Theo reflects on volunteering at Na'atik's new library

My name is Theo and I attend Polytechnic High School in Pasadena, California. My school requires that I spend 30 hours volunteering between Sophomore and Junior year and so I spent 20 hours volunteering at Na’atik during my visit in June. Many of the kids at my high school tutor at local schools or pick up trash at the beach, but I thought volunteering at Na’atik would be much more interesting.

The experience turned out to be even better than I thought.Na’atik’s Founder and Director Catherine Gray, my mother Hilary and I put together a schedule where I could study Spanish in the morning, and organize the library books and help teach some of the younger students English in the afternoons. I was one of the first volunteers ever at Na’atik. Catherine, the library, and the staff helped me put together a cool collection of tasks and duties.

Na’atik just opened an ESL library (English as the Second Language) so students can check out books in English to practice reading. The books can be checked out for two weeks. The town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto has a small library, but the books can only be checked out for 24 hours, so none of the students are really sure how a library works. Most of them don’t have books in their homes, either. Many of the kids did not go to libraries outside of Na’atik. While the library was not filled with many English students when I was there, I predict that it will start to grow and attract more students in the future.

Before I went to Mexico, I went to a library here in Pasadena to talk to librarians and see what I could do to encourage students to come to the library in Mexico. I saw that the Los Angeles Public Libraries were doing reading contests, story time, puppet shows, and having children come to the library to watch movies. Anything to encourage kids to come to the library and to fall in love with books.

One librarian also referred me to The Rural Library Project, a non-profit organization committed to the establishment of new, small libraries in rural areas in the U.S.. The Rural Library Project recognizes that just like urban residents, rural citizens want educational, cultural and technological resources delivered in an affordable manner. This reminded me of what Catherine is trying to do with her new library at Na’atik.

While many of the ideas I learned about in Los Angeles ended up not working in the short two weeks I was in Carrillo, I was able to organize the books in the new library and design and teach a lesson to the English students, which I then co-taught with the teacher. I think the students and I both enjoyed it. We tried to organize a movie day in the library with an English language movie, but did not manage to pull it off.

As the volunteer program continues to develop I think it should focus on the Spanish (English-speaking) students teaching the English (Spanish-speaking) students English. Sorting the books will not be sustainable as community service but I think that teaching English will always be viable, as well as extremely fulfilling for volunteers like me. Being able to practice with different people from different areas who have different accents would prove immensely valuable to the English students. I thought that teaching the English class that I planned to the students and watching them enjoy it was incredibly satisfying. Watching students practice their English using games that I designed was much more rewarding than anything else I did as a volunteer.

Libraries matter to me. I have gone to the LA public libraries my whole life. I think that it is incredibly important for people to be able to have access to, and read books. Also, to have a safe, quiet place outside your home where you can hang out and dream a little. I spent most of my childhood reading; it was my main source of entertainment. To be able to help put together the library for these kids meant a lot to me. The library is still growing, and the kids do not fully understand how to use the library yet. However, I believe that with time the library will develop into a place where students will feel comfortable going to read, and have fun, too.

I want to go back to Na’atik next year. I hope I can help teach English again. Whether tutoring one on one, or helping to put together a class lesson plan for an English class, or arranging a movie afternoon, for local kids to come watch an iconic English-language movie in the library, working with kids on my volunteer hours was really fun. It was also where I felt I made the biggest impact.

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The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.