Remember when life was about the morning bell, who was your favorite teacher and who sat next to you? A good teacher can be the one who inspires you, who supports academic success, and the one who you are still thankful for today. One fundamental piece that is missing in the Guatemalan school system is the quality education of teachers. Most teachers are poorly educated and underpaid and the curricula and teaching methods are outdated.
The school system does not cultivate basic skills of critical thinking, creating a positive change in their communities. In addition, only few classrooms meet minimum standards for classroom space, teaching materials, and classroom equipment. Another factor contributing to the low quality of teaching is the lack of resources to teach a unified curriculum. Many teachers teach the way they were taught with primary methods of instruction being lecture or having students copy information.
In order to attack the roots of the low quality of education CasaSito will offer scholarships to teachers of private and public schools who often don't have the necessary funds to finish their academic career. The holistic program covers partial scholarships, personal development workshops and activities directed to the teachers' students that aim to expand academic opportunities, awaken their spirit of critical thinking, leadership, and change.
18 teachers will be more confident and passionate about what they do and have the necessary tools to effectively teach the basic curriculum and public speaking and critical thinking within their classrooms. Approx. 45 students per classroom will benefit from the program. More than 800 students from public and private schools will directly benefit from the program and more than 3,000 students indirectly, each year.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
