Tihueliske - Children’s Education Program

Target Start Date: August 26, 2009

Location: Tlamacazapa, State of Guerrero, Mexico

$137 total cost

$0 still required

Women carry water strapped to their heads and in buckets from a village well to their homes. This is a time consuming and physically demanding activity, especially during the dry season. Photo credit 2009: Rodrigo Cruz.

Young women working as educators with the Tihueliske Education Program pause on their way to work.

Each educator takes responsibility for a group of children. Three to ten children fprm a group according to their literacy level. The groups - yellow, red, green and blue -- are fluid; a child can move rapidly from one to the next during the year, or remain in a group until the lessons are mastered. Cristina, 16 years old, teaches her group how to combine words to make a sentence. Photo credit 2009: Rodrigo Cruz.

Educators work steadily on their own reading, writing and math skills every week in a small classroom rented by Atzin. They also prepare for the upcoming teaching sessions and review the past week. Each is responsible for teaching a group of 3-10 children who are at the same literacy level. Of the eighteen local women who are educators, about half have completed junior high school.

The children aged 5-12 years enrolled in Tihueliske have different reasons for not attending formal primary school. Many families are very poor and cannot afford the costs of school attendance. Others failed in the early grades and dropped out, were unable to learn under the school conditions, or did not have the required papers to be enrolled.

Children who achieve literacy basics are helped to move into primary school. As of January 2009, 31 children have moved from Tihueliske into a primary school. About a third of the children enrolled in Tihueliske are being tutored; meaning that they attend primary school in the mornings, are not working at grade level and are likely to repeat the year, and come for tutoring by Tihuelikse educators in the afternoon.

Jaqueline's family could not afford to send Jaqueline to kindergarten or primary school. She attends Tihueliske Education Program for Children, and with regular attendance and progress, can earn her literacy certificate and/or be transferred over to primary school with support.

The 70+ children enrolled in Thueliske receive small group teaching with individualized attention. The program is conducted at tables in an open air setting. Tihueliske Education Program for Children, Atzin Mexico.

Young village women train as educators in class and on the job, receiving constant support from Program volunteer trainers. Tihueliske Education Program, Atzin Mexico.

Small group teaching and close attention allows children to learn and work at their own pace. Most children progress quickly. The program operates three days per week with two shifts of three hours per day. Tihueliske Education Program, Atzin Mexico.

Tihueliske Children's Education Program, Atzin, Tlamacazapa, Mexico.

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN FULLY FUNDED!
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Project Description:

Atzin conducted a village wide census in 2005, finding that there were 400+ children aged 5-12 years living in Tlamacazapa who were not attending formal school and reported illiteracy. Many of the children were turned away from the public schools (2 kindergartens, 2 primaries, and 1 secondary) because they had not gone to kindergarten or for the lack of space and teachers. Others lived in poverty and simply could not afford the uniforms, materials and cooperation fees. Still others failed in school and dropped out early without learning to read and write. Approximately 80% of adult women are not literate.

In November 2006, the Tihueliske Education Program started with 6 educators and 12 students. In June 2009, there are 17 educators and 75 students. Additionally, a total of 23 children have been passed successfully onto primary school. The Tihueliske children study reading, writing and mathematics for three hours three times per week, with the “educadoras” teaching the classes. The children are divided into either morning or afternoon shifts. All classes are taught in Spanish. The educators now have 1-2 years+ of experience in teaching children and advance their own skills every week in a three hour Saturday class taught by the Program Supervisor, a fulltime international volunteer (currently Mimi Dupuis) and the Local Program Coordinator (Marie Arce Sandoval). An international volunteer and certified teacher, Diana Benevides, conducted the initial educator training in 2007 and 2008 and will return again in August 2009 for continuing education and orientation of new educators.

