Sooooooooooo here I am at school, instead of doing homework I'm in a computer lab with about 20 nice computers and writing on my blog. I'm too lazy and tired to do my homework even though this probably requires more brain power and written words than my homework does. I think this is something we call 'first world problems'?
In Espwa, the kids go to school in this large cement block building. Compared to schools in America, you would think they just started to build the school and are only 1/4 finished. The only thing the building has is a cement slab for a floor, and the cement blocks for the walls, and a roof. The windows and doorways are blocks removed. No glass, no doors. Just blocks. The desks are either picnic tables or about 4ft long wooden desks with a bench and a handful of kids squished together behind it. There are two thin blackboards up on the front wall. That is all. No teachers desk, no maps of the world, no smart boards or cabinets with supplies. Just those few simple things.
The part that's both sad but amazing is that with the lack in materials and nice classrooms the kids take so much pride in their schooling. You can ask every single one of them if they love school and with so much enthusiasm they answer "yes! i LOVE school!" and proceed to tell you why, and what their favorite subjects are, and what they want to be when they grow up. I'm glad they have that outlet and love their chance to learn. They see education as their way out or their ticket to success, so they are eager to learn as much as possible. The sad part is that in America where we have i-pads for everyone in the class, computer labs, air conditioning, individual desks, smartboards, textbooks, cabinets full of supplies etc.. we do nothing but complain about going to school. We complain about doing work because we are lazy and it is too hard.
This is because it is all handed to us. We're used to other people doing things for us. Instead of students learning, we just have teachers teaching. Instead of understanding, we inhale and exhale a handful of information in a 24 hour period to get the test score we want. For us it is about scores. For them it is about the education.
A common theme I've noticed between America and Haiti is their lacking in materials, and our lacking in heart. We have above and beyond the resources and materials "needed" in life, but we don't appreciate it and we're always striving for more. Instead of the Haitians where they make the most out of every last thing they have and take it above and beyond the imaginable. The cliche phrase "you get as much out as you put in" applies here 100%. Do we really need all of these things we have? Do teachers in my district need to be cut so they can afford more i-Pads?
Once again, I think we could learn a few things from Haiti.