Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in June 2011 undergraduate student Codie Kane interviewed Maribel Serrano de Mejia, a school teacher and principle in San José Las Flores, El Salvador. In this interview, Serrano de Mejia discusses the postwar rebuilding of the education system in San José Las Flores, the challenges presented by a lack of resources in the school system, and the distance learning program which enables rural students to achieve university degrees.

Tell me about your experience as a teacher. How did you arrive at your present career?

My story is a little strange, because it takes place during an armed conflict. It begins in 1980, when the war started. In that year, my family had to leave where we had been living to escape the escalating violence. We moved around for two years, until we finally decided to go into the forest and hide. We couldn’t return to our original home because it was surrounded by soldiers. They didn’t permit anyone to enter or exit. It wasn’t until the guerrillas arrived that the area was liberated.

When we finally returned, our house was burned to the ground. We had to live in the open, using pieces of plastic strung between trees as shelter. The rest of the community eventually joined as well. We began organizing. We knew we had to work together to survive. We formed a women’s committee, a health committee, a food cooperative, and a school.

That was how I became a teacher. I had only gotten up to sixth grade, but I decided to try to help teach the children how to read and write. I decided to start work as a popular educator. I had no material, but I made do with what was around me. I gave the kids sticks, stones, and patches of earth instead of paper, pencils, and books. They always got so excited when they learned something new. It was beautiful. The whole time, we had to be very careful. We couldn’t let the army know what we were doing, because teaching was considered subversive. We had to stop if any soldiers arrived. “Let’s go! Soldiers are coming!” I would say, and the children would run home to their parents. If they had known what was going on, they would have killed us.

As people from other communities began doing the same and the number of popular teachers increased, our educational efforts progressed. We helped each other and got assistance from outside organizations and individuals. A woman from Spain, for example, arrived to teach us methodology and help us catch up on our own studies. At night, we learned math or language arts under her guidance and during the day we used her same lessons with our kids. I’ll never forget that she brought us a book that contained words related to war so we could learn to read and write about the things we had suffered.

When the war began to die down, all of the popular teachers entered into a formal training process. We had to catch up on our own education. I started with my sixth grade level and got up to ninth grade. I then went through high school in an accelerated, distance learning program. Ultimately, I got my teaching degree from the University of El Salvador’s distance learning program.

Throughout the process, all of the popular teachers and I continued to teach, but we did so without pay. We lived on food and the occasional stimulus donated by the parish. Eventually, we couldn’t do it anymore. We couldn’t keep giving classes with nothing to live on. We had children we had to support. We demanded that the state recognize us and give us salaries. With the help of the government of Denmark and various other institutions, we got them to. I was the first teacher to be granted an official teaching position out of all my colleagues. When I found out, I was in Denmark. I had gone with a few other teachers to give them thanks for their support and solidarity. They told me, “You’re the first! You’re the first to get a spot!” Since I wasn’t in the country to sign my contract, the other teachers did it for me. When I got paid, we distributed the money, 300 colones, amongst everyone.

I’ve continued teaching because I want to ensure that new generations know what happened in the past. It’s only been 25 years since Las Flores was repopulated, since people who had to leave because of the war returned. Our children have to know this story so that nothing like it ever happens again.

How is the popular education model unique, and how does it contribute to the creation of a more just society? How has your experience of popular education impacted you?

The original idea of popular education was education for all. All people, regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. deserve to learn. The Ministry of Education always talks about this now, but it originated with us.

In general, popular education is about reality. It attempts to help children analyze and understand what’s going on around them. It looks for the truth when other, politically-driven education systems spout ideology. In my classroom, for example, we discuss the real history of El Salvador, of the war, and of other wars in other countries. We think about community issues—the fact that the highway that runs through this region is being constructed for the first time this year and that, before, it was a dirt path.

I think most other ex-popular teachers feel the same as I do, in that they continue to use our old methods and live by our principles. There are some that have changed. They don’t want to hear anything about popular education. They say, “That was what we used to be. Things are different now.” But the majority isn’t like this. They’ve been teachers for years and haven’t waivered in their commitment.

Describe to me the state of education in your community, San Jose Las Flores. What are the positive aspects? What are the challenges?

A few years ago, the school in San Jose Las Flores had nothing. All of our materials came from donations; nothing came from the ministry. Now, finally, the government is giving us some help. We never had an English teacher before, but they recently sent us one. They implemented a food program so kids get free meals at school. They’re going to open a position for an information technology professor to teach the students about computers.

I’ve talked to teachers in other schools who tell me that they can barely teach anymore. Their students don’t respect them or the rules. The other faculty members and I haven’t seen this problem here. It’s a lot of work, but I think we’re forming well-behaved young community members. This is because we tell the students, “Now we’re all going to the sports field. We’re all going to avoid saying bad words.” We’re all moving forward together, and they know this. We also show respect for the children. In other schools, when a student does something bad, they’re removed from an activity, made to work separately. We don’t do this. We always include the child that committed the error. We want them to participate to learn how to behave better. In general, we care about the children. We dedicate all of our time to the school; we don’t work only for a salary.

What we lack here is a psychologist. The teachers are unprepared to deal with many of the issues that arise among students. I have one 15-year-old, for example, who tells me that she wants to die, that she can’t live anymore. She’s upset because she’s not allowed to have a boyfriend. I talk to her, try to tell her that this period in her life will pass, but she needs something more. There’s a significant group of students, additionally, who get pregnant at a young age and need counseling. Many are convinced that they should drop out. We try to talk to them about the consequences of this, but they don’t listen.

How does education here affect the community as a whole?

I think education is a point of pride for the community. Years ago, Las Flores didn’t even have a fixed school building. Now, it offers preschool through high school and hosts the UCA’s distance learning program for education students. It’s responsible for the preparation of university students and professionals.

Can you tell me more about your experience with the distance learning program?

The program is based out of [José Simeón Cañas Central American University {Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas, UCA}]. It allows students to get their teaching degree in San Jose Las Flores, rather than having to travel all the way to UCA’s campus in San Salvador. Everything operates via the internet. Students participate in forums, hand in their homework, and create portfolios online. On Saturdays, a professor from the UCA comes to the school in San Jose Las Flores to hold a live class.

This is important in this region, because people here have limited access to money and resources. Costs are too high and travel is too hard for them to attend a normal university. With distance learning, however, they only have to travel to Las Flores once a week. Their travel, food, and housing expenses are low. The program cost itself is cheaper than the UCA’s regular price.

Nevertheless, the majority of students still have a hard time. Many barely have enough money to cover the price of getting here. They walk for hours rather than taking the bus in order to save money. Some have to wake up at 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. in the morning to arrive on time.

From what I’ve seen in the five years I’ve worked with the project, students graduate well prepared to enter a classroom. They have so many ideas and curriculum material at their fingertips. Many ex-participants already have teaching jobs. I’ve had the opportunity to observe a few, and I can tell that they feel at ease with their kids.

Does the UCA’s Jesuit identity have an impact on the distance learning program?

Having come out of a war, the community here supports a religion grounded in reality. We don’t want to hear about a far away, sleeping God. We don’t want priests to come here and pray all day. We want to hear that God is in every one of us. We want to talk about spirituality, but we also want to discuss our economic, political, and social situation.

These are ideas are based on the Jesuit tradition, and they are also what the UCA teaches and practices. I think that they explain why the UCA implemented the distance learning program in San Jose Las Flores. The university recognized that the population here did not have the resources to get to San Salvador for a university education and that this was preventing them from moving forward. It acted to help remove the structural barriers that were oppressing a marginalized group.