Ok TEACHERS Take Notice !
May 7, 2013
Teach a Teacher is proud to be a member of a great Organization …
Council for Elementary Science International
http://cesiscience.org/index.php
We would like to share this information that they have shared with us!
The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is accepting applications through October 31, for the 2013 program. Please encourage third- through fifth-grade teachers to apply for this all-expense paid professional development program.
Teachers apply here for the 2014 summer session
http://nstahosted.org/mickelson/
Children can also nominate their teacher here
http://sendmyteacher.com/send_your_teacher.php
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and really likes CESI! :) A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
Choose Your Own Title
May 2, 2013
By H Mac Wooten
Title #1 Hey mom Look …. No Hands!
Title #2 Uh Hello Uh Hey Dear…. I might Have Just
Lost the Employee of The Month Parking Place
Title #3 Hey Boss Someone stole the truck Really But I’m ok.
Title #4 Hello DDDDDear, Could you bring me a chchange of ppppants and uuunderwwear?
Title #5 It’s Not my fault The gearshift says this is FORWARD
Title # 6 NO I wasn’t sending a Text
Title #7 Final Score Karma 1 Truck 0
Title # 8 Theres also the conventional “Rear Dump” method
I’ll bet you can come up with your own title!
Just when you thought your social calendar was full ….. the circus comes to town. I generally blog about the problems with education in developing nations and specifically I blog about education here in Peru. In these blogs I often talk about pollution of the environment and garbage thrown everywhere but now, I can add one more topic with regards to these problems. Occasionally the good guy (Karma … in this case ) wins. 
This truck was dumping a load of soil into the river for the municipality and tumbled into the river. Here, dirt, garbage and raw blood from the slaughterhouse (run by the city) is dumped into the river. The EPA (in the US) lists Dirt as the number one cause of pollution in our rivers and streams. When rain washes dirt into streams and rivers, it smothers the little critters in the stream and kills any fish eggs clinging to rocks. Dirt can also clog the gills of fish, suffocating them. Have you ever walked into a pond or lake and noticed muck rising up and clouding your view of the bottom? Well, if the plants that use the sun to make food (yes, that’s right, you remember photosynthesis from maybe science class ?) can’t get enough sunlight because the water is murky, they die and the river dies. 
Education is failing at the highest levels of government here when the government is responsible for dumping dirt, garbage and raw blood into the rivers.
I have often observed local schools spending weeks having the children make banners and signs regarding protection of the environment and proudly marching through the streets for hours displaying their signs. And with the sign/banner in one hand, they’re throwing trash into the street with the other hand. A vital ingredient is missing from the education when the children are spending time to make the signs and banners and practice marching …. for weeks but don’t learn or understand the message and it’s quite evident the teachers don’t understand it either.
Ironically, I watched last week as the municipalidad had a painter paint the message, (a loose translation) “We don’t misuse our resources of health” on an adobe wall.
When he finished painting, he threw the empty buckets of paint into the river. As this post winds to a close, the driver was unhurt and will probably get fired. There was another dump truck waiting with another load of dirt to dump into the river and the bulldozer actually pushed more dirt into the river building a ramp to pull the truck out. So at the end of the day, it was a lose, lose situation for all. It is highly doubtful that they will add Drivers Ed. to the curriculum in public schools in Peru.
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and occasionally teaches Drivers Education. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
What th’ Heck Did We Do Before Butterflies ?
April 28, 2013
by H Mac Wooten
This isn’t a “real” post but a quick picture I took today. These are my neighbors and they are playing (like I’d like to imagine) all kids do ….. but I suspect kids today in developed nations don’t do as much of this anymore. Sadly, they’re(kids in developed nations) are in front of the cable TV or XBox or some other video game and getting fatter by the minute.
It’s good to observe and understand the change in times. These children are having fun and using their imagination. Go out and try to take a picture of this in your neighborhood. Yeah … I thought so!
It’s the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere and the price of flowers is soooo low that the people can’t afford to pick them. (another problem with an economy filled with uneducated people). However it makes a perfect playground and hunting ground for the elusive butterflies for impoverished children in this region. 
Has it been a while since you’ve seen brothers and sisters actually playing together instead of being force fed by a television or video game (your electronic babysitter)? Maybe poverty has some advantages after all. These kids are happily using their imaginations and just being children. What did your kids do today? Ask them to go catch butterflies and go with them. It will do all a world of good. Spend some time with them and share your childhood.
