CFCA stories

Students tune into learning with radio school

August 17, 2010

The sun is setting in the town of Florida de Copan, Honduras, and Bessy, 15, has just finished helping her mother, Juana, wash and put away the dinner dishes.

Her mother heads to visit the neighbor’s. Her siblings have joined groups of young adults gathered outside to talk, and her two young nephews are playing soccer. The sound of meringue music hovers in the distance.

Now alone, Bessy takes the family radio from its perch, sets it on the table and tunes it to 97.3. She opens her English workbook and listens attentively to the familiar introduction of  “Maestra en Casa,” or “School at Home.”

Serving students young and old
 
Bessy is one of 117 children sponsored through CFCA’s Santa Rosa project studying with the help of a radio school program offered by the government of Honduras.

Bessy, 15, studies English and math through a government sponsored
radio school in Honduras. CFCA helps pay for materials for her studies.

CFCA’s Hope for a Family sponsorship program enables students to buy materials, including a radio, batteries and books.

“It is important because many children don’t have access to regular education,” Ricardo Garcia, Santa Rosa project coordinator, said. “In some cases, the economic situation limits them. In other cases, schools are too far away from the community and travel can be dangerous.”

The radio school is known officially as IHER, which stands for Instituto Hondureño de Educación por Radio, or in English, Honduran Institute of Radio Education.

The Honduran government started the radio school to support individuals and families in rural areas, mainly adults without an education.

“In 15 years, the program has evolved to accommodate students who live far from traditional schools or who are unable to attend regular school because they work,” Garcia said.

Students young and old use the service. Bessy, now an eighth grader, has studied with the radio school for two years. She attended regular school through sixth grade.

Convenient lessons

The radio school offers lessons in the same subjects students would cover in a traditional school. Primary students learn Spanish, English, math, social sciences and religion. High school students learn chemistry, psychology, sociology and more.

A government-licensed team of communicators records the lessons on CDs, which are distributed to radio stations. The stations broadcast the lessons through the week from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. so students can listen when it’s convenient.

Lessons change every week. Students also have the option of purchasing the CDs to listen to at home. Teachers and volunteers also offer on-site classes.

Students meet weekly with a regional program coordinator at a designated location such as a school or community center. At these meetings, students turn in work from all their classes.

The coordinator reviews their work and assigns homework for the next week. Program coordinators are usually principals, teachers or volunteers with educational experience.

“I like the fact that I can continue learning, but I don’t like it when there is something I don’t understand and can’t ask about,” Bessy said. “Sometimes, they talk about results and I have not been fast enough to write it down and I lose the information.”

After she listens to her lessons, Bessy spends one to two hours studying. Currently, she studies math and English through the radio school.

“English is hard,” Bessy said.

Students complete a course in 10 months. When they finish junior high, they can continue with high school. Next year, Bessy will start high school.

Encouraging participation

The government promotes the radio school program in churches and through flyers, ads and signs. CFCA in Honduras also encourages rural students to take advantage of the service as a viable way to continue their studies.

“In many rural areas, the closest schools can be two hours away,” Garcia said. “These areas have no paved roads or very little public transportation, maybe only one bus a day.”

Students could use horses, but it is dangerous during the rainy season when rivers overflow. Students traveling alone on horseback are also vulnerable to theft. Even if a school is nearby, it may lack resources. Often, only one teacher is available for six grades.
 
Many children and teenagers work to help their families. Most of the families served by the Santa Rosa project earn a living in agriculture, planting small crops of corn and beans. Agricultural work is seasonal, and many families migrate to other areas for work. Radio school affords students some stability in their education.

Bessy’s father works in agriculture, planting corn and beans. Bessy spends her days helping her mother with chores and takes lunch to her father when he works in the cornfields. Sometimes, she and her sister sell vegetables.

Because she is needed at home, it isn’t convenient for her to attend regular school. The radio school allows her to keep studying.

“My parents feel happy and grateful for the program and feel happy to be able to support me,” Bessy said.

Bessy recognizes that she needs an education to attain her career goals.

“I wish to continue studying,” she said. “I would like to become a teacher, and I will hopefully make it with the help of my parents and the support of CFCA.”