Niños

Lately I have been conducting interviews with school principals, teachers, and parent volunteers in local primary schools. I am comparing the experiences of those schools that were previously autonomous (run by parent councils) with those that had remained government-run. I am also asking them about their experiences with the new government and about their relationship with local Citizen Power Councils. There is definitely a lot of variation, even between schools that are literally within a few city blocks of each other!

Many schools also have a preschool class (like the one below). This school (Colegio Escolar de Batahola Norte) is just a few blocks away from where I live.

I always feel like a celebrity around the kids. It's nice to be greeted with big smiles, waves and eager conversation: ¿Como te llamas? (What's your name?) ¿De donde eres? (Where are you from?) ¡Hola! (Hi!) ¡Adios! (Bye!).



I had to include another sweet picture of Hector. (He's a little obsessed with my camera at this point and asked me to take another picture of him in his cowboy hat. I didn't need much encouraging and was happy to oblige.)