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and occasionally tries to catch butterflies and watches/notices times gone past. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
“Darling …. What time is it” ? or How Watches are Made !
April 21, 2013
by H Mac Wooten
First, I’d like to say thank you to all our new followers. It is somewhat gratifying to know others are interested in educational issues that don’t just encompass their neighborhood. In my blogs, I try to tell the story and a few facts, reasons, and my personal experiences here living and working with the people and Teachers in Peru (a developing country). The title I’ve uses comes from my wife. She tells everyone when she asks me what time it is, I start by explaining to her how the watch was made. 
I am, quite often guilty of doing this. I occasionally use a wide brush when painting a picture of how I perceive a situation. I often cover most of the canvas with my wide brush, but occasionally paint things not especially relevant to the intended discussion.
Not so much my living here, but actually, getting involved and working here (with Teach a Teacher) has really illuminated the differences and importance in education.
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
― William Arthur Ward
How Watches are Made part: I have an ex-cousin-in-law who taught in a Catholic school in St. Louis. She had a student who was working as a cook in the kitchen of a very successful Italian family owned restaurant. She tried desperately to get him to study, apply himself and LEARN. He told her, he didn’t need to because he was going to work in the family business and make about $ 75 – $ 100,000 a year. His reasoning was stronger than her reasoning to get him to learn. When the kid graduated high school, his salary would start higher than her salary.
There aren’t too many Italian restaurants here in Peru, nor are there too many good paying jobs for the majority of the population. Education IS the key for a better quality of life here. I look at male teenagers in my neighborhood and see most of them growing up and maybe driving a moto-taxi. …… not much of a bright future. Many have finished their primary education and now (if they have the money and can pass an exam) can go to university. University here is at best, similar to a high school but may offer a much narrower curriculum or very narrow field of studies). University here is in no way equal to College or a University in a developed nation. The future for a typical female teenager is far more destitute and despairing. Statistically, there are several children in her near future as she works in the field all day.
“True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own.” ― Nikos Kazantzakis
This picture ( I took on 4/20/20123) is typical scene. The woman is 19 yrs old and has 2 children ages 13 months and 3. One of them plays in the dirt while the other is usually carried on the mother’s back while she plants her lettuce in the poor soil. Lettuce isn’t a major food staple here and it is beyond my ability to comprehend a profit margin after the labor and fertilizer and pesticides …. yes they spray the lettuce with pesticides because they think they need to?
We have an immediate need for your consideration. We have some Volunteer Teachers coming this summer to help with our Teach a Teacher Nonprofit. Volunteers pay their own transportation here as well as food and lodging. We don’t require out Volunteers to speak perfect Sp. and certainly not Quechua. We have to hire translators for each of our Volunteer Teachers to work with Teachers here. Would you / could you commit to paying for 1 translator for 1 day (about $ 14.00). Several of you have made donations and we’re truly thankful and many of you seem to be putting off making a donation. WELL it’s after TAX DAY and you know that BIG Refund is coming now …. so Please consider helping with a donation or coming here to help personally. The picture here is a school we work with and they’re only one of many. Thanks for helping.
The School Cafeteria
http://www.teachateacher.org/index_files/GETINVOLVEDdonate.htm
Operators are standing by ! 
If you think you’d like to come to volunteer, please contact us at www.teachateacher.org
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and occasionally explains how watches are made and forgets to adjust for Daylight Savings Time. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
* A special thanks to Google Images one of which I used in this post.
Lead and Learn by Example …. Not in Peru Not Yet!
April 9, 2013
By H Mac Wooten
This is yet another face of the Education here in Peru. This particular face of education (these pamphlets) were being thrown by the thousands into the streets as an advertisement for CESAR VALLEJO Academy. Cesar Vallejo Academy Educational Excellence Now in Caraz Ensures Your Income Dual System Vocational Guidance Counseling Drills Psychology Permanent scholarships and half scholarships to our best students.
Yes, litter as we know it. The taxi had a huge loudspeaker and a recorded message soliciting new students for the school. I was actually picking up accumulated daily trash thrown into the street in front of our property in Caraz when the taxi drove by throwing more trash ( handfuls of the advertisement) into the streets. I watched in sadness and disbelief as the new litter was being blown by the wind down an empty street. My first thought was to collect a handful and march down to the school and deliver (throw them into someones office) them in person to whoever was in charge, but sadly, I truly don’t think they would have understood my constructive criticism.
