We went to school with our friend Jesús last week. Jesús teaches English to kindergarteners as part of a new educational initiative. The program aims to introduce students to English starting at the kindergarten level by providing hour-long English lessons three days a week.
We visited two public schools in Silao, an industrial town about fifteen minutes from Guanajuato: Jardín de Niños Solidaridad and Jardín de Niños Efrain Huerta. (Jardín de Niños schools are pre-elementary schools. In México, half-day school is mandatory starting at the preschool level for children 3-4 years of age. The Jardínes de Niños include preschool and kindergarten grades.) These schools in Silao are in poorer, rougher neighborhoods, but I was impressed with the classrooms and the quality of the educational materials. Students typically wear uniforms at public schools in México, but at one of these schools the students did not wear uniforms because of the expense for the families.
This day's English lesson focused on clothes. The students learned the words for "t-shirt," "pants," "dress," and "shoes." One student asked if the word "t-shirt" is the same as the word "teacher" - they sound almost the same, after all - a good question, I thought, from a five-year old. The children also sang the "Squeeze" song in English: "Squeeze, squeeze, stand up, please! Touch your head, touch your knees!" After singing the song, the students chanted, "Otra! Otra!" to sing it again.
We helped the students cut and paste pictures of shirts, pants, and shoes in their workbooks, and as they colored their pictures we asked them what colors they were using in English. They asked us questions, too: most importantly, they asked if we are gigantes - giants.
I have always loved to go to school - ever since I stopped crying after my first week of kindergarten. But this particular school day was a highlight.
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