not fully functioning.(making the number of families without a full bathroom to be 93).
I know these facts because I visited Maestra Edith Diaz on Wednesday in the UADY central location (El Centro). She told me she was going to share los datos with me. I was not clear on what that meant but if you know me, you know I was hoping for exactly what I received: A copy of a survey of income based questions which actually serves as the application for the school accompanied by an excel sheet with the responses neatly typed in. More number crunching for your reading pleasure when I return home. Like my Fulbright counterparts in India, I had a hard time locating the Arriba "@" key and am generally struggling on this unfamiliar computer in the coldest room I have been in since arrival. Maybe as cold as New Jersey!
I am in this cold room because Edith felt terrible that I had to go "all the way" down to UABIC later in the day to meet with teachers. She, as do most people in Mérida, feels that 30 minutes of driving is VERY FAR (Muy lejos). She asked her assistants to find me a computer and an office and I spent the morning in the UADY Central Campus and arranged a ride for me to the school for my 1PM appointment.
I do agree that UABIC is muy lejos. I feel this was because of the six taxi companies that service Merida, only 1 company is willing to come down South (SUR) to pick me up. I still didn't think it would be an issue until Monday when my fail-safe cab company decided they did not have time to pick me up. I took a bus to the center of town, one comes by every 20 minutes or so (and took a 55 minutes trio to Centro ),waited another 20 for a bus to my house. Not exactly the kind of commute I want to experiance daily. The busses, by the way, are less comfortable than school busses - who knew something like that existed!
Nevertheless I have at least 2 more appointment to visit the school this week and next. I will be meeting with teachers involved in the community action program and the counseling and academic help staff. I hope to also sit down with the school principal but I am afraid the upcoming Carnival holidays will impede my progress. Vamos a ver (we will see).