Yes, we, in the U S and other developed countries had a huge litter problem many years ago (still not perfect but better) and our educational system started teaching ”Don’t Litter”. How many of you old people remember this commercial? Keep America Beautiful.
It certainly is engraved into my memory. In the 60′s, the Elementary schools (in the U S) started teaching “Don’t Litter”.
The more recent version is “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute”.
Here, (in Peru) the problem of dealing with pollution and litter needs to start at both ends of the spectrum being, the children and the government. Yesterday I saw a city worker dumping a 55 gallon drum of the garbage she had collected from the street into the river. The local governments here don’t want to deal with the trash either. They, as a normal practice … dump it into the river. Litter is dropped /thrown everywhere by everyone with no second thought.
I used to give our own workers packs of cookies and a drink everyday and they would throw the wrappers on the ground with no thought. I would reprimand them and then explain that I didn’t want the trash here and then pick it up and properly dispose of it. After a week of continueing to pick up the cookie wrappers, I stopped giving them cookies. They didn’t learn or change, but I did!
I haven’t given up. The workers we employ now are slowly learning … as am I. The general public and the children here see this as an acceptable practice of advertisement or acceptable way to deliver a message or news. In my opinion …. it isn’t and I wont be able to change that!
In the whole scheme of things Education is one of the most important ingredients needed to change the quality of life of any people. Peru and it’s people ultimately have to decide it’s role and importance. Peru’s level of education should not be the decision of non-Peruvians ….. however I do believe it is incumbent of Developed Nations to show them that there is a better quality of life directly linked to quality education. All I can do is to lead by example! If any of you would like to study abroad …. maybe Cesar Vallejo Academy is for you! As for myself, I’ll be signing up for classes in the Spring!
PS The children at the top of this post are real children
at one of the schools we work with (NOT paid actors)
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher Nonprofit and Chief Litter Picker-Upper for the street. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
* Special thanks to Google Images
It’s up to YOU You make the difference
March 12, 2013
By H Mac Wooten
It really IS up to you.
The bystander effect or Genovese syndrome is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present. The probability of help has often appeared to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. The mere presence of other bystanders greatly decreases intervention. In general, this is believed to happen because as the number of bystanders increases, any given bystander is less likely to notice the situation, interpret the incident as a problem, and less likely to assume responsibility for taking action. 
Do you recall the story of Kitty Genovese? On March 13, 1964 Genovese a 28 year old woman, was on her way back to her Queens, New York, apartment from work at 3:am when she was stabbed to death by a serial rapist and murderer. According to newspaper accounts, the attack lasted for at least a half an hour during which time Genovese screamed and pleaded for help. The murderer attacked Genovese and stabbed her, then fled the scene after attracting the attention of a neighbor. The killer then returned ten minutes later and finished the assault. Newspaper reports after Genovese’s death claimed that 38 witnesses watched the stabbings and failed to intervene or even contact the police until after the attacker fled and Genovese had died.
This example may be somewhat disturbing, but the point I’m trying to make is: YOUR individual help is often needed. Don’t think others are going to step up to the plate and take action. Get involved when there is help needed.
Consider making a small donation to Teach a Teacher Nonprofit. Help us help others. Your donation will make a difference.
You can go directly to the “DONATE” link here: If you click on this link you will be taken from our site to a SECURE connection with Paypal.
http://www.teachateacher.org/index_files/GETINVOLVEDdonate.htm
If you make a donation , we will thank you by sending you one of our postcards with a hand written “thank you”. Please send us your snail mail address or your email address if you would prefer a Virtual Postcard. The choice is yours.
Please check out our website and see what we do and where we do it! Thank you in advance
If you read this more than once, you can donate more than once! We will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you have.
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
YOU CAN HELP
March 4, 2013
Hello all
We finally got the “DONATE” button working on Teach a Teacher Nonprofit website www.teachateacher.org
Please take a minute and check out our website and see who we are and what we’re doing and consider getting involved or making a small donation. A little goes a long way here in Peru, a developing country. We all know how important education is and you can help.
If you make a donation, please drop us an email and include you Snail mail address and we’ll thank you by sending you one of our postcards OR if you would prefer a Virtual postcard, please give us your email address … Please indicate which postcard you’d prefer to receive Your choice!
