> As you know, we work the year in two turns.During
> the regular school term we work with children who
> missed their opportunity to go to school (or dropped
> out due to poverty, uncaring parents, whatever)
> children too old to get into school near their grade
> level. And we don't want to force schools to accept
> such children at grades so much lower than their age
> that it wouldn't work. We teach these children the
> best we can. Those who progress well, we try to get
> into regular school at or near their age level. This
> can happen during the school year (as in the case of
> Las Palmeras, but most advancing children will
> finish the school year with us and then we will get
> them registered in regular school the following
> March.
> > Our school year ends the same time the national
> school year ends. So find out what date in December
> this is, and that's when our school year ends for
> the children who are with us now.
> There will be a term ending celebration on that
> date, and the children will stop coming. [In the
> past we have had trouble - mostly new volunteers -
> with agreeing to this. But that's how it is...
> They will all be invited back to a big Christmas
> party a few days before Christmas. Then they will be
> on their own until the beginning of the next school
> term - mid to late March normally.
> Those children we are able to register in regular
> school we will work with during the summer only to
> the extent of getting them registered, uniformed,
> school materials bought etc (birth certificates
> obtained, if they don't have them). Even all of this
> we will try to get the parents to do/cooperate
> in/participate in/pay for: because it is critical
> for the parent(s) to be as involved and responsible
> as possible in their children's education as
> possible, for the sake of the children. In practice
> we usually end up getting the parent's cooperation,
> but we have to pay for most or all the cost. For
> this reason it is critical for Peruvians (social
> workers, Rocio, her father, Peruvian volunteers) to
> work with the parents. When gringos do it the
> parents fall into the trap of believing they can get
> by on charity, and rich gringos will take over their
> parental responsibility to educate their children.
> > During the summer months we operate our most
> effective programme: getting children young enough
> to enter first or second grade - but who would not
> be entering school if we did not intervene -
> prepared and into school. This is a wonderful
> satisfying programme, and is the most important
> thing we do.
> > But it must be done just right, otherwise we end up
> wasting our time, energy and resources. The key is
> we have to find the children who need this, not let
> parents find us. Otherwise we will end up preparing
> and registering and paying for children who were
> already headed for school. A complete waste for us.
> > The solution is for our community representatives
> (school directors, teachers etc) plus our Peruvian
> professionals and staff to build a list of the
> children 5-7 (5 if they will turn 6 before school
> opening date) who will NOT be going to school. The
> poorest, most abandoned, abused, neglected; most
> dysfunctional families. When we get the list the
> social workers have to prove every child, interview
> and means test every parent - persuade every parent
> to participate.
> This list is built up during November and December.
> It will usually include more children for each
> school than are attending now.
> during the months from 9 January (or first week day
> after the 6th of January second Christmas observance
> in Peru) until school opening we work with these
> children, teaching them classroom discipline, the
> basics of reading, writing, maths - the joy of
> learning, of succeeding at something. We shower them
> with love and discipline. The results are so rapid
> you will all be swimming with delight. Enter wild
> children, and soon they are respectful little
> students.
> During this time the social workers and Peruvian
> staff and volunteers are getting birth certificates,
> registering the children in schools (we like to get
> as many as possible from each satellite into the
> same school, same class - that way it will be easier
> to hold our all important club meetings with them
> during the year: where we continue to take an
> interest in them and their progress through the
> school year, reinforce our love for them)
> > So, November and the first half of December Social
> workers are going around building up and proving the
> list of 5-7 year olds who would not otherwise be
> entering school this coming year.
> > The last 10 days of December and first week of
> January are our annual break. No official
> obligations.
> > After the first week of January through mid March we
> are flat out preparing, registering, uniforming,
> equipping children for first grade.
> > As soon as the little ones have gone, the regular
> students (those we have not gotten into state
> school) return to us, and we begin the regular
> school rear once again.
> > This is what is just ahead for Bruce Peru.