What a week

Posted on April 18, 2014 by adrienneorris

This is Armando on the day of practical exams, speaking to the class concerning the causes of juvenile delinquency in Guatemala.

This story actually began months ago when a family moved down from a mountain so their children could receive an education. Armando began classes at our school in January and honestly has been struggling since the beginning. The school that he attended is far from town, meaning that the quality of education is even less and the opportunities there very slim. It has shown from the beginning that he was behind the other students. He also hasn’t been in a school for a gap of time.

His mom, pregnant with another child (number 10) began to come to our clinic regularly. We detected preeclampsia early in her pregnancy and recommended her to a hospital. Her blood pressure was sky high. She went – and was sent home – without them even taking a blood pressure. Her family listened to us as we told them the situation that was before them and they decided to try the other hospital within a day’s drive. Yet, she received the same result – no care – and was sent home. We checked on her often and knew there was only a small chance that the baby would make it – and prayed that the mother wouldn’t loose her life as well.

Last Thursday a family member came down to school to say that she had given birth the night before and the baby was born dead. When we visited the house, we were greeted by a typical sight – the baby in a small casket, the father drunk, and family members mourning. They knew the situation, we had just hoped it would be different. The mother still had high blood pressure and that first night had a seizure as well.

This day happened to be the day of practical exams – and so after the funeral Armando put on his uniform and walked to school. He was so downcast, so sad. And yet the environment was one to heal his broken heart. The kids reached out to him – asking to go to his house to pray for his mom, taking the cultural gifts of food and drinks to help heal her body. As we stood there and prayed for his mom, I was reminded of how these were the moments that really make the impact. Armando’s spirits were lifted as the kids showed love to him. I sat there watching all that was going on, watching the kid’s eyes as they took in the scene, watching the mom weep, listening to Miguel talk to the dad about his responsibility and the importance of caring for his family. And as I took it all in, as I prayed, as we provided encouragement, I wasn’t thankful for the situation, but I was thankful to see the hearts of our students. I was thankful for their willingness and desire to reach out. Please pray for this family to come to know the Lord – to experience healing – and to know that there are others out there that truly care for them.

This is Armando, Cesar and Edgar after exams celebrating with our competitive games – the egg race!

Exams

Posted on April 9, 2014 by adrienneorris

I had a student cry today, during class. Actually it was during an exam. It was the girl you would think would never cry – the athletic one who thrives on competition. The one who is always smiling. And yet, as she stared at the physics problem in front of her and I walked past her desk, all it took was for me to say, “You can’t leave it blank” and the tears came instantly. And my heart ached as I hoped her spirit wasn’t broken.

The students have been either in review sessions or taking exams for the last 5 days straight. Honestly, my North American style of teaching and testing and culture was taken aback by the style and system of exams here. But what struck me was the desire to excel and how much they cared about exams. There was no need to motivate to do well or to try and convince students to do their best. They came to any review session that was offered. They memorized and studied and hardly slept. And today, it showed. There was little to no energy left as they entered their last exam. They had reached their breaking point and felt a tremendous amount of pressure to pass. Last night I watched them whip through the formulas and solve problems that today they could hardly even copy.

The first day of exams started off with a few glitches. We never have students absent and we had two students not there. One of the girls was heading home Sunday night after spending the day at the school studying and was in an accident falling off her bike. Unfortunately she has a head injury. I went to the house of the other student and he came out of the house scratching. I had noticed a bad case of scabies the week before, but he was afraid it was chicken pox and didn’t want to go to school and itch all day. I reassured him, gave him some cream and he came to school late. Still itching. Thankfully these were the only absences we had all week.

Their desire and stamina though encouraged me, as well as their scores on my exam. A student who has been getting low scores and we put on the “in danger” list got a 91% on my exam. And so…. we continue on. One quarter down. One student at a time. With the hope that one will reach hundreds who will reach hundreds more. Here are some photos of the “fun”…

During one of the twelve exams

Review session at 8 PM at night after five exams and three days of constant studying… and they were still asking for another problem!

Continue to pray please that they would experience the difference in the school and be rewarded for their studying.

New Ideas

Posted on March 26, 2014 by adrienneorris

Educación Física

Gym class looks a little different here than it did in the states. They use whatever resources we have to teach the concepts of strength and agility. This game is one I am sure they could not get their students to partake in in the states.

In the first test of strength, the first student wrapped his arms around the tree and then the next student wrapped his arms around the person hugging the tree, and the next student and the next student making a chain. And then they tried to pull the first student from the tree. It is harder than it looks!