When you click on the “DONATE” button you leave our website and go directly to a secure connection with PayPal and have a choice of several options. It’s quick, easy and painless and you’ll feel good, become better looking, lose weight and help us help others.
Click here to go directly to Donate. http://www.teachateacher.org/index_files/GETINVOLVEDdonate.htm
I’m not picking on anyone, I’m picking on everyone …. I’m sending this to everyone Help Teach a Teacher and forward this to your friends, colleagues and contacts and ”Like” us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/teachateacher
Help Teach a Teacher and forward this to your friends, colleagues and contacts and ”Like” us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/teachateacherThank you in advance and you have our sincere appreciation
H. Mac Wooten
If you read this more than once, you can donate more than once
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
Walk A Mile in My Shoes … and Then Try To Make It All The Way Across Town … Un-noticed !
February 24, 2013
by H Mac Wooten
I usually blog about education in developing countries or related subjects but, as of lately, I have been struggling with the decision to write and share a very personal, embarrassing and humiliating experience that just happened to me. Maybe this is my chance to come clean and aire my dirty laundry. A NOT funny thing happened on my way to the coliseum ….
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” John Bunyan
Walk A Mile In My Shoes
Everyone has heard this saying but I just got a refresher course and would like to share what it really means. I suspect we all know this idiom means that you should try to understand someone before criticizing them.
A few weeks ago, I was in one of the most expensive, powerful, opulent and impressively preeminent cities in the world. In this monumental bastion of modern society and a model for cities and countries worldwide, I walked in other’s shoes and … have never been more humiliated and embarrassed in my life.
While visiting in this city, I had to take a trip across town for a business meeting which entailed walking a few blocks as well as utilizing other aspects of a great public transportation system. I arrived at my destination approximately 45 minutes early and sat patiently and waited for the business to open. After about 30 minutes, I realized that I would soon need to relieve myself …. very soon! A quick look up and down the street in this economically challenged section of town revealed nothing in sight. I mentally flipped a coin and started walking with deliberate speed to the right. About 1 1/2 blocks down I came upon a Dollar General Store. I quickly entered and grabbed the first thing off the shelf and thought if I was a paying customer, I would easily be granted permission to use the restroom. NOT SO! I was immediately told “We ain’t got no public restroom.” I decided to ask again (possibly for a private restroom) to emphasize my growing need and was again, and now in front of everyone in the store told NO! As my situation was growing more desperate, I spotted a convenience store about a block away but received the same answer. Now moving at a semi shuffle with a bottle of shampoo and a pack of gum, I spotted a restaurant in the next block. As my luck would have it, Fried Chicken restaurants are not open at 9:27 in the morning, nor is anyone inside or if they were inside, the sight of someone with a contorted face and gyrating as they desperately beat their fist on the window was more than enough to pretend to not be inside. As time had almost run out and without any other possible choices, I started looking for anywhere even close to private or halfway secluded to go. I made it about half way across a parking lot before everything … let go. SO …. there I stood in the middle of a parking lot with, … well, you know, $hit running down both pants legs. It’s hard to convey all the scenarios and everything going through your mind at a time like this, however, I’d say it’s almost equal to everything that just went down both pant-legs.
I decided it might be prudent to skip the meeting and try to find some seclusion and formulate some kind of plan as it was about twelve blocks to the Metro and I had to change trains at L’Enfant Plaza and make it 3 stops past there. Have you ever found an empty seat in an empty car on the Metro. Huh? Didn’t think so but, as an afterthought, I bet I could have made one! I walked down and around several alleys for the next hour or so, hoping my pants would somewhat dry and my accident not be quiet so obvious, but that didn’t happen either. I finally found what appeared to be a Homeless Shelter and they let me in to clean up and try to save any hint of dignity that I once had. I spent thirty minutes trying to wash myself, my underwear and my pants in the commode and was pretty unsuccessful with that entire laundry list. During my twelve block walk back to the train station, I lived and understood the plight and experienced what many of the homeless people deal with everyday. I had a myriad of emotions go through me as I walked (facing traffic, so no one could see the back of my pants). I was mad at all the businesses for their policies and lack of humanity or compassion. I was sad that we as a society, don’t want to deal with this dirty, unsightly, invisible segment of society that sleep on park benches and heating grates and ask for a hand-outs. Then I asked myself, what would I have done? Do I or should I have the same expectations to open my home as I have judged and have expectations from one of these businesses? In all fairness, I don’t know that I would have opened my home, but Yes, I would have allowed them access at my business. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging you, I’m judging me. Prior to my incident, I had, the day before, bought food and given money to a few street people as I have in the past and will continue to do, but now I think I see their reality in a different and more personal light.
