Yesterday I attended a meeting called “The Battle for Sixth Grade” which had as its focus the strategic plan of the departmental ministry to enroll, maintain, and graduate Nicaraguan youth from the sixth grade. As I understood it, the current average level of education in the country is fourth grade which isn’t great when you’re looking for a job in any country. Come 2015 they’ll be fighting the battle for 9^th grade—raising the bar little by little until it is feasible to expect for all students to graduate high school.

This year there will be two forms of enrollment—stationary and mobile. Stationary enrollment is when the parents bring the kids to school and sign them up. Mobile enrollment is when teachers, university students, governmental committee members, and other volunteers go door-to-door in both the urban and rural zones to ensure that all students have access a free education which emphasizes values such as ethics, honor, transparency, Christianity, and solidarity. Matriculation will be open from January 31 until March 31—yes, three whole months—for kids to come back to school after working or traveling with their working parents to whatever coffee farm was looking for pickers. Strikes me as especially difficult for the student who starts late (and probably departed early at the end of the last school year) and the teacher who will be receiving new students for the first three months but that is the reality of the situation.

Of course many of the people present from the wide variety of educational organisms working in Jinotega inquired as to how students would be retained and promoted once we’d achieved enrolling them. The plan offered included the following:   improved infrastructure and cleanliness in area schools; first day of school will be “un día festivo” or a holiday/celebration; improved didactic materials although no comment as to whether teachers would be trained to use them; more “counseling” to improve relations between students and their teachers; better and timelier snacks for all students because many only attend for the food which they do not get at home; educational passport documents to allow for easier school transfers if a student should have to transfer; strengthening the network of student monitors/leaders who often have the best insight as to why their classmates don’t attend school; and last but I pray not least, more training for teachers . . . so they’ll know how to identify students with learning disabilities or problems at home. The snack part was discussed at length. I wish more time would have been given to teacher preparation and in-service trainings which I see as key to students’ permanencia y promoción in primary school. I believe a caring, creative, and motivating teacher can make all the difference in the world.

The new school year begins on February 15th—just a few weeks away though before that date arrives I’ve got a small project assistance grant proposal to complete, three workshops (for English teachers) to plan, and a leadership camp to attend and help manage logistics. In my leisure time, I am designing a 200-page teaching manual, rockin’ out to Marc Anthony, and hanging out at Victor’s English center.

Hope the New Year is treating you well. No complaints here except that it’s starting to get hot and I can’t run between the hours of 10AM and 4PM. I leave you with my quote for the week:

“The purpose of the work on making the future is not to decide what should be done tomorrow,
but what should be done today to have a tomorrow. “                                          -Peter F. Drucker