In the second test of strength, the students were divided into two teams. The first team made a line from the tree forming a sort of table. The members of the second team threw themselves on top of this line of students one by one, trying to pile as many students on top of the line as possible before someone fell off.

Here is the demonstration.

You can try this at home!

Gifted Hands

Posted on March 22, 2014 by adrienneorris

As school continues I hear more and more of the stories of these students and I am reminded that the students that are in school right now are the ones that were motivated enough to continue. They are the minority. They have many things to fight against, and yet it is evident on their faces that this is a dream. I have watched them with blank stares at a white board covered in numbers and they try to make sense of the process of multiplying polynominals. The concept of a pulley has frustrated even our best student. But they have not quit. We marked one month since the doors of the school have been open and the kids are more motivated now than they were when the school opened. For me I like to see the hope in their eyes as they conquer and learn new concepts, many that they have never heard about before (like photosynthesis).

William Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” and I have to remind myself of this daily as I cover topics that are foreign to their understanding. I have been reminded that medicine heals but is only temporary. We give them hope for now, but many times it does not transcend their future. The idea of an education is something that can be temporary and in this culture, it can change a life forever. In my classroom in the states I had a sign that read, “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” And I feel that even more, that is what is being done in the lives of the students who continue their education. Exciting for me, the minds of these students have not been tapped very deep. They may have been challenged, but they have not been questioned, and so as we do more than lecture, read and test from the schoolbooks, our hope is to set these kids up for a future where they will not be trapped where they feel they have few options.

Friday night I set up an outdoor projector against the building and showed the movie “Gifted Hands”. I was hoping to give them a little inspiration as Ben Carson fought many of the same things they fight in their lives. Their response was deeper than I expected as they enjoyed the academic side as well as the story line of the movie. My hope goes beyond teaching a chemical process, organizing plants, or memorizing the structure of DNA. My core wants students to see their potential and actually chase after it instead of just settling for what lies in front of them. My prayer continues for these students as nothing is easy, especially those things that require great sacrifice.

“Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.”
― Ben Carson, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

The scientific method at its best! Loving the thumb wars!

Values

Posted on March 5, 2014 by adrienneorris

So many times we talk about the things that we take for granted. I know I have taken so many things in my life for granted. I have spent over 30 years of my life getting up early and heading to school. It is just what I have done. What has been expected of me, and my routine. It has become so “normal” that most of the time I don’t think twice about it. But I have been struck in the last months how easy education was for me, and I’m not talking about the in-class part. The teacher that I am most impressed with at the school is Miguel. From the moment we interviewed him and prayed through that decision, I could see that he was different. After watching him for a month, his patience in the classroom astounds me. Yesterday I was talking with him about his own schooling. To receive the classes he needed to earn a degree, he left his village at 1:00 AM to walk to the nearest place to catch a bus going to Coban. It was an 11 hour trip. He arrived late, slept on a dirt floor in the house of someone that he had met and then studied for 12 hours the next day. He did this for 5 years. I wondered if I would have had the drive to do that, or if I would have found something easier. Most people settle for the easy route. Those that we have must be motivated or they would not have reached this point. And because they are motivated, I want to be able to give them steak instead of ground beef as their encouragement that they CAN accomplish this that is in front of them.

Many of our students have these same stories. Although none of them travel 11 hours to school, we do have many that walk for hours to arrive at school. Last week one of these students arrive at school with sweat pouring down his head. I had assumed it was from his walk, but he pulled up his pants to show that a dog had attacked him on the way and he was bleeding. He had run most of the way to escape the dog. Another student comes from a family of 11. She worked for 2 years cleaning houses to earn enough money to study for a year ($500) and her family continues to work extra to sacrifice for her education. She came to this strange town, not knowing anyone or having a place to stay because she wants an education. She goes to school all day, attends the three hours of remediation afterwards, and then studies all night. Only to get up the next day to repeat it all over again. And she loves it!!!!

Each one of our students has a story like this, although you would never know by watching them in class. They never complain, always greet you with a smile, and do not ask for any special privileges. For me the encouragement comes by the dedication these students have. Miguel patiently and lovingly provides remediation courses in the afternoons. I was expecting the students to come begrudgingly or only when they really felt like they needed it. But each day 80% of the students are there, hungry to learn. (The other 20% have to work to pay for their schooling).

And so we continue on – challenging minds to think beyond what they see in front of them into the future. This week I encourage you personally to look at how easily so many things are handed to us on a regular basis, without us even realizing that we are blessed. Pray for these students as the mountain in front of them is endless and the challenges that they face are beyond what I would want in my life. It is our hope for them to be able to embrace this hope in front of them and cause a ripple effect in the community. Be blessed!