Students and teachers of the secondary education institution “Mario Vargas Llosa” in Los Ángeles de Eden were convoked for this first design workshop.

The workshop’s objectives were the following:

  • Communicate the project’s status;
  • Transmit Semilla’s willingness to work in uniting the population in favour of education, and in this way, implement the construction project of secondary EI;
  • Review the PRA workshop’s results and reflections that arose as a result;
  • Evaluate, prioritize, and determine the elements and spaces of the new secondary education institution.

Activity: The Market

This activity includes generating a list of school and external elements. The list is created by elements that appear in the school maps designed by students in the PRA workshop.

School elements are the following: classroom, computer room, small café, hygienic services, hygienic services for teachers, auditorium, library, administration, teacher lounge, music room, science laboratory, storage, ceramic workshop, cutting and manufacturing workshop, teacher residence, student residence, multifunctional room, and a first aid station.

External elements are the following: grass sports field, cement sports field, pool, green area, cement fence, green fence, asphalt patio for training, and vegetable garden.

Each element has the price, weighted according to the real construction cost. Regarding prices, fictitious money was created: moons. Participants divided in groups according to grade. The activity consists in two phases:

Phase 1: Each group receives a list of prices and 150 moons. Students debate and generate a shopping list of market elements, electing and prioritizing spaces that will form the new education institution.

Phase 2: A map of current secondary school terrain is provided to each group. Students should draw and locate elements that they have bought on the map.

Reflections

Small café
Four groups bought the small café. When asked for their reason, teachers commented that, according to school rules, they cannot leave the school area during school hours. However, students leave to purchase sweets, food, and school materials at the town’s stores, which takes more time than normal.

For this reason, it was proposed to create a small café, which also works as a bookstore, whose administration will be decided through a competition in which student families can participate.

Residence
According to teachers, there is no interest in creating a residence for either students or teachers.

On one hand, students are mainly from Los Ángeles de Eden and live relatively close. On the other hand, the community considers that teachers make enough money to rent a room in the community.

Fence
The majority of groups (6) selected a green or cement fence. Students, professors, and community residents understand that the education institution should be close, otherwise, “students will escape.”

The topic of a fence is recurring in various workshops developed by Semillas, always considered by participants as an important element in education infrastructure.

Photographic Report

Education Without Limits in Los Ángeles de Eden: Introduction | Construct IE | IElements

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