Define "Academic Integrity"

One of the "cultural problems" that we have which is a serious educational problems is that parents do the work and the work appears with the student name on it. The poster shown is that of a pre-Kinder student (age 4). Obviously the work is done by the parents.

There are two basic problems with this. First, this begins a pattern that will continue through high school. There are just no questions asked at all about parents doing the work in the name of the student.

The second problem is that students become dependent on their parents to do the work. A "good" parent will see to it that homework is done one way or another. I have concluded that in a culture where who you know is more important than what you know, this really doesn't cause any problem.

Now after all of this, will a reader send me the definition of "academic integrity".

In_service In The Rain Forest Setting

We spent today (Friday) in the most beautiful in-service room I have ever been in. In some of the pictures you can see the forest in the background. Of course, beyond the immediate forest was range after range of mountains. The setting is a large open room (roof only) on the second floor of the high school building. A cool breeze and 75 degrees sort of topped things off.

The in=service was about math manipulative's and the Montessori system of education for lower primary. It was well done by a lady from some education organization in Quito. We were joined by the staff of another small Christian school from Shell (about five miles away).

For those readers who are educators and have sat through some long in-service meetings, the setting can change everything. Now if my Spanish were up to speed, it would have been an excellent day.
MJ bugged out and prepared for classes on Monday as she has to teach by herself.

Rote Memory Vs. Problem Solving

Today was one of those days when I was reminded of the far reaching effects of the type of education system a country has and how it extends to life in general. One way of dividing education systems and the way of life in most any country is the degree to which the education system is rote memory as opposed to problem solving.

We had a chance to experiment with some test types new to student here. Multiple choice tests can be written to cause the student to evaluate the "best answer" as opposed to an answer that is somewhat close to a correct answer. Also, in another test four sentences were written. Students needed to determine if any were correct and also needed to correct any sentences with grammatical errors in them. This requires the skills of analysis and evaluation. In all cases, students had a very difficult time with the short exams.

When students are educated with a rote memory system, the adult society tends to go about life in the same way. Using information to solve problems is not the typical approach to life. When American education is criticised because our students don't "know" as much as students from other cultures, we need to look a little deeper into the entire situation. A "walking encyclopedia" with little or no ability to solve problems is inert!

More From Quito

The cathederal above is located on one of the many hills in old town Quito. We were not able to visit the inside, but the exterior is every bit as grand as many cathederals in Europe. People are waiting for the procession to come by.

We continue to have download problems with pictures. The pictures today give an idea of the huge crowds as well as the length of the Good Friday Procession in Quito. The picture above shows that one can not see to the other end of the procession. Sidewalks are 6 to 10 deep on both sides with observers. A pick-pocket's dream come true!!!

Old Town Quito

We are having a bit of download problems today. Not sure how many pictures will eventually appear in the posting. The picture above is from "old town" Quito. It is really a beautiful part of the city. We understand that extensive renovation has been done in the last decade. Located in a very hilly section, there are places you can see for 20 blocks. The Good Friday procession was a real spectacle from these vantage points. The old buildings with three floors of interior courtyards are now used as resturants and shops.

We discovered today in school that our bus driver was also a pick-pocket victim in Quito over the weekend. He had to talk the bus driver into allowing him to pay for the ticket to Puyo after he arrived in Puyo. Too bad places like Quito gain this type of reputation. The economic impact will increase over the years as tourists begin to avoid places like this.

Good Friday In Quito

We had not thought of Easter activity when we went to Quito. We found that on Good Friday there was a huge processional in the Old Town part of Quito. The pictures in this posting and one more to follow are from this event. Readers better versed in Catholic tradition will have to inform us as to the significance of the pointed hats with only the eyes showing. This is our first experience with this. A wide variety of "cross carriers" were included in the 45 minute parade. We say 45 minutes because we were at the very beginning. As the procession wound through the streets, it often came to a halt. Pictures posted tomorrow will show the lengthy route. Some crosses were so heavy that those carrying them were struggling at the start. We wonder how several miles of this would be possible

There a number of "groups" that wore different colored "cap and gowns". Again, we ask readers familiar with this to indicate the significance.

The great number of people who turn out to watch this event provided a golden opportunity for some in the crowd to increase their wealth. I fell victim to this. Now I get to replace all my credit cards, licence, etc. not to mention a new wallet. Thinking about this afterward, one can think of dozens of precautions that could have been taken to reduce the pick-pocket activity. Oh well, a lesson learned after being a bit lighter with cash!

Other than the one bad experience, it was a good trip. We are now ready for the final two months of work.

In Quito

The blog report is being posted from Quito tonight. We decided to take a couple of days and look around Quito and do some shopping for educational supply items.

