GUATEMALA: Teaching With Two Voices (fwd link)

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GUATEMALA:  Teaching With Two Voices 
By Inés Benítez

GUATEMALA CITY, DEC 4 (IPS) - IN THE XEPANIL VILLAGE SCHOOL IN SANTA APOLONIA,
TO THE WEST OF THE GUATEMALAN CAPITAL, 20 CHILDREN ARE LEARNING BOTH SPANISH
AND THE MAYAN INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE KAQCHIKEL. THEIR TEACHER, MARTA LIDIA
RODRíGUEZ, ONE OF THOUSANDS OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN THIS COUNTRY
TODAY, WALKS AN HOUR A DAY TO GET TO THE SCHOOL.
"There are children in the village who don’t understand Spanish," Rodríguez,
who teaches primary-level students between the ages of seven and 12, explained
to IPS. "Speaking to them in their own language at school is elemental and
productive." 

In 1989, the literacy rate among indigenous people between the ages of 15 and
24 stood at 54 percent. By 2002, it had risen to 71 percent in this age group,
according to the 2nd Millennium Development Goals Progress Report for
Guatemala, released in 2006. 

Nevertheless, three out of every 10 adult Guatemalans do not know how to read
or write, and among indigenous Guatemalans, the adult illiteracy rate is 48
percent, more than double the rate for the non-indigenous population, according
to official figures. And among rural indigenous women, the illiteracy rate rises
to 65 percent.
To read full article, just access the link below:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40344
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