Going to school is not the same as learning
Walk into a typical Guatemalan classroom and it’s easy to see that children aren’t learning. The classroom environment is chaotic. Kids are often off task and bored. Teachers look overwhelmed and unprepared. Child Aid knows there are two overarching reasons why primary schools in Guatemala fail their students: insufficiently trained teachers and a lack of key resources, most notably Spanish-language books.
Poor Quality Teaching
Most teachers in Guatemalan primary schools have only a high school-level education and no exposure to best practices in child development and literacy instruction. Once in the classroom, they are isolated and receive almost no support. They fight a daily battle to provide the structured learning environment their students need most.
Classrooms Without Books
You can’t learn to read without books. Yet teachers and students in Guatemala face bookless classrooms every day, and they are forced to make due with single copies of outdated textbooks or scraps of newspapers to provide some reading materials. Students have few opportunities to read independently and explore their interests.
The simple answer? Give students better equipped teachers.
The challenges of the learning crisis are profound, but the solutions are known and within our grasp. Studies show the best way to close the learning gap and improve student outcomes is to improve the quality of teaching. And high quality training with sustained, personalized coaching has been shown as the most effective way to help teachers gain the knowledge and skills they need to improve their student instruction. These skills, combined with the passions of the teachers, unlock a brighter future for their students.