Montessori in Guatemala

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When I arrived in Guatemala, I was unsure what I would be doing here. I hoped to volunteer for UPAVIM – Unidas Para Vivir Major (United for a Better Life), which is a cooperative of 80 women who make fair trade Guatemalan crafts to sell to the US. They also have a soy dairy and bakery in which they sell low cost, high quality foods to the community. With these two industries they fund a medical clinic, a Montessori(ish) preschool, and an elementary school all in the same building. It’s a wonderful place.



I wasn’t totally sure what I had to offer would even be needed. I only knew that I had seen pictures of UPAVIM Montessori, and being a trained Montessori teacher, I wanted to see it for myself.



My second day here, I observed the Montessori class for a couple of hours and saw a lot that needed to be done. I saw two teachers who mostly were not following any kind of Montessori philosophy, but had a strong interest in understanding the method. I was surprised at how open they were to having some stranger coming in a give them suggestions and letting their classrooms get rearranged. I knew I had useful work to do here and decided to stay.



There are many problems with the educational system here, but people are trying to improve. At UPAVIM (as in other schools here) the teachers don’t have anywhere near the same level of education required to teach in the U.S. And as for Montessori, their training is minimal, but they want to try and they are fighting an uphill battle. The Montessori teachers want to do their jobs correctly, but without being able to explain to the people who pay them why they do things a little (a lot) differently from other schools, they wind up being pushed back to traditional methods. It’s a Catch-22 for them and so things don’t improve.



A few years ago, one of the teachers who had some training in the Montessori method took a large amount of the Montessori educational materials from the Montessori classroom and put them in the elementary classrooms. The elementary teachers didn’t know how to use these materials and so they wound up getting misused, abused/damaged, or stuffed in a storage closet. I went to the elementary classes and recovered the materials. The Montessori teachers looked at me as if I had magical powers! After that they were excited to keep going. I gave the teachers lessons in the philosophy, and presented how to use the materials.



I know there are other Montessori schools in Guatemala. I was looking for a Guatemalan connection to get in touch with so that the teachers don't need to be so U.S.-dependent. Online, I found the only AMI certified Montessori school in Guatemala. Mi Casita Montessori is located in Xela and is run by a wonderful woman that let me come visit for the day. It was such a wonderful, peaceful place for kids that I quietly wished I could be 4 years old again so I could go to school here. I took photos of everything and then brought back the example for the UPAVIM teachers who were quite impressed. My hope is that eventually, I can get the teachers to visit the school in Xela so that they can get ideas going in their heads on how to improve.



So much has changed in the UPAVIM classrooms and the students are responding positively. The classrooms are opened up to mulit-age classes, there are Practical Life lessons, the Montessori math materials are beginning to be used, and the materials are back on the shelves. Actual Montessori lessons are being taught once again. There is still so much to do and I’m not sure how much will carry through now that I've left, but I am hoping to return in the summer to help keep them on track. I’m hoping to have raised funds to buy some new educational materials and teach them how to use them. It’s up to the teachers at UPAVIM to keep the program going. My fingers are crossed!



For the first time that I can remember in my professional career, I felt like I was doing something important. I felt so useful and excited to teach children. Never before have I felt so appreciated for teaching adults what I know. … And I did it all in Spanish… a language I can’t speak very well. It has been an exciting month for me.





There are a bunch of photos waaaaaay down at the bottom of the page. Scroll down to the bottom of this page or double-click on the pictures to see more photos connected with this blog.

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Photos

My last day with the class at UPAVIM
They threw me a goodbye party. I loved being there with these wonderful people.

Dressing frames that I made
How to tie a bow

Mi Casita Montessori Classroom
This school just opened in January. It takes children on a sliding scale basis on ability to pay. It is the only AMI certified school in Guatemala.
Such a beautiful environment.The light is all natural light from skylights. It gave a very peaceful feeling.

Constructive triangles
Material recovered from the elementary school.

Pouring
Learning how to pour with no drips. Practical life lesson. This is a very satisfying work for small children and they will do it for long periods of time.

Using the Child- sized pila
Some of the kids had to do a lot of problem solving over who would get to wash the dishes.

Serving Lunch
Two children are serving lunch to the class

Mi Casita library
A nice place for a kid to familiarize himself with books.

Mi Casita Montessori Classroom
Such a beautiful environment. This school just opened in January. It takes children on a sliding scale basis on ability to pay. It is the only AMI certified school in Guatemala,

Shirley Yancor director of Mi Casita Montessori
Mi Casita Montessori is Shirley Yancor's school. She had to go to Argentina to get her training because there was no Montessori training center in Guatemala. She has built a beautiful school. I wish her the best!

Comments

[fititow]

I invite you to visit our beautiful country, Guatemala.
Guatemala City is one of the most beautiful cities in Latin America, when you ask for a price for anything you want to buy, do not pay the price they tell you about offering less, that way you can save good money. You have to haggle over the price. Guatemala City is the greenest to find, warm and friendly people; I invite you to visit our beautiful country, Guatemala.

[Nottanya]

Thanks for the invitation....
It really is a beautiful country! I'm going in June 2013!

[fititow]

I invite you to visit our beautiful country, Guatemala.
In Guatemala, Panajachel is a small town located in the department of Sololá; very nice on the shores of Lake Atitlán, although very touristic ... You can buy everything! If you have the patience to look, you will find good prices. Guatemala a great place to vacation. I invite you to visit and celebrate 13 Baktún Mayan celebrations.