SchoolsEstela RomeroFebruary 23, 2020

"A Great Mission in Town"

SchoolsEstela RomeroFebruary 23, 2020

SCHOOL VISIT

Dear friends, now, your last Symbolic Monarchs are being delivered in a somewhat special way: A portion is arriving today to one of the oldest schools in town at the bottom of the Mountains of “El Rosario” Sanctuary, the “Amado Nervo” elementary, and next and as very last part, your last Ambassador butterflies shall be delivered in a mountain school, only a few thousand meters away from “Sierra Chincua” Monarch Colony. Well, a very important topic should be approached before we close our posts this season: Technology at our schools, both in little town and in our small villages around the Sanctuaries. You should know that children attending school in our small towns are now having somewhat easy access to smart phones and Wi-Fi connection, a minority at home, and a great mayority at a couple of public cyber-cafés in each little town, however, our teachers and students in town schools have not yet reached today a thorough connection to technology.and this could be somewhat concerning knowing that it might still take time for this step to be reached in our elementary level education. “Our teachers say we will have computers and wi-fi connection at our school within some time; our classes will be very different then; we meanwhile are patient and like very much our teacher and the way we work in class!”; “Well, we go to the internet cafe at least two or three times a week, and we have learned how to do many of our homeworks consulting lots of information there; it is so very easy… and it only costs ten pesos one hour!”; “Mmm, my oldest sister is attending university, she has her own computer at home and wi-fi service, so I can use her computer every once in a while; it is amazing!. one can see and solve practically everything there!”; “My brother has got his smart-phone and I can access wi-fi there and even consult many things when I need to do a special homework; I want to study mechanics or electronics in the future, and there I can already see so many things on fixing cars or devices at home!”; “Many times mom comes with us to an internet café and looks there for a cooking recipe or a nice embroidery or knitting pattern!”; “Our grandpa’s keep updated on the latest news going by asking my mom and dad each day, since they get brief news updates in their smart-phones; our grandpa’s do not know how to operate a smart phone at all; they do not like it, but our parents support with it!”… and so on boys and girls, 5th and 6th graders soon to graduate and to go on to middle school in class_ went on saying. This, dear friends, is the way technology is part of our children attending mainly elementary school in our small towns around the Monarchs’ colonies in the region. Middle and High school have been introduced to it systematically and technology is still not a determining tool in their ordinary lives mostly. It is so that while technology shall gradually and formally become part of their education, the arrival of your Ambassador Monarchs to them through the Symbolic Migration every winter, is letting our children know that there is also another highly determinant aspect of our lives and our future: Nature Conservation. Every new topic on our local ecosystem preservation approached every single season now for over fifteen years, aims to contributing to let our children see that no possibility of development inn our lives shall make sense, unless we humans guarantee the survival and optimum equilibrium in nature (just as the “web of life game showed it later”); that our high respect and pride on it is now determining our own future, and that the big news is that it is through local small steps as individuals as a community and as a huge family that we will manage!. Here, dearest friends, our lesson of the season on the reflexion on our local species sharing habitat with Monarchs, the wonderful “Web of Life” game which trapped children in surprise, learning, concern, joy and laughing, the excitment to write their letters and let you know of Monarchs’ habitat is here, our concerns but our goals already accomplished on conservation little by little in our region and their curiosity to make questions on nature in your regions and Monarchs habitat there, and as last best and great surprise, your Ambassador Monarchs landing finally in their hands letting them see so much of your school, your local life and your commitment to conservation of which they are here the other great half of such great mission!.