Last night as El Lider del Dia, it was my responsibility to introduce our next themed day: Education. When the delegation was first introduced to this topic, many thoughts popped into the heads of the students. We commonly associate school with burdens such as standardized testing (which do not exist in Nicaragua, even at the universities!), dragged out school days followed by homework assignments, and the pressure to succeed. These common ideas in the United States caused some anxious attitudes.
The day began with me waking the delegation up at 7:00 am. We went to the daily Comedor, Deja Vu for breakfast which was thankfully not only beans and rice like we had yesterday as a part of the dollar a day program. After breakfast, we came back home to the hostel and were given a seminar on education. One activity included giving all of us statistics that either apply to the United States education system or the Nicaraguan education system. One of the statistics that stood out the most to me was one which stated that 7,000 high school students drop out of school every single day in the U.S. This was completely unbelievable to all of us. We could not seem to wrap our heads around that number. We all kept repeating “7,000? You mean 7 with three zeros?!” This statistic was hard to believe because even prior to visiting a school in Nicaragua while it was in session, we knew how difficult it is for Nicaraguan youth to receive a fair education and how valued it was to those who want to succeed. T0 think that minors in the United States are completely content with throwing away their access to free and fair education is now more mind baffling than ever.
To start the tours for the day, we went to a special needs primary school. This school was a public school so it was technically free, but students were dressed in uniform (as all children in Nicaragua are). The children who attend this school have special needs such as mental disabilities, deaf/mute, and down syndrome. The courses at this school were specified to skills that these special needs students truly flourish in. Classes such as carpentry, art, cooking, and farming are available for students to choose so they can learn how to make a living once they are older. The students were overly sweet and compassionate to all of us. Then we began our very first CAP (Community Action Project) meeting where we began to discuss the community which we will be visiting tomorrow to discover what is needed to help the community as a whole. Popular topics were domestic violence and women’s empowerment as many men in the households go away to work which leaves the women to raise and support the family for the most part. Families in Nicaragua often result to domestic violence because of many stresses which are put on them which leads to alcohol use and in turn, domestic violence. We are all very excited and interested to see the community that we will be helping and learn more about their stories.
Through today we learned many lessons to bring back with us. At our nightly meeting I reminded everyone to remember the eager-to-learn students we saw in the schools today when they are either feeling overwhelmed or stressed during our senior year. We truly saw today how lucky we all are to have access to the level of education we do in the United States. I am excited to see all that our Global Glimpsers will achieve during their senior year and for their years to come after high school, all thanks to the amazing education system we all have access to.
Hellooo Glimpsers! You guys are doing an awesome job with the blogs. The highlight of our day is reading about your adventures and we look forward to them everyday. Great job and keep it up!
Hey Josh – it was great seeing a “glimpse” of you in the pix- we miss you very much. XoXo Mom and Dad
Great to see the perspective that you are gaining from your activities in Leon! Going abroad and learning how other people live their lives is an amazing and eye-opening experience. I know that you will all keep these lessons close to your heart when you return to the US and throughout your lives.
Lisa, I am so proud of you! What an exciting adventure! You probably had no idea of the depth of this adventure when you left home. It sounds like an experience of a lifetime. Also, a nicely written piece here. Ever thought about journalism? Enjoy the rest of your time, looking forward to you coming home.
Love,
Auntie 🙂
Miss you Keebers! Those students are lucky to have you tutoring them but I miss you back in the states, come back soon & tell me about your trip. XOXO
Very proud of all you kids for participating in this kind of service! It can be so expansive to see how other people in the world live, their values and just what it is like day to day to be in a different place. It seems like there are lots of lessons to be learned. That 7,000 number is indeed very high! Did you guys talk about why it is that perhaps so many kids in the U.S. drop out of high school? Great work, looking forward to hearing more about what you’re doing down there.