The bus ride from Puyo to Quito is normally five hours. Today it was 4:45. The bus was nearly new and very comfortable. Managing restroom stops is easy. There aren't any and there are no facilities aboard the bus. Anticipating this, we had A cup of coffee this morning.

We finished school prior to Easter vacation with a two hour teacher meeting on educational standards. We set up a system of identifying the major concepts taught in each course and grade level. These major concepts and skills are textbook based since it is closer to reality than any written curriculum. We demonstrated how questions would be constructed to test students over the major concepts.

We established a work calendar for the remainder of the year. Identify major concepts, distribute this document to students so they know what to study for, begin writing the exams, an exam schedule and finally a time to review and discuss the results. This was a HUGE undertaking in a culture that tends to operate day by day.

Going For A Walk

Walking around the city can bring on the unexpected in a wide variety of ways. The pictures on this posting represent one such walk.


The picture above includes the "front yard" of a house which has dozens of potted plants. We stopped to take a picture through the fence when we heard this little voice yell out the window "Mary Jane!" Of course it was one of her students. Grandma came out as well as the student to invite us in to look at the remainder of the flowers. The little student asked where MJ's co-teacher was. They assume if they are together whenever they see them, they must be together on weekends too.


The picture of the school above has one of the more elegant fronts of all the schools in Puyo. The huge class entrance reflects the clouds on this sunny afternoon

From a foothill on the edge of the city, we could look back over Puyo and get a birdseye view. The city is estimated to be around 30,000 people. Although it lies at the junction of two rivers, one can look in most any direction to see the mountains in the distance. Clear days reveal snowcapped peaks.

Outstanding Woodwork In The Neighborhood!

Sometimes the most interesting things appear from nowhere and in your own neighborhood. Several weeks ago while walking some four blocks from home, we came across this house where obviously a woodworking operation was going on. I need little more to attract my attention than people making things out of wood. The picture above is as entertainment center and the one below is a bench that could be used inside or outside.

Saturday afternoon, the gate was open and the owners were standing in the drive. We asked if we could take some pictures. This series of pictures came from their home, garage and driveway. Since the entire dwelling is filled with wood products, we really couldn't tell where the workshop was.

All of the wood is rain forest grown. I still don't know the names, but intend to find out. Note the bed headboard and foot board. The dark wood grows inside the tree and the white wood is younger and on the outside of the tree. It makes a beautiful combination.

The Chevrolet pickup is a REAL work of art. The details right down to the decals and all the damage on the old pickup is amazing. I intend to ask the price in the near future. May be out of my price range, however.

All of the wood is extremely dense and therefore, heavy. Transporting anything of any size back to the US presents a shipping problem.

Those readers who appreciate wood products may wish to click on the pictures to get a full screen view

Sidewalks Are Not Necessarily For Walking

Among the many adjustments in living in another culture are the simple things we tend to believe are universal, but they are not. For example, we may think the rest of the world might have a rule that says pedestrians have the right of way. WRONG! Pedestrians have no rights here except the right to get out of the way or get hit. This applies to all locations, even intersections.

Another assumption that we make in the US is that sidewalks are for walking on. Wrong! We even assume that sidewalks should be free of any hazard that might cause a person to fall. The person walking here has all the liability. Simply put "watch where you are going!"

This series of pictures is designed to show that sidewalks are not just for pedestrians. Businesses often overflow into the sidewalk area. It is up to the walker to go around whatever is in the way. The picture above shows the "right" of the business owner to build a ramp fully across the sidewalk. Don't trip!!

The city will place a utility pole where ever necessary. Often this is in the middle of the sidewalk. This also give a place for people to lean against and small group conversations can totally block the sidewalk.


Construction work requires no warnings or barricades. Certainly you can see that construction is going on and so the walker should beware.

Finally, in the picture below the homeowner thought a nice rock would add to curb appeal. Placing it in the middle of the sidewalk is no problem at all. It is a dandy of a shin bumper!

The School Staff Relaxing

The first picture shows the director and to her left, the second grade teacher.

The posting today highlights social activities of the staff from school. Once a month some kind of gathering is scheduled to, among other things, celebrate birthdays. The group is a typical one in many ways. There is always the "life of the party" and those who are more reserved. This picture series was taken at the home of one of the teachers. They had a karaoke system and the group got to singing all kinds of songs. Too bad we can't seem to get the video to download.

The picture above shows the senior pastor and to the extreme left, the director of the school.

The above group includes some of our female staff except for the second to the right. She is the wife of the senior pastor.

The above picture shows the computer teacher. He is one of the "life of the party" sort. Alex had a good time at this party.

We discovered early on that we are 20 years the senior of anyone who works at the school. So, we have the staff and then we have "the old couple". (Possibly "the odd couple".

Onward With Semester Exams!

