As educators in the United States, we pride ourselves as being resourceful when providing for the educational needs of the children in our classrooms. As a newcomer to CITTI Project 2007, I have discovered a new meaning to the term resourceful. I have been working alongside educators, therapists, and parents of children with disabilities for the past eight days in Ambato and Huambalo.
Receiving a salary of $50 - $130 per month, teachers in Ecuador work very hard to meet the needs of the children with disabilities with whom they work. To meet the needs of these children with so little money, the teachers have honed being resourceful to an art form. Empty shoe boxes become engaging activities which cover all curriculum areas. Matching activities that focused on themes (kitchen items, money) were designed from cardboard and clothespins and helped with vocabulary development and work-related skills. A scrap piece of paper with numbers written 1 – 10 and film canisters containing glass beads kept a group of children engaged for 45-minutes,
identifying numbers, adding and subtracting, and improving their fine-motor skills. Positioning chairs were constructed from cardboard and used to help students with severe disabilities participate in all activities. Discarded wooden pallets were used to create spaces for classrooms and an accessible outdoor garden center. These are all amazing examples that assistive technology tools come in different shapes and sizes. (picture: Carlos Martinez gives the CITTI Project team a tour of the Special Education Institute in Ambato.)As teachers and students of another culture, working together and exposing each other to new ideas expanded all of our educational tool boxes. By keeping our focus on the needs of the children, we assisted our fellow educators by helping them break down barriers, adapt for access, and adopt the adaptations for their own purposes. Watching teachers, parents, and students problem solve together provided a glimpse of what it is like to include everyone in an engaging learning process. We are each others’ teachers and students and need to remember “that it’s all about the kids.”
I will be leaving Ecuador and my new friends viewing life through changed lenses. As the Director of the Special Education Student Teaching Program at New Mexico State University, I will work to help new teachers think about the resources they have available to them and help them to focus on creating inclusive environments by empowering themselves, their students, and the parents of the children with whom they work. Two weeks is time to develop friendships, become comfortable in local surroundings, and experience the culture. I get a lump in my throat as this adventure comes to a close. I do hope that I left a piece of me with the children and families of the villages we visited because I am taking away bushels full of new friendships, ideas, and memories.