Lea's School in Mexico

Our first time here, Lea attended a private primary school which is now the school where I teach. When we returned, we decided it made most sense for her to attend the primaria in our barrio (neighborhood). It would be a more authentic experience for her in terms of what school is like for children in this village.

Fortunately, José's children (who are like cousins to Lea) also go to the school, so from the beginning, Lea had lots of support. Lea visited school the last three winters she was here, so she knew what to expect. She even had the same teacher as last year, since the teacher moved up to 4th grade this year.

Lea out in front of the school on the street.

Lea with her friends in their "físico" uniforms on gym day.

Lea inside the school.

School day mornings we swing by our friend's house and walk with their kids to school. José (who is a metalsmith) and a few of his helpers are already hard at work at the workshop in the front of their house.

José (center) and his workers with Brian in the foreground. Pepe (the man on the left) lived in Arizona for years so fortunately, he is able to help me with translation and it's nice for me to be able to have deeper conversations with him in English.

José at work!

 The school is only a couple of blocks away so it's a short walk. We pass many other parents (generally moms) who are walking their kids to school so we have the opportunity to say "buenos días" as we pass by.

Lissett, Jose, and Lea walking to school. See other kids with parents walking right behind them.

And walking to school in their físico uniforms.

School starts at 8am and the staff sometimes threaten to close and lock the gate at 8am. I guess one reason might be the fact that so much runs late here and they need to draw a line.

Lea with her teacher Rosio

The primaria school includes grades 1-6 with one classroom per grade. Lea has 39 students in her room to one teacher. The room is crowded with a few student-drawn posters on the walls. Very little economic resource goes into the public schools. The only parts of the school that are indoors are the classrooms. The rest of the school is open-air. Children generally show respect for adults in this culture so that certainly helps the school environment go well. For the most part, students respect their teachers and each other.

Lea's classroom

Walking to their classrooms in the morning. See Lea's red hair in the middle of the group of three girls?

And here she is at the end of a school day which is at 1pm.

Honors on Monday mornings in the courtyard.

The children lined up in the courtyard for the Honors ceremony.

When Lea started school we had to laminate all of her books. Families take good care of the materials they have, since there aren't many of them. As part of Lea's homework, we often need to go to the local tienda and buy supplies such as paint, paper mache and glue. At home, these things would generally be provided by the school. And of course all of her homework is in Spanish (and she has a lot of it!) so a part of our daily responsibility is to help Lea translate her homework so she knows what to do. Lea is also doing some homework from her school back home so that she will be more prepared for 5th grade when we return.

We know that she has experienced life in a dramatically different culture,  which will certainly expand her perspective of the world. And she's getting better all the time at communicating in Spanish! In fact, we'd say she's just about fluent. Most (if not all) of the people at Lea's school speak little English.

After and before school there are people selling food and other small items outside on the street. The kids seem excited about their daily treats, including ice cream!

Note the children in their físico uniforms getting treats afterschool.

And in their regular uniforms.

The kids are scheduled to do chores and sometimes stay late to clean their classroom.

Lea sweeping her room afterschool.

Lea taking the trash out of the room with one of her classmates afterschool.

And then there's all the days that school isn't in session for whatever reason. If the teacher can't make it, there may not be a substitute--so the kids arrive at school and are told to return home. We've learned that you have to flow with a change in plan here! And there are the days that school is closed for some reason that we don't quite understand. Things are much less predictable here, and much less "efficient." Stay posted for details on this in a future post.

Brian volunteers his time to teach English at Lea's school. He has about 35 students in a class and teaches two classes a day, twice a week. He's had a hard time managing that many children at once, and even though he's complained about the challenge, he still enjoys it and knows that he's contributing in an important way. His highlight is getting called "Profe" by the kids as he walks around the barrio. He's been asked by a few parents if he'd do private tutoring for some of his students outside of school for pay. He felt flattered, but declined.

Lea and Brian's school community is an important part of our lives here. We see many children and parents from the school walking in our barrio. We feel accepted in the neighborhood and a sense of belonging. And Lea is certainly going to go home with a greater appreciation of all the resource she has in her life. How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to gain more perspective about the world and how differently people live.

Lea in our backyard ready for another day of school in central Mexico.