Just about the time we think we have come to a dead end on changing approaches to education, another breakthrough comes along. After meeting with a smaller group of teachers this evening and the school director, she decided that there will be a full staff meeting at 11:00 AM next Tuesday to explain setting academic standards. This includes establishing a semester test system which will have its trial run this coming June.

We have a ton of things to do in a short period of time now. Not the least of these things is a crash course in exam writing which includes proper sampling, kinds of test questions and a dozen other things.

More on this topic after the meeting next Tuesday.

Academic Standards

We have now turned to the topic of academic standards with the teacher group. It is immediately obvious that this will be a difficult concept partly because it is more abstract and partly because of old beliefs about what an academic standard is. The textbook is not an academic standard. Student grades are not an academic standard. Both of these beliefs are widely held here.



Academic standards can only be observed when you have both the material and skills along with student exam performance on these two aspect of knowledge. Since no outside exams are available here, we have to devise an internal system where we write semester exams. This is especially difficult since teachers are not trained in test writing.

Attempting to establish a standard by setting the material to be learned along side the test performance of students on a semester by semester basis is not the ideal way to establish academic standards. We need to start some place. More reports later on this topic.

Funeral Procession

Having some recent knowledge of funeral costs and customs, it is interesting to make comparisons. While we don't know the cost of a typical funeral here, we do know that it is considerably less than in the US. The three pictures in this posting show a funeral procession moving through the down town area of Puyo. As noted in the first picture, the casket is placed in an open pickup bed. The family walks after the pickup. There is no special traffic control as the taxi cabs and few other drivers quickly observe the situation and yield until the procession passes. Of course, it is raining and the procession takes this in stride.
We are told that the body is dressed and prepared for nearly immediate burial. We are not sure who prepares the body. We understand that sometimes this is done by family members. There are cemeteries around Puyo and we notice a lot of burial above the ground in family crypts.

Cultural Differences

When living in another culture there are plenty of times when it is difficult to understand traits of the culture you are living in. Even more difficult is the explanation of things in your own culture that the local people here find strange. This last weekend, daylight time kicked in across the US. Now how do you explain that concept to people who live on the equator where each day is the same length the entire year around? Why would anybody go messing with the clock to gain something? What is it that is gained? Is it so valuable that everything from work schedules to airline schedules are disrupted twice a year? How does it "save time" as the name implies?

On this end of things we have the strange (to us) idea that the customer is responsible for having the correct change. Even the large shops with cash drawers full of change will ask if you have the odd amount of your bill so that they will not have to return change. Saturday morning this got complicated. We shopped in Puyo's largest department store. The transaction went fine. However, when I discovered I had no change to buy tomatoes from a vendor outside, I went back in to ask the store to break a $10 bill. I was refused. MJ suggested I buy something more. So, I bought a candy bar and waited in the same check out line where I was refused change. I laid the candy bar down along with a $20 bill. I stood with my hands on my hips. She became upset when I said I had no change. She made the change in a big huff, I thanked her and left the store to buy my tomatoes. (The store does not sell tomatoes).

In a future blog, we will demonstrate with pictures that sidewalks are NOT necessarily intended for walking on.

Different Vegetation in the Rain Forest

As we travel around the rain forest area, one continually comes upon beautiful plant life. The two flowers pictured here were in the courtyard of our hotel in Tena. We do not know the name, but they appear to grow from a vine. The color and design was just outstanding.

The picture above and below are of the same kind of tree. Again, we don't know the name, but the 'fruit" grows to be huge. The green "ball" below is about the size of a volleyball. The outside of the fruit was very hard. This is an example of things that the traveler should research at the time, but never gets around to it later.

The two pictures below are of the same tree. We do not know the name, but like so many trees in the rain forest, it is just huge. There are estimates as to how much bird, insect, and animal life a single tree like this supports. The estimates stagger the mind. The problem is that the several hundred year old trees are being cut and sold for very little when one considers what it takes to replace them. The tree below is in a protected park and should live a long time.

Teacher Discussions & Classes

This series of pictures show our teacher class room in action. The setting is the laundry room which is a covered shed in the middle of our compound. The group ranges from a dozen to 15 people. Watching the expression on people's faces says a lot. In the upper right you can see two people talking intensely at once. Talking over another person is not considered rude in this culture.

The picture in the upper left shows Debra, MJ's co-teacher and our chief translator at these meetings.

I spend a lot of time just waiting for the discussion to go on and finally questions in English emerge. I have tried very hard to stick with process type questions and give advice on process. The content of the discussions must belong to the group membership. I do bring a written outline to the meetings to direct discussions. My co-teacher translates for me. Without the written discussion guides, chaos has a better chance of surviving.

The picture to the lower right features the director of the school. Lidia takes a leadership role in directing discussions and responding to individual questions.