My school, even after Ren and I won the English Lab grant (Implementation updates as they occur. Installation process starts the second week of June, 2011), is rabid for more projects. Claudia has repeatedly entreated me for help in gaining funds from America once I install myself there. Apparently, Karen promised she would, and then has dropped all contact with Claudia. Seeing as Karen is currently raising a newborn and a full time social worker, I have no doubt she has little time to send money for a couple window treatments Claudia craves.
That said, continuing to replace the windows, doors, heat systems, toilets does seem like a worthy goal for LT Balatina. I won’t argue with that. Where I take issue with Claudia is in the empowerment category. Karen won a grant, Claudia won two grants, I have won a grant. Two of Four are from American money. Claudia’s are from, I believe, the primaria. It’s good, but the interest in the school itself is only from the point of view of showcasing. If, however, the children and other teachers start feeling they are making tangible impacts themselves, they may also take better care of the school.
It’s a special breed of psychotic who destroys the things he makes himself. I know of one here… I may have mentioned him. He-who-makes-Kiddo-think-equally-psychotic-things.
Point being: I thought of a way to kill two drunks with one stone.
The English as a Second Foreign Language classes have no curriculums and often no books. The point of the classes is just to make them learn basic conversational English that could be applicable. They have been learning French their whole lives, will not take national test for English, and tend to skip my class more than any other they have.
If I could work project planning into their daily lives just as we attempt to inject grammar… well, that would be pretty slick. The students want things. They are intelligent and capable when you give them a goal they deem worthy, and they complain about no one listening to their ideas, or they would if it ever occurred to them they are treated as second class citizens by virtue of having less than eighteen years of world experience.
Thus, I spent several free hours of my life designing a 10 Lesson Project Design and Management series that is a little easier to follow than the intensive three day one I helped facilitate in March.
They are eager enough at first, but then egging them on to actually do the things we planned…. They falter.
We have gotten as far as lessons 5 and 6: Fundraising Planning and Doing (remember we’re teaching in English here, the verbs gotta be basic). Actually, they liked the fundraiser idea I had, they just had some qualms about when to do it.
I thought: Family coming! They will help! Easter Egg Hunt for Easter.
Students said: no one will be here.
No one was.
Fail.
I thought: Ok! Lets go to the primary school teachers and plan with them a date! May!
Students said: Ok!
We went. We planned.
Easter happened. I missed a week of school due to a conference and various bank holiday Mondays.
Students have stopped coming to class.
Students said: It is May. We have exams. We have only 3 weeks left.
Students said: If you stay at school past third period you are not cool.
Epic Fail.
So, the Easter Egg Hunt is shelved. I refuse to do something else BY MY SELF because no one else wants to support the actual work. They are hard workers. I swear they are. But newness, no matter how unscary you make it, does not win followers. Grants are done by power people and Americans.
I am continuing to hone the curriculum though. There are new volunteers coming. They could use it. There are seminar givers among the 25s. There are kids who work with universities. There are Renata and Natalia who may just read it as an instruction manual. It is still useful.
Also, it may look good in a CV.
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