Transcript

TEXT ON SCREEN (TRANSLATION)

I’ve been a teacher since 1985 when I graduated from the Superior Institute of Education in Chincha. I teach children aged 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11 years old. When I qualified as a primary teacher I had just got married. I didn’t work for a year and dedicated that time to my son. After that I did supply work and took two short contracts. One was to this school, in September 1988, covering a period of leave. I then took a risk by asking the regional council to be assigned as a permanent teacher to this specific school, where I had worked. And so I was named an official teacher here at the end of December 1988. I started working here the following April as a Year 1 teacher. In the past the school buildings were built from Adobe or mudbrick. But after the 2007 earthquake it was all replaced with the help of two NGOs, ‘The Spanish Red Cross’ and ‘Telefonica Espanola’. They changed the entire structure, made everything from new because after the earthquake we were teaching in wooden huts. At that time we were also helped by a local businessman, to build temporary classrooms in the yard. Then the Civil Defence decided to take it all down and the necessary steps were taken to permanently rebuild the school with the help of the two NGOs. All out classes have around 28 to 30 pupils. Sometimes we go up to 34 or 35 children in a class. Quite often the Headteacher says we don’t have vacancies, but then she asks the teachers if we are willing to take on a new child and we decide that we can. We always try to give each student proper care and attention. Primary teachers need to be like encyclopedias because we teach many different subjects, but here, we put an emphasis on maths skills and communication, especially communication. We make sure that the children are able to write and speak properly. I really like teaching communication and maths: they go side by side. Every year I try to learn new techniques and strategies to use in the classroom. I enjoy being close to the children - being with them and the care and protection we can offer them. Often a child looks for someone that can protect them, they want to feel loved, maybe that’s missing for them. In a similar way that we defend our children at home, we defend our children in school, like lions. This is how I feel, I love my children a lot. I like them to be well-mannered and respectful and I look to set an excellent example so they learn from it and develop good values. Our aim is to educate the child fully, in an integral way so he understands himself, and can then get to know others. If a child knows and loves himself, he will love others and want to give to others. I think for a child to grow and to be a good person, you have to get him to know, accept and love himself, then he can begin to grasp everything else. I hope that in the future my pupils become good people for society, for their families and for the country. They are … how can I explain it? Each parent expects good things from their children, something better. Here most parents work in agriculture and they don’t want that for their children. They want them to be professional, to move to different places and serve their country. They are the future, our hope. Few parents take part in their children’s schooling. Many of them work all day, from very early to 5pm. They make breakfast really early for their children, but frequently children come to school without having had breakfast or even combing their hair. Fortunately the government provides breakfast for them at school. Most of the children come to school looking forward to being fed. Some hard working parents just don’t have the time to prepare meals for their children. Sometimes the parents can be a bit distant from their children. We get help from the local council and also a foundation called La Calera, run by a lady called Beatriz, who used to come here herself. Now she has left us in the hands of the foundation that continues to help us. After the earthquake, when the school was rebuilt we had help from a company called Cargill who provided the breakfasts. Today we get support from the National School Feeding Programme, who give us eggs and help provide a tasty breakfast for the children. Cargill still help with Christmas parties; they set up a show and bring along chocolate and presents. At the moment Peru is going through a difficult period with a lot of child delinquency, and that’s what we want to prevent. Usually it’s not the fault of the schools but there are many broken families that lead to children growing up alone without support. Teachers can’t do everything. It would be great if we were magicians that could go home with every child, but we can’t, we have our own responsibilities at home too.