Answers from the Students in Mexico Spring 2014
Greeting | School | Home | Monarch

What is your starting time at school?
Zamara and Lía (living in the city):
We start at 7 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.
All of the others (living in town and in the countryside):
We start at 8 and 9 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m.

What time do you have supper?
Antonio: We have a very light snack or a hot drink with a piece of bread around 8-9 p.m.
Lupita: We only have some tea by 8 p.m, since we have an abundant dinner like all families around 4 p.m.

What kind of reading do you do?
All children: We read all kinds of subjects, especially history.
Lía, Zamara and Laura Emilia: We have been reading Latin American Literature from famous Spanish-speaking writers, both encouraged at school and from our families.

What kind of homework do you do?
All: We get a considerable amount of homework from all subjects. We have to write too much, both at school and with homework, which we do not like at all.

How many students are in your school and in your class?
Children (attending public/government schools in town):
We have 300 students in our schools with an average of 30 students per class.
Esmeralda (living in a community where the demographic growth is diminishing considerably):
We have 70 children in my elementary school, with an average of 10 students per class.

How many people are in your families?
Leonardo: six
Pepe: eight
Raúl: four
Marco: eleven
Octavio: four

How many people live in your city?
Estela: None of the children knew the answer. Angangueo has around 11,000 inhabitants and the population is expected to increase substantially once the mining company starts working, since it may attract people from different places due to employment openings.

Do you learn History?
Marta: Yes, but it is not my favorite subject.
Marina: Yes, but math is my favorite.
Minerva: Yes, and my history teacher is very, very good at it. He makes the class really interesting.
Grecia: Yes, and I like it.
Alejandra: Yes.
Antonio: Yes, and it is my favorite together with geography.

Do you speak English?
Lía, Zamara: Yes, our schools were bilingual since we were in kindergarten.
Laura Emilia: I learned it at home with my mother as my teacher and with the very frequent contact we have with tourists from all over the world, visiting the monarch butterflies.
The rest of children:
No, we do not and we would love it. You only learn English if you attend a private school. Private courses are very expensive and they are only available in Zitácuaro, the nearest city to town, about 30 km. from home.

Do you learn about other cultures?
Valeria: Our educational system at Elementary and Secondary schools contains a lot about our pre-hispanic roots in Latin America and Spanish Culture (part of our roots), and also cultures like Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Some Indo-European, and some from the Middle-East.
Pepe: We do, but I think many of us do not value it much. We are proud and more interested in our own roots rather than learning about other cultures.

Do you speak other languages?
All reflected carefully about their answer and agreed:
No, but children in our indigenous communities are still bilingual - they speak their own mother language and Spanish, although they are more and more influenced by Spanish.
Grecia: Recently, the government started a new Educational University project where indigenous community-students will make their careers under a bilingüal system, Spanish-Mother Language, in order to preserve and reinforce their own language.  My dad is working there at the administrative area.

Does your town have a nickname? Was your town founded or started? What was it that attracted people to live in that region?
Diego: I don´t know that my town has a nickname. I honestly do not know of my town’s history.
Martha: My town’s nickname is Sorroche, which means a place with steep streets. Its people are called Sorroches because we walk most of the time steep upwards in the streets. Our town was found because the mine discovered around 120 years ago. Our abundance in forest, water, and mining resources has made our town attractive for decades.
Esmeralda: I can only say that my hometown is famous for its abundant forests and the monarchs since my ancestors’ times.

Typical Classroom

Common Classroom Technology (computer, projector, printer)

Day Activities in Town
The "Pisa y Mata" Game

The winner is the last one keeping at least one balloon
safe in his feet!

The "Carretilla" Game
The pair to arrive first
at the end wins!

Children's Day Festivities
Raffle prizes are awarded!