It's back to high school in Mexico for us!

I’ve previously mentioned the group, Friends of Lo de Marcos. This group consists of temporary residents, primarily from the USA and Canada, who spend all or part of the winter and spring here. They put time and effort into giving back to this community.

A small group of these volunteers go to the local high school twice a week, for one-hour sessions, helping the teachers with English pronunciation. The teachers teach English, but have no formal training. Oftentimes, some of their students are more advanced in English and actually help the teachers. Pronunciation is a challenge when you don’t have anyone to mirror. That’s where the native English speakers step in and work through the standardized textbooks with the teachers.

Greg and I met one of the volunteers, and as I am an English as a Second/Foreign language teacher, I was encouraged to join their sessions. Greg and I met with the principal, and he encouraged BOTH of us to participate. Greg now has three hours of teaching under his belt, and has done a great job!

You wouldn’t think it by this photo though. These heavy metal gates are kept locked when school is in session. This photo was taken after our first hour of volunteering, and he kept saying "let me out", but I think he found the experience quite satisfying.

You'll notice the word "telesecundaria" in the school sign. If anyone wants to read more about this school system, I suggest you click on the link. Lessons are pre-recorded and televised via satellite to the classrooms. I previously volunteered in Mexico in 2010 and saw the system in operation then, so it was already familiar to me when I went to this school. I've spent many hours with these textbooks!

Greg was matched with a male teacher who teaches Grade 2, meaning they’re in their second year of English studies. I was matched with Zulema, this lovely lady who teaches Grade 3. I’ve now worked with her twice, and she works hard at learning the pronunciation and speaking English. It’s a pleasure to work with her, and very satisfying. It’s also a challenge for me, as at times I try to explain things in Spanish.

Every day these teachers drive more than two hours each way to come from Tepic, the capital city of this state. The high school runs from 8 am to 2 pm, so it makes for a long day for them.

Greg and I are also volunteering as assistants in the classroom, where we work with the students, alongside the teacher, again to help with pronunciation. I’m sure we’ll have more stories about that as the weeks progress!

This pretty flower can be seen around town in many different colours

Note: The people posing for photos in this blog are aware their photo will be on the Internet and have happily agreed to it.

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Location: Lo de Marcos, Nayarit, Mexico
Weather: High of 77ºF (25ºC), low of 70ºF (21ºC)

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