May 9-13

With the 4th graders completing their Exam on Monday the year's first  
trimester had ended and the second had begun.

Before jumping back into ancient times, one 4th grade group discussed  
the issue of Education in Costa Rica. Using an article about "El  
Tercer Estado de la Educacion" as a guide, the teacher:

- reviewed several of the report's points (drop-out and exam passage  
rates, inadaquate faciliities--namely bathrooms, and the Escuelas de  
Triple Jornada);

- solicited differences between public and private schools in Costa Rica;
and

- pressed students for possible solutions.

The issue of funding was addressed, with the concept of taxes and  
either "giving more slices of the (tax) pizza" or simply "enlarging  
the tax pizza" being raised. No easy answers here.

In the following set of classes the teacher introduced China,  
soliciting students' current knowledge and emphasizing the country's  
importance to Costa Rica and in the world more generally.

Back into the book, the teacher introduced the lesson and then went  
through its few pages subhead by subhead, reviewing the key points  
after students had read each section. To wrap up, students were asked  
what the most interesting part of the lesson was for them (many noted  
the Ancient Chinese "oracle bones.")

Next up for the 4th graders: the Indus River Valley.