Trabajo Extra Clase

One of the things that I love about our new house on the CATIE campus is that we are only a 1/4 mile walk from the kids' school.  No more bus ride in the morning, no more getting all the way home only to realize that the needed book for homework is still in Gracie's desk (well, that still happens - but now we can just walk back to school and get the book!).

This new advantage has come in handy during the past week, because it has been "Trabajo de Extra Clase" week.  Originally I thought that meant "extra credit", but I was wrong.  During each term, students are assigned an extra project to be completed at home for each and every subject - and they are all assigned and due within a 2 week time period.  The first week of this term's "extra clase" season fell during our Nicaragua trip, so we have been scrambling like mad to get the kids' projects done and turned in on time.  Here's a list of the projects so far:

Math: a worksheet on "agrupaciones" - a method for understanding exponentials
English: creating postcards to send to Grace and James' classmates back in the States
Music: creating rhythm instruments made out of recyclable materials
Art: painting realistic forms using tertiary colors (think of a plum using red-violet)
Spanish: defining terms used in communication, cutting out a magazine ad, labeling the sender and receiver, and articulating the message being sent
Environmental Studies: a summary of tsunamis - definition, how they are formed, damage caused, diagram
Computers: making flashcards of all the parts of the CPU and their characteristics
Social Studies: making a poster about a Costa Rican National Park, complete with maps, pictures, etc. The park was chosen by the teacher (James got one we've been to - Cahuita; Grace got one we'd never heard of - Carara)


Once again, I am struck by the differences in the educational system and how those differences affect my own attitude toward things.  My gut reaction to the idea of doing all these projects in such a short space of time is that it is ridiculous.  How can we possibly get all the materials needed to complete the projects, do all the research, and get things done neatly without losing our minds? Don't any of the other parents work?  Greg and I are bending over backwards to help the kids get all of this done - and we're barely working at all!


But as I step back to look at it from a different perspective, I can see a whole lot of beauty in this system.  First of all, the projects are great learning opportunities and get the kids thinking in a way that the traditional Costa Rican classroom doesn't naturally encourage. Second, most families have these supplies on hand (we would in the States) - my frustration is simply at not having all the things I have at home right at my fingertips. And third, there is a whole population of adults who make their living by tutoring students after school. They help them study for the intense week of exams each term; they help them complete the extra clase projects. Parents hire others to make sure their children are doing the projects correctly and learning the information at the same time.  It is a system that not only educates the students, but also provides a way for other families to make a living.  Kinda neat.

But for us, this is a chance to spend quality time with the kids and learn about National Parks and exponentials. Tonight we will be finishing the Social Studies posters and hoping that a surprise project for Science does not find its way home. Next week is Semana Santa, a much needed spring break for the whole country!