Annie standing in front of the school’s sign.
The great thing about a Fathom Cruise is trying to help others. Bruce and I signed up for three Impact Activities. Today was our first one, teaching English in one of the schools.
We boarded the bus at 8:00 for a 20 minute ride to the San Marcos community. Our Impact leader, Djamila, explained the details of the program as we bumped along the highway from Amber Cove.
Djamila, our leader, giving us instructions as we travel the 20 minute bus ride to the school.
This school is known as an extended school because it takes students from 5 years to 14 years. The school feeds the children breakfast, lunch and dinner in order to allow both parents to work and raise the family economics. The school curricula includes more than just reading, writing and math. The children participate in music, art and cultural activities.
Our first set of 4th graders. An eager group.
There are 24 teachers and 647 students, approximately 30 students/classroom. If a student is falling behind, tutors work with students for two hours/day to help the student catch-up.
Paul was an extraordinary student. His English was good and he was much quicker than the other students.
We had two sets of about 30 fourth grade students. We were called “travelers”. The classroom had chairs arranged in multiple circles. There were 5-6 students and 3-4 teachers to a circle.
Our first activity was for the students to introduce themselves and say each letter of their name. Most of them could do this fairly well.
Our first set of 4th graders posing for the pic.
The second activity was the alphabet…in English. This was more difficult for them since the letters are pronounced differently in Spanish. Our task was to help them with pronunciation.
Rosemarlin was in the 2nd set of 4th graders. She was more advanced than the other students and definitely a leader.
The final activity was to learn to say “feelings” in English. They had 9 circles on a page. In each circle they drew a face that described a feeling. For example, I am happy or I am sad. This was very difficult for them. They did well with “happy” and “sad,” but after that, the feelings were a mystery.
A note about Rosemarlin, when we were allowed to take out our phones to take photos, Rosemarlin was super excited. She gently took my phone and began taking pics of the entire room. Technology is fascinating and the students (who do not have phones) are very good with the technology.
One of Rosemarlin’s photos
This is Kendry. He loved having his picture made. I think Rosemarlin took about 5 shots.
When the class was over, they hugged us. Their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn was over-whelming. Djamila, our leader, explained that our visit was equivalent to a Star Wars visit. She added, “The children might not remember your name, but they will always remember the experience.”
This sign hangs on one of the desks of the ship: What starts here can change everything. This is the way we felt as we left the school.
So, at the end of the two classes, we walked back to the bus much different people than when we entered. We might have changed the children, but in turn they changed us.
Fathom needs you. There is so much to do. If you want to make a difference, please join us on a cruise.
For more information about the educational programs in DR: http://entrenainc.com
About the Author:
Annie Coburn recently returned from seven months traveling in South America. In 2010, she created Fab Placez. In 2014, she changed the name of her website to FAB Senior Travel. to better define her target audience, mature travelers. She publishes travel articles from other writers, as well as her own, in order to provide diversity of locations to match the breadth of FAB’s subscribers’ interests.
Website: http:// www.fabseniortravel.com