There are many reasons why people are homeless and live on the street and I wont attempt to address those reasons but I suspect very few of them choose to live on the street. Most of these people have some access to some help. Had I been in sight of the Washington Monument, I’m sure I could have found a public restroom however, the Park Police lock those restrooms at night.
Make a pledge to Help Others. Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Don’t wait until we’ve filled up our pants as it’s a little too late then. There is a segment of OUR society who are on the edge of losing all of their dignity and prevention could be in your hands and in your hearts for those who will accept help.
There are also millions of people in Developing Countries who need our help also as they have much less access to any assistance. We can’t solve all the problems and all the injustices of the world, but We Can Help and We Can Share Our Blessings and We Can Be More Compassionate To Others and We Can Teach Others.
All of us quite too often judge others by some form of yardstick, whether it is by their appearance or how much money they have or their education or social status or what kind of car they drive or where they live and the list goes on and on. Aside from “Judge not, lest ye be judged” the truth is … we judge. The reality is, if we didn’t judge, you couldn’t discipline your kids, prisons would be empty, this is/isn’t a good person to marry and you can fill in the blank for the rest of this list.
This post was not meant to be very entertaining and I still haven’t found much to laugh about but, aside from soiled pants and a bruised ego, a positive thing I have taken away from this is … don’t be too quick to judge and …… occasionally, take a walk in someone else’s shoes or pants. They might not be very comfortable. Sometimes we can find something positive even in a bad situation.
“We only have what we give.” Isabel Allende
“Even the smallest act of caring for another person is like a drop of water -it will make ripples throughout the entire pond…” Jessy and Bryan Matteo
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and was walking and talking about events in Washington DC. A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
* A special thanks to Google Images which I used in this post.
Mark Twain “Likes” Teach a Teacher
February 5, 2013
Your education doesn’t end when you finish your schooling. It only starts with your schooling, so get a good start and stick with it !
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
Mark Twain
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mohandas Gandhi
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and likes to white wash fences with Mark Twain! A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
Volunteer With Us and Read About Teach a Teacher and What We Do
January 21, 2013
By Kelly Dwyer Executive Director
We wish to honor the vocation of educators…
The theory and pedagogy we bring to this program is the recognition that all teachers are individuals and have different methodology that works for them within the context of what they have learned in their studies and over the years of experience. Many volunteer vacations are either 
expensive or match individuals with projects that don’t best utilize their skills. Our goal is to make the most use of the skills of professional teachers from the developed countries, while providing them with an opportunity to learn and take something back from their experiences. We also believe that by teachers educating teachers, we will have a more far reaching effect on the education in Peru. We enter into this activity with recognition of best practices and research based instruction and that strategies provided to educators in the developing world far out pace what is available to the educators and the community in the region where Teach a Teacher is working. We hope to continue to provide educators and the local community access to different ideas and implementation of these practices that will lead to better instruction and more productive learning in the classrooms in Peru.
Most educators will tell you that it is the practical and useful skills they can take back to their classrooms, that they want and can use to improve their instruction. They will also tell you that some things they learn, work for them in their current teaching situations and some don’t. We recognize this is a process, as with all professional development opportunities, it is probable that a given educator will attempt two to three of the strategies or activities they learn. However, with additional support and classroom visits by our volunteers, we can anticipate an even greater adaptation of strategies that will allow greater learning.
At Teach A Teacher we wish to honor the vocation of the educator, recognize teaching and individual style and provide them with hands-on useful professional development that will benefit them and their students. We also encourage strategies that captivate the attention of students and make learning a more enjoyable process, which will also increase school attendance and comprehensive learning.
Teach A Teacher staff, members and volunteers will recruit and design identifiable measures of success of our programs. We envision work with evaluators of the program’s success, but will also rely on teacher evaluations of their experiences, what they are able to use in their professions and observations, as well as national statistics and test scores. We firmly believe that within a few years of this program, the educational statistics for the region of Ancash will begin to show the progress our design can achieve and will hopefully grow and be adapted by other regions of Peru.
