Greetings from Geraldine Ramírez, 4th grade teacher at Escuela Las Marías in El Palmar, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. I am writing to tell you that, thanks to the training I received from TINFA, I have managed to set up virtual classes for my students.
The first case of COVID-19 in our country was reported on March 13th. Schools were ordered to be closed, and everyone was told to stay at home. Knowing that this was a global pandemic with no known cure, I was worried and had many questions. I needed to contact my students and wondered how they would be able to continue with their classes. Then I remembered that I had previously set up a WhatsApp group for some of the parents, and that I had already started to share some worksheets for the students to practice their multiplication.
But of my 19 students, only 9 were able to participate. Poverty is the harsh reality here, and many families do not own a cell phone, have access to the internet, or even electricity in their homes. I did not know how to help these students. I live 15 minutes outside of Las Marías and could visit them in person, but we were all in lock-down and I was forbidden to leave my home. Then the director of Escuela Las Marías, Mirna Martinez, informed us that teachers who took the necessary health precautions could, with money from the Ministry of Education, deliver groceries to the families. This is how I was able to contact the remaining students and to get the phone number of a family member with a cell phone through which I could deliver the schoolwork.
I had them download the Zoom app and set up a virtual classroom. For my first virtual class, only 4 children were able to connect. So, for the next class I made a video that could be viewed anytime. It included a lesson in geometry about angles, and a video of the Latin American folktale of La Llorona (“The Wailing Woman”) about which I asked them 5 questions.
Now with the help their families the children can do their schoolwork at home. It is gratifying that I was able to get the families involved and am now able to connect with my students, but it is worrying that parents are still unable to go to work and that we all continue to suffer the economic consequences of this pandemic.
Following are some photographs my students sent me, with posters they made expressing their feelings about the situation.
This is Ashley:
Betty from Los Angeles:
Alejandra:
Gustavo:
Yonatan:
Marleny:
Axel:
Now, every Monday, I connect with my students through video, text, and voice messages. I am sometimes able to connect with individual students through a video call, which is especially important for those who are having difficulty with a lesson.
Guatemala is a poor country, and we are worse off than most. But we have the faith and hope that God protects and cares for us. I know that one day soon I will be at liberty to embrace my little ones again, teach them new things, and play together as we used to.
Some memories of happier days:
