3-Feb-2003
Another Way
In the U.S., a kid is suspended or expelled for bringing a knife to
school. At Centro Villanueva, the boys are required once a month to bring
their machetes to school to cut the lawn and pick up trash. The girls
must bring brooms and cleaning materials. The amount of responsibility
taken by the students to maintain the school is remarkable. Each of
the 125 boarding students (mostly teenagers) must work 2 hours per day
plus attend class and mandatory study halls. ONE adult is charged with
making sure this happens. How is that possible? It’s possible because
the older students take responsibility for the younger, and the younger
generally respect the orders and examples of the older. Each day,
11th-grader Carlos Alberto takes the work orders from the director and sees
that they are carried out by the rest of the students. Oscar Toc, also
11th grade, is responsible for the care of the pigs. Marcos Choc works
as the electrician. Santiago Alonzo and Oscar Cho make all of the
photocopies. Aurelio Cho and Mauro Choc run a little store which sells
toiletries, sweets, and pop. Another team of boys must take care of the
corn grinder, several others the backup generator, and in each dormitory
3 boys are responsible for maintaining order and cleanliness. Those
without specific duties go out to work in the fields each morning, clean,
or do maintenance.
I don’t wish to paint Centro Villanueva as educational perfection, but
I couldn’t help but wonder how our own schools and students in the U.S.
might be improved by both requiring and expecting more of their
students. Certainly they would take more pride in their school and education;
hopefully they would have more respect as well. From personal
experience, I am proud that a day of my labor in high school helped put a new
wooden floor on the basketball court.
Renaissance
As Wendell Berry says in "The Unsettling of America", a specialist can
do exactly ONE thing well. In the modern world we are so far advanced
that each one of us has forgotten how to do almost everything. Why
shouldn’t we all attempt to be "Renaissance Men"? After all, doesn’t it
mean more to receive a hand made card? Don’t the beans from your own
garden always taste better?
Recent Assasinations
Before getting to the murders, let me paint for you the bleak picture
that is the current Guatemalan reality. Nationwide, the elementary
school teachers have been on strike since the first day of school in
mid-January. Accusations of corruption and signs of incompetence follow the
administration around like lost puppies, constantly whining but
powerless to do anything. The Peace Accords that ended the civil war
continue to go unfulfilled by the government. Violence is increasing. The
government was recently decertified by the U.S. for not controlling drug
traffic, and the European Union is threatening to cut off its aid
within months... Now for the bad news.
Persons recently assasinated:
One magistrate and one judge. The judge had recently ruled against
drug traffickers. They put more than 20 bullet holes in the windshield of
her car.
Two mayan priests. One was also a lawyer and prominent indigenous
rights leader.
Two Christian Democrat politicians. (Gearing up for elections later
this year!)
Another witness in the court case that imprisoned the murderers (two
military officers and a priest) of Bishop Gerardi. The timing of this
murder is especially important because a judge recently ruled that the
decision in the first case was not valid and there must be another trial.
Problem is, many of the witnesses, lawyers, and judges from the first
case have been killed or fled the country. The bishop’s murderers will
likely go free this time.
Translation of a joke which appeared in the February 7 edition of
"Prensa Libre"
In a press conference Bush says, "During the war in Iraq we are going
to kill 150,000 muslims and a dentist."
"Why are you going to kill a dentist?" asks a reporter.
Turning to Colin Powell, Bush says, "See, I told you noboby would ask
about the muslims."
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