The basic methodology for the Children’s Program incorporates:
· small group learning with a low teacher-learner ratio (1:10 maximum and usually 1:5-6);
· learner-paced instruction with short classes, allowing time for play;
· active learning based on practice and a variety of teaching strategies, with frequent repetition; short daily homework assignments with take-home “evidence” of their class work to share with families;
· use of teaching/ learning resources that are relevant to local rural setting
· development of a “culture of reading” with daily reading, individually and in group, as well as being read to by the educator.
Tutoring

In September 2008 after meeting with primary school principals, Tihueliske expanded the existing program and incorporated a new tutoring component for children enrolled in primary school, 9 or more years of age, and failing their grade or unable to read and write. Primary school teachers via their principal refer children for tutoring with Tihueliske. They are assessed by the Program Coordinators and placed in an appropriate level and group. Roughly 1/3 of the current children in the Tihueliske Program attend for tutoring. These children generally attend for 4-5 months (or more) and then stop, having made substantial progress and able to read and write to grade level. Tutoring has become an important support to keep children in school, and has the potential to grow significantly in next school year.

Breakfast/Snack Program
Most families eat twice a day. They eat a main meal called almuerzo at about 11am, and then eat comida at about 4-5pm. They may have a light breakfast of coffee with sugar, sometimes with bread. Program organizers realized that children were constantly arriving for morning classes (held from 11am-2:00pm) without having eaten anything, and would not do so until reaching home in the afternoon. The children in the afternoon shift (2:30pm-5:30pm) arrive having eaten almuerzo.

Program organizers started the Breakfast/Snack Program in August 2008 by hiring two new young women (23 and 17 years old) to work as nutrition promoters/cooks, and offering simple atoles to each child and educator in every shift, under the supervision and training of the international volunteer who coordinate the Special Needs and Nutrition Program. The goal is to provide healthy food supplements to individuals in the Education Program so that they are better prepared to learn. Objectives are to prepare nutritious and economic foods; to maintain a sanitary and organized working space; to build skills of young women in teamwork, planning, cooking, accountability and basic mathematics necessary to manage the program

Educators
Presently, Atzin has 16 village women working as educators and one woman working as the local program coordinator for a total of 17 women. Each week, the educators themselves, ranging from 15 to 30 years of age, attend a three hour Saturday class to upgrade their reading comprehension and writing skills, to review the past week teaching sessions, and to plan for the upcoming classes. Intensive training of six additional women in August 2009 will occur because of resignation of 3-4 educators due to marriage and subsequent refusal by the husband to allow his wife to continue working outside the home.

The educators follow a simple daily plan for teaching the children, focusing on reading, writing and basic mathematics. A hand washing routine (before eating and after using the toilet) was started in October 2008. Art classes, planned by the educators after initial training, are offered twice a month, and hopefully will increase. A daily five minute mediation session accompanied by classical or prehispanic music in large group has helped considerably to quiet the children and to help concentration.

INAE (National Institute for Adult Education)
Some children aged 10-14 years may choose to register the INAE education program managed by Atzin in Tlamacazapa. Those who pass the INEA exams, usually administered every 6-8 weeks, will receive an official government issued literacy certificate, and can continue towards achievement of a primary school certificate.

Update from the field: November 2009

Currently, there are 105 children aged 5-12 years in Tihueliske with approximately 60% being children who never attended any school or who left primary school while in grades 1-3, and 40% being in the tutoring component, meaning that they are at least nine years old, attend primary school in the morning, but are unable to read or write. The tutored children are integrated into the learning groups.

In September 2009, the educators introduced the daily practice of toothbrushing, thanks to a terrific donation of 500 “AirBud” toothbrushes and toothpaste. Each child brushes their teeth after drinking their atole. For many children, toothbrushing is a new activity, one that complements the hand washing practice introduced last year. The children also continue to practice 3-5 minutes of meditation with classical music daily, in addition to the reading and writing classes. During recess, along with the usual soccer and skipping ropes, the children now also play tetherball, a new game in Tlamacazapa.

On Fridays, the educators organize four “stations” with the children moving from station to station in small groups. Each station has a different activity: art; physical movement to music; group games; and puzzles or board games. Friday attendance is high! The children enjoy the increased interaction and are doing well. In August and again in November, five educators traveled to Colegio Weikart in Veracruz to learn from certified teachers who use highly interactive yet simple teaching methods with young children. On their return, the educators immediately began incorporating their new techniques into their work with the children.