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas. in Peru. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Kelly Dwyer is Executive Director of Teach a Teacher Nonprofit. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
Better Homes and Chacras or, Flowers …. Boom or Bloom !
November 29, 2012
by H Mac Wooten
OH the flowers are beautiful, you shouldn’t have! No, you really shouldn’t have. You’re hurting people in developing countries and you’re helping people in developing countries. Which is it? The answer is both. I’ll bet their government couldn’t tell you. The government probably can’t explain it to their citizens nor (in my opinion) are they inclined to. My mother-in-law is the recipient of flowers on many occasions (from us). I can’t say that I ever given much though to the origin or who worked in (possibly) poor conditions and low wages to make her smile. She will probably receive more flowers for her 92nd birthday if we can’t attend. In my years of living here in Peru I have never fully understood the thought process of many businesses here. On many streets here, there is a neighborhood store (tienda) just like many places in many countries. There’s one coming soon to your neighborhood. Here, directly beside the neighborhood tienda, there is another tienda. An exact copy with the same items and the exact same prices. In addition to those two, there is another across the street and another at the end of the street. A business that barely exists and provides a minimum income for a family is diluted by 4 others in the same block. It appears that the owners thinking is, if you can sell it and make money, I can too …. and make money. This business plan is also copied by the restaurants here. They are also identical and offer the exact same menu at the same price. Everyone struggles under this business plan. Sorry, we were talking about flowers. I explained to my neighbors that I foresaw a problem with everyone planting flowers and flowers being a discretionary product when the world economy was going to hell, there were a lot of hard working people who were going to lose. Their response was that “everyone sells their flowers and makes lots of money”. People here quit planting food crops and started planting flowers. Land owners rented their land for others to grow flowers. Well, ……. I guess the bump in the road has finally come, the chickens have come home to roost and I honestly admit that it took far longer that I anticipated. The toxicity of the pesticides used for flowers is a good topic for another blog. But for this blog it’s “I told you so” ! Flowers, for most of us who are from developed countries are not something we generally have on the table, or am I that different? Flowers are usually a tool, ploy, or distraction that we (men) use to temporarily get ourselves out of trouble for extremely poor judgement. Flowers for most everyone I know are waaay down the list on our discretionary spending budget. Flowers are further down the list than greeting cards and opera tickets and ironically as I’m writing this I’m listening to Mozart’s Don Giovanni. I’m here to dine with you!
Scroll back up and look at the picture of the field of flowers for a moment. Notice anything? Yes, they’re beautiful. Why are they so beautiful, you ask? Because they should have been picked a week ago. The flower boom or bloom has started collapsing here. BTW I just made that up! A triple hand full of flowers is selling for about 20 centimos or $ 0.07. The entrepreneur who rented land, bought and sprayed everything with expensive and extremely toxic pesticides , fertilized and worked their butt of everyday for months, now can afford to harvest his crop.
Is this a lesson in gardening or economics? It’s not much of a lesson in either. It’s a hard lesson for people who barely get by but see their neighbor next door and across the street and everyone else growing flowers and they’re all falling into the same hole. If they had grown alfalfa, a.k.a. green gold, they would have come out ahead. Almost everyone here raises cuy
Aren’t I just precious?
(guinea pigs) and they ALL eat alfalfa … everyday all day. I’m no economist and not much of a farmer, but we work with the locals and our neighbors and explain the issues with pesticides and try to teach better farming practices and show them our organic successes.
I wish I had more answers but I don’t. I work with what I have, one day at a time and hope to reach and teach some and hope I also learn something every day. I enjoy flowers as much as anyone but, flowers like many other things in life do come to us at a price and probably has a story behind it. I for one don’t usually think about the hardship and working conditions behind many everyday items we use and enjoy i.e. clothes, electronics and food just to name a few. Send you mom some flowers soon or just call her and tell her you love her and don’t wait for a special occasion.
* Chacras is a Spanish term used for Farm
Teach a Teacher and our Volunteers provide Professional Development and help teach basic teaching skills to Teachers in some of the poorest areas. Please visit us at www.teachateacher.org and www.teachateacher.wordpress.com and at teachateacher on Facebook.
