Maria Luz Yaniri (Photo from 2013) |
How it all began . . .
Sometime last spring I was sitting in the pavilion where we meet for church holding Yaniri on my lap. We were flipping through some of the New Testaments that we had been handing out and came across some of the songs written in the back. When we found the song "En La Cruz" written in the back, Yaniri got excited and wanted me to sing it with her. So we did! But as we were singing . . . I noticed that she was singing the words that we had taught her and following along in a completely different spot with her finger. It was at this moment, that I realized how many of the kids were working with did not know how to read. It was like a lightbulb just came on in my brain. Who knows why I had never thought of it before (I am a teacher after all . . ). I had eight year old Yaniri look at a few more songs and tell me some of the letters that she saw . . . She could only name a few!God working "behind the scenes"
Later that evening, I spoke with Mike and Annie about Yaniri's lack of education and asked what they knew about the school there in Concho Primo. It just so happened that when God first brought Mike and Annie to ministry here in this batey two years ago, He had put it in Mike's heart to build relationships by helping with the "English" class in the school. Because of this, he not only had a pretty good idea of what their education was like but also had a connection with the teacher and director, which opened the door for me to do what I am doing now - teaching the alphabet/reading every Wednesday! It is always fun when God lets you see a little bit of what He is doing behind the scenes.Education in the Concho Primo.
I can't speak for all bateys here in the Dominican, but the education in Concho Primo leaves a lot to be desired. A teacher comes from San Pedro everyday by bus/motorcycle (unless it is raining or something "more important" comes up). Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades meet in the morning from 8:00-12:00 (in theory) in a one-room schoolhouse. In reality, it is rare to have all of the kids attend on one day and those who do attend, frequently don't show up 'till closer to 8:30. Attendance is very sporadic in batey Concho Primo. Third and 4th grades meet in the same classroom from 1:00 - 4:00. Fifth grade and up meet in a different school (a much larger one) in the nearby city of Ramon Santana.I'm sure you can imagine how difficult it would be to be a teacher in these circumstances. First of all, it is difficult to teach kindergarten and second grade at the same time. Secondly, Maria, the teacher, doesn't have a lot of resources to work with. Thirdly, you may have different kids show up each day of the week and you have to pick up where you were yesterday even though only 2 or 3 students were there for lesson yesterday.
As a result of the poor attendance and these gaps in education, many of the students have been held back (some numerous times). Most of the kindergarten students are 5 or 6, but once you get past kindergarten the ages vary greatly. We have a 9 year old in first grade who does not know any of the alphabet. We also have a 13 year old in second grade who only knows a few letter. Most of the students in the morning session (k-2nd) are still learning the alphabet, but not all . . .we do have a 9 year old in second grade who is an excellent reader! Most of the students in the afternoon session (3rd-4th) can read (with just a few exceptions) and have been loving seeing new books each week. However, even in the afternoon, the ages vary greatly, the third and fourth graders range in age from 9 to 15!