> Special Sections > Making a Difference in Ecuador > The satisfaction of teaching
The satisfaction of teaching
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Pictured is Erin Duffy and her boyfriend Taylor Jackson's host family during their stay in Ecuador. Reminder Publications submitted photo
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By Erin Duffy
Correspondent
ECUADOR - Seasons greetings from Tonsupa, Ecuador! Taylor Jackson, of Vermont, and I (Erin Duffy of East Longmeadow) have been volunteering as English and physical education teachers here since Sept. 19.
Our town is located in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, which has high levels of poverty and illiteracy. In our province, few children continue their education past primary school, and only one percent continue through college.
Only a small number of people have running water, and it s not recommended that anyone drinks it before boiling it. Nearly everyone has electricity, but they live without most modern appliances. The wealthier people here construct their houses out of cinder blocks, but the majority of the houses are made of bamboo walls and are raised up on stilts.
The Gonzalo Pizarro primary school is located in what people here call an "invasion", where a group of people comes and builds their houses on land they don t own. Our school consists of grades two through seven, with only three classrooms and one teacher per room.
The physical building is constructed of both wood and split bamboo trees, with a dirt floor and no windows. There is electricity running to the school, but there are neither power outlets nor light bulbs which is a challenge during the cloudy winter months! The school has no running water and the children use an outhouse for a bathroom.
Our day starts at 7:30 a.m. with formation, and the kids leave at 12:30 p.m. since there are no facilities or finances to provide lunch to the students. When a teacher is sick or has a prior engagement, either Taylor and I fill in, or classes are canceled since there is no system for substitute teachers.
In the three months that we've been here, school has been canceled several times because the board of education has called a 9 a.m. weekday meeting for all local teachers.
As you can imagine, there are also some challenges when it comes to teaching. The middle classroom is fortunate enough to have both a dry erase and chalkboard, while the other two have one or the other. There is not a single map, globe, poster, or book that is available to the students at the school.
Each year, the parents must buy their children three books along with regular school supplies. This is a huge obstacle for the parents as most families here have between four and seven kids.
A major distraction that we have experienced is that the students are constantly asking their fellow classmates to lend them materials. Most of the parents can only afford the bare minimum and by a few weeks into the school year they have lost their one pencil, eraser or notebook.
Although the physical conditions are sometimes difficult, the satisfaction we receive from teaching and helping the children easily outweighs them. We continue to appreciate the art of teaching a little bit more every day and are looking forward to the six months that we have left here.
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> Special Sections > Making a Difference in Ecuador > The satisfaction of teaching
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