Mac Wooten is President of Teach a Teacher nonprofit and picks flowers when the neighbors are away! A native of Greenville S.C. We live and focus most of our work in the Ancash region of Peru.
by H Mac Wooten
Discrimination in the schools 
In practical and symbolic terms, the key to Peru’s' door of society is the learning of Spanish and of reading-writing, all of which were previously denied to the Indians. It is more than ironic that the Indians are among the largest group being discriminated against even today. Quechua was spoken here long before Pizarro conquered the Incas and introduced the Spanish language. (In 1572 – The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire is completed with the fall of the last Inca stronghold. Túpac Amaru, son of Manco Inca and the last ruler of the Inca Empire, is captured and executed in 1572).
The oldest know “published” written Quechua is a grammar and dictionary written by Fray Domingo de Santo Tomás in 1560. The name of that work is Grammatica o Arte de la Lengua General de los Indios de los Reynos del Peru. Presumably, he (and possibly others) would have written Quechua informally prior to that publication. Which Quechua language “lengua general” refers to is an unresolved issue. Some say it was the Cuzco Quechua of the day. Others argue it was a lingua franca (based on Southern Quechua in general). And others say it was a lingua franca that arose over a 30-40 year period due to new sociolinguistic conditions triggered by the Spanish conquest.
In the Lima-Province division is also important, but it is more or less subordinated to the first: a private school in the provinces that is attended by the middle and upper class will be better valued (and will effectively also have an education of better quality) than a public school in Lima, but when comparing two state schools that are similar, the one in Lima will have the advantage. Surveys show that teachers in Argentina, Peru and Uruguay have high levels of rejection towards diversity. Some of the highest percentages of negative discrimination are, as in the case of Mexico, against homosexuals. 20% of teachers in Uruguay, 34% in Argentina and 55% in Peru, would not accept having homosexuals as neighbors. There is also a strong rejection based on nationality, ethnicity or social condition of origin. In this survey 11% of teachers in Uruguay, 15% in Argentina and 38% in Peru discriminate against people based on their nationality or ethnicity. 
There is also discrimination against inhabitants of ‘Slums’ among 16% of the teachers in Peru, 33% of Uruguayan teachers and 53% of Argentinean teachers. Not only is rejection towards people from neighboring countries, but also towards immigrants from other latitudes and persons based on their religion. Around 19% or 20% of teachers in Peru, discriminate against Arab and Jewish people, against Japanese, Chinese, Ecuadorians and Chileans as well as Argentinians. Peruvians with darker skin color are generally discriminated against. Having a darker skin color (native Inca heritage) rather that a lighter skin color (Spanish decent) alone may dictate what school you’re allowed to attend.
Teachers and principals recognize at a discursive level that discrimination should not be a part of school practices, however, this is not necessarily so. A study (International Institute for Educational Planning, 2003) on discrimination in schools in Lima and Cusco. Teachers are not prepared neither academically nor emotionally to identify the discriminatory attitudes, even violent ones, that occur every day in the classroom.” Hence, said situations are resolved according to the perspectives of each teacher based on personal experience, more or less lucid, more or less vulnerable, which in many instances produces its unconscious reproduction, without being aware of the pain/harm done on the boys and girls.
In Lima, in marginal urban zones, discrimination seems to be more associated to economic differences or cultural levels, while in the provinces discrimination in schools is more directly associated to language and place of origin. When you really speak to the Indians of the countryside in Quechua , there is a moment when you begin to speak in Spanish and then, it slips out, it lets loose, then our colleagues say: ‘This one is ‘moteando’ (speaking with errors), you are murdering Cervantes’. They don’t realize that at some point they also slip up, (that) it is having an impact on them. There is discrimination among ourselves ‘that I am of blue blood, that I have this and such surname’, this is not something new, but has always occurred.
Like children everywhere, they can be very cruel in their discrimination of others because of the use of language. Some children are embarrassed of speaking Quechua because they begin to get mocked ‘go eat cancha (maize), with your ‘mote’ Hygiene is also associated with what is clean, the non-contaminated, the pure, the white, all which comes from the modern urban world. 
Not exclusive to rural schools, the restrooms in schools almost never have toilet seats or toilet paper or soap. The sink is usually located outside. This is not particularly uncommon in Peru or other developing countries as many restaurants and other public places aren’t equipped with these indoor luxury facilities either. No, the government doesn’t provide toilet paper or soap in the schools. An apparently neutral description on the use of bathrooms is not innocent: in the complaints laid down by the teachers, children appear as unclean and contaminating and therefore linked to the world of the impure or of what isn’t white.
The School Cafeteria
