Photo by Liz
A chorus of “No…..no……si…..si” monotonously answers the teacher’s questions in unison. The class clown murmurs during the silence causing ripples of suppressed laughter to course through the room. The student next to me stares in fascination at the floor and teeters perilously on the back two legs of his chair. Another starts texting on his phone under the desk. A girl in a pink jacket turns around to shush the two boys talking behind her. A boy on the front row has a feather pen. A real one. I kind of want it. I shoot the gnawed mechanical pencil I’m writing with a disgusted look.
The teacher ignores (or pretends to ignore) it all and continues with his lesson. Feminismo. Despite the implementation of women’s rights, many Paraguayan women have been reluctant to leave traditional gender roles: is this because of their desire to adhere to strong cultural ties or because they are suppressed by a machismo society? A boy answers: Women are choosing to remain in traditional gender roles, no one is forcing them. Another boy: It’s not a chauvinistic society, women don’t want the change. Another boy answers similarly. And another. And another. Only one girl raises her hand. Some women are utilizing their newfound rights, she says. Another boy speaks. The rest of the girls remain silent.
The next class we sat in on was much smaller and much more attentive. The one boy who dared yawn aloud was quickly reprimanded with a stern, “If you’re tired, there’s the door.” He did not move again. The teacher posed questions and the students seemed very engaged and willing to participate. Rather than a suffocatingly strict classroom or a completely unruly one, it seemed to have found the happy medium. Freedom of focused, topical expression and discussion.
The only question I have about the education strategy at the school is the quantity of classroom time. The students are in class every other week and one student’s schedule looks like this:
Monday
7:30-11 Outdoor project
12:20-1 History and Geography
1-2:20 Administration
2:30-3:50 Spanish
4-5:20 Math
Tuesday
7:30-11:20 Agriculture
12:20-1 History and Geography
1-2:20 Economics
2:30-3:50 Guarani
Wednesday
7:30-11:20 Animals (Big and Small)
12:20-2:20 Orientation
2:20-3:50 Agriculture
Thursday
7:30-11:00 and 1-4 Outdoor Project
Friday
7:30-11:20 Implementation of Equipment
12:20-2:20 Book Study
2:30-3:50 English
Perhaps my view of the class structure is an Americanized one, however, it’s hard for me to imagine a student gaining a firm grasp of mathematical concepts when they are only in a math class twice a month. However, this is an agricultural school so it is fitting and appropriate that the emphasis be on technical agricultural class instruction. Based on the breakdown of classes at the school, this seems to be a high priority.
Regardless, FP is ahead of the curve when it comes to education in Paraguay and most of the students I’ve talked to plan on attending the University of Asunción upon graduation. So while there is always room for improvement, it is undeniable that for many students the school has been excellent preparation for college and for a career in agricultural entrepreneurship afterward.
Jamie