La Pedrera
I mentioned a small blurb about this in a previous post, but I have begun teaching underprivileged kids at a project connected to Casa Xelaju called La Pedrera.
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La Pedrera is an indigenous community in the hills close to Xela. I walk about a mile uphill to get there. Everyday during the week from 3pm to 5pm I teach the kids basic computer skills and english more or less in Spanish. I teach three days of computer stuff and two days of English. Usually for computer class we do stuff in Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. I have been able to find some educational games in Spanish for the younger kids to play and learn at the same time. For English class we mostly do vocabulary, some simple verb stuff and simple sentences. Unfortunately, I need to learn English before I am able to teach it. 
Usually I have two groups a day for an hour each. It depends on the day but I teach ages from 6 to 17.
The school building looks a little crude on the outside but the inside is very nice. There is a second floor where they have a very nice computer lab.
Here are pictures of some of the kids that I teach everyday:
So far it has been a wonderful experience. All of the kids are very respectful and patient with me and my Spanish faux-paux’s. They are so intelligent and pick up stuff very fast. Usually for computer class I’ll give them 7 or 8 steps to do, and they just go to it. Makes me wish I had a younger brain in regards to learning Spanish. But if I can say anything it makes me feel good knowing that if they can understand my broken Spanish then I must be saying something right.
2 Responses to “La Pedrera”
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February 26th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[…] recently had my last day teaching the kids at La Pedrera. The first of my lasts as my trip starts coming to an […]
February 26th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[…] recently had my last day teaching the kids at La Pedrera. The first of my lasts as my trip starts coming to an […]