Background Information
This school is privately managed. Because it does not depend on the government directly, or economically from the city government. It's a mixed school, for boys and girls, and it does not have any kind of religious affiliation. It has been open for over 30 years. Like any school, we have to comply with regulations, for the students, because we have a graduation certificate when the boys finish seventh grade, we give them a statement saying that they have fulfilled all the requirements necessary to have this qualification, to complete elementary school. But there are different ways of doing that. The projects here are not separated into 'this is for language, this is for history ...' For example, in social sciences, you write. You have to write a report, you have to read. So because social sciences intersect with languages, we make projects, where both lessons are integrated. And then, the projects integrate knowledge, and we do not separate them and make them completely distinct departments. We think that this opens the creative capacity of each student, to be able to think, to have the critical thinking, to feed their ideas well enough in school.
Why is this project important for the community?
Most of the children come from middle-class families with deep social awareness. The parents want the children to grow up knowing their traditions, cultural diversity, and the social necessities of their country. The school is associated with the community to help with different specific actions. Every morning of school, they start with an assembly where all the primary school children and all listen, to their teachers and what they are going to learn work at eight o'clock in the morning. And they all have the same right to speak. So if someone wants to talk, and there is no one else talking. And there they discuss things like someone carving a figurine, or if someone has lost a jacket, or a student’s little brother was born, or something else happened in the national news, international news, the commemoration of some special date. And each one counts, and puts his idea, and lets their mind wander, this the way of each one. And that also builds freedom, builds democratic participation, within the school where they learn, all these rules that regulate the relationships that make you human. In the end, the aim of the school is that what they have is what they can do to make the world live a little better.
Volunteer’s Role
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Help the teachers prepare the classes and workshops.
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Practice the pronunciation, reading, writing, listening skills, grammar, and vocabulary with the students.
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Make special workshops with themes suggested by the teachers or by the volunteer him/herself.
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Help the students prepare for their international exams.
What can you learn as a volunteer?
Volunteers are a very big stimulus to strengthen the understanding of the English language and they help this two-way learning aim the school has, where the volunteer also learns through this experience. Their official duties are to assist the teachers, help them with pronunciation or grammatical rules, correct homework, read and explain to the children the basic elements of the language. This work allows the volunteer to exchange with people from different cultures, mainly thanks to the mix between communities from various countries of Latin America. Furthermore, teaching is the perfect exercise to learn how to speak to an audience and to get its attention. Above all, the volunteer is able to create relationships with their students that will go beyond the classroom.
Soft Skills that teaching English volunteers are most likely to develop
Long term volunteers (3 months +) can get an International Volunteer Certificate from GLORE Certification, a Project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. You can choose up to 5 skills to certify.
- Organization and Time Management
- Assertiveness
- Autonomy
- Confidence
- Creativity & Innovation
- Comm and Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Decision Making
- Ethics and Work Commitment
- Empathy
- Flexibility
- Initiative
- Multicultural Awareness
- Open-mindedness
- Public Speaking
- Responsibility
- Self Awareness
- Team Work
- Learning to learn
How does your work impact the community?
Not only does this school offer the families a chance to further their education, but it also provides a center for community participation. It is a place of exchange and hope, based on the idea that the children are able to study and to have a good future, and become responsible citizens. Volunteers also symbolize hope for the students that admire them because they are role models. They make the students believe in a brighter future and instill in them the motivation and aspiration to achieve their goals.
Availability
Monday to Thursday afternoons, 3 – 4 hours per day. This program is not available during December, January, and February (summer holidays in Argentina) and for 2 weeks in July (winter holidays). The teachers who teach every English class will have the volunteers as assistants and will be their guides at all times. Also, the general coordinator of the English subjects of the school is the one who will continually monitor the activities, attending suggestions and concerns of the volunteer.
Location and First day at the project
The school is located in the neighborhood of Flores, close to the subway and train station. You can take the bus or metro from downtown Buenos Aires and it'll only take about 30 minutes to get there. On your first day, you will have an informal chat with the director of the school, Mario, where he will explain how the school runs and tell you which classes you can help.
Requirements
1. Valid Passport & Visa: Most travelers do not need a visa to enter Argentina. Volunteers enter the country as tourists and can stay for up to 90 days. Extensions on visas are possible; our coordinators will advise you on this process.
2. Medical Insurance: Voluntario Global requires the volunteer to have adequate medical insurance for the duration of the program and must be provided with details of such insurance coverage at the time of confirming their placement.
3. Spanish Level Required: Not required
4. English Level Required: Native speaker
5. Minimum Stay: 4 weeks
