Thank you, teachers!

Paola Yáñez Arias

This May 15th is a day to show our gratitude to those who have taught and shaped us in life, with their example and dedication. Teachers play a fundamental role in the education and training of people of different ages: girls, boys, adolescents and adults; but also, many families in adverse situations. These professional, kind, patient, hard-working and caring people, like the education promoters at Amextra, help shape our society and guide us in positive directions. 

Ruth Martínez Gutierrez is a promoter of education for Amextra in the community of Sierra de Guadalupe and neighboring communities in Tultitlán, Estado de México. She says that minors have delays in the learning because “they are basically lagging behind (…) that is where we come in to support them in terms of tutoring, helping them with their homework and we also have contact with nearby schools in our community, Justo Sierra and Gabriela Mistral Elementary” 

Ruth works with children from first to sixth grade, she trains teachers and coordinates the education area. She perceives that many challenges need to be overcome. “With the pandemic, there was a total change in terms of learning, both for the children and for those who teach.”

On the other hand, there is a very big problem in terms of access to the internet and technologies: “here the majority do not have internet access and, for example, right now with the pandemic there was a lot of unemployment, for this reason, people did not have the resources to get internet on their phone ”. But, with effort and hard work, it has been possible to continue the education program with this community:

“The children were given tutoring workshops and help with homework in their own homes. For example, those who have a family, we went with that family, if there were two children we helped both and we also provided online classes ”.

In Tultitlán it was necessary to work exhaustively so that the students could continue learning and not abandon their studies. There were teachers who lent their cell phones to be able to continue with the online classes and the time they spent dedicated to children was reduced for safety reasons. ”We almost gave each one an hour and then we could not make any more appointments, so we talked to families, there are two children, okay, we gave them an hour. Those two left and others came and that’s how we worked for many months (…) ”

The education promoters also support adults who want to finish their basic education. Through the National Institute of Adult Education (INEA), they are given the opportunity to continue their studies and are provided with support to learn about the platforms, register, and ask any questions they may have:

“We’ve had married couples that finish high school together and this is great because we know that, although they feel older, they have the ability to learn and this is an example for their children.”

Additionally, through workshops against violence, they have managed to change the situation that existed within the community “(…) There is not as much violence, they no longer hit the children, the mothers are not stressed and for example, many have joined the activities of the community center ”.

Thank you teachers! Thank you for your example, dedication and extraordinary work in these times of the pandemic. Thanks to the Amextra education staff, but also to the volunteers who have joined in providing education to girls and boys in marginalized conditions.

It is time to take some time and reflect on the teachers in our lives. Who influenced you and in what way? Let’s let them know how much we value them and how they got us to where we are. Like Ruth, every day, in various parts of the world, they are engines of transformation for thousands of people.