Que es un voluntario?

To volunteer: to perform or offer to perform work of your own free will.

I always considered volunteering to be defined as work without pay. I've volunteered at homeless shelters, at fundraising activities for organizations, and other works of charity. Although I enjoy helping people, I never considered myself to be very altruistic.

I joined the teach abroad in Chile program for Alliance Abroad to learn Spanish, gain teaching experience, and travel. Also, it wasn't a requirement for me that the program have much pay, because I knew that the program would offer me riches worth more than money.

The past week in Santiago, I have been training with the other program volunteers. We arose early to learn about Chilean culture and history, study the Chilean school system, attend personal Spanish lessons, and to take Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) courses. We are all exasperated, but feeling more prepared. I am anticipating the teaching experience very much.

Its been extremely helpful having the Spanish refresher courses before i meet my host family next week in Curico (where i will be teaching); also, it has been interesting learning more about the customs in Chile, such as eating with both hands in sight. (never to be hidden underneath the table); and its been great brainstorming TEFL classroom strategies with other teachers here. But the most beneficial part of the training was studying the Chilean school system.

There are three types of school systems in Chile: private (catholic), semi public, and public. There is colegio basico (1-8) and colegio medio (1-4, similar to high school). The quality of education depends on the wealth of the students' families. (The disparity between the best private school and the poorest public school is very vast.) But overall, Chilean schools are strict, formal, conservative, and simple.

The school I went to observe was a semi public, technical school in a middle class neighborhood. It was surrounded by high cement walls topped with jagged glass to keep out intruders. The gate had to be opened for our bus to reach the parking lot. Even though the school wasn't terribly inviting, it was clean and well maintained. It had an open courtyard and 2 large, stone buildings.

The principal and school welcomed us with open arms. They sat us in the 'sala' for coffee and cookies while a dozen students introduced themselves to us. We mingled with them and were then ushered around the school to observe the technical and academic classrooms.

The students were divided into 5 groups in the school. One group were studying to attend a university. Three groups were studying to obtain practical jobs (ie. cooking, mechanics, electronics), and the last group was for basic education. I was surprised to see that a majority of the students were boys. The mechanics and electronics classes did not have one girl in them.

I asked the principal during our tour, "Where are all of the girls?"
She answered that many of the teenagers become pregnant before 14 yrs old.

In the English class we observed, there were 40 students (38 of them boys) crammed into small room, elbow to elbow. The walls were bare. The only materials were a dry erase board and marker. Inside the classroom, it was obvious to me that the students were consumed with distractions. It was a tight squeeze in the small rooms. The students played on their cell phones, passed notes, shouted jokes and insults, and ignored their teacher. The students were not motivated. The English teacher laughed when she said, "I do not give them hw because they will not do it".

Also, the coldness in the rooms was quite shocking. The top of the interior walls were made of glass windows, many of them broken, and did not do much to keep out the cold or the noise. The voices clung to the icy hallways. I wondered how students could concentrate in classrooms when they had to be bundled in wool coats.

These are the realities of schools in Chile, but not only in Chile. America has similar struggles.

So, when I signed up to teach English in Chile, i really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I pictured myself in a cozy classroom of 20 students, growing close with them, playing games, taking field trips, playing soccer after school, etc. However, this is not the case.

I was informed, 3 days ago, that all of the teachers in the program will be placed in our own school (either basico or medio). I will be expected to take half of an English class (approx 20 students) to my own room for instruction in conversational English. I will be teaching 40 minutes and then swapping with the other teacher for the other half of the class. And then repeat this for the next period. All day long.

So, I wont be teaching 20 students. There is a possibility that I will teach 100-400 students every week. The schools are expecting us to be streched so that all of the students can benefit from us. They want us to share our native tongue with the entire school.

At first, the epic news that i will be the school's English tutor made me very nervous. It shook up my imaginings of making a positive impact in a very personal way.

One of the program directors comforted us with these words: "You will most likely be the first and only native speaker your city will ever meet. You will be able to improve their state of living by helping them to acquire a second language or at least encourage them to pursue further knowledge."

Even though i came to Chile with selfish intentions, my heart is finding priority in charity.

I will found out my host family and school information this Tuesday, and I will leave for Curico on Saturday.