School Contacts

March 5, 2015

School contacts

As part of the BPO mission we have been trying to make some contacts with schools and students both here and at home. The challenge has been that this is summer vacation for the students. In the Galapagos they are off for the 3 months of Feb, March, and April. Eduardo, with the National Park, has facilitated a number of interesting contacts.  On Fri am there was a Skype call with a school in Pennsylvania that Tim on No Regrets arranged. The students there have been following our progress and had a chance to ask questions. In the afternoon a group of us visited 2 schools and met with administration and some teachers. Today some students are visiting a couple of sailboats to see what they are like and ask questions. Emails have been exchanged with staff for ongoing contact. Internet service is relatively poor and expensive on the islands so wifi sites generally are not used by the schools.

I'll share some of the ideas presented to us. The first school visited was a private one from preschool to Gr 12, Colegio National Galapagos. It was started by the Scalesia Foundation to support the concepts of sustainability and conservation. The school is built in the woods in the highlands and looks like you are at a camp predominantly living outdoors. Looks very appealing! There are a number of teachers from other countries. It has an English immersion curriculum as well. It has been given Unesco support for promoting peace and preservation.

The other school visited was a local high school which also gets some funding for their programs on the environment. With 800 students there is a bigger variety of programming. They have started an IB program. There are also studies of the local culture, cuisine, music, dress that are required. English is the second language studied.

When the Galapagos was first designated as a World Heritage Site there was some resistance from the older generation because it puts restrictions on what they can do. The school students have contributed a lot toward changing that reaction with marches, displays, and general support. As in many places in the world there is a conflict between conservation and tourism dollars.

As teachers and parents elsewhere, they would like to see children spending more time on outdoor activities. Ironically, the kids here do not have much contact with the sea. They don' t normally swim, sail, snorkel or visit other islands as only the tourists can afford it. Any personal contact with people from other places is considered a good learning experience.