Children

If anything is absolutely universal here, it is the Ecuadorian love of children and family. It is very common for three generations to live in the same home. There are many children as Ecuador has a young population compared to the aging population in Europe and the US. Interestingly, most childbirth is done by cesarean section which is preferred by the medical profession. Cesareans are a much larger percentage than in the US. Children are adored and, even though a poor family has little, their children will be well clothed and may even be sent to a private school.  There are private pre-schools catering to children up to four on almost every block in the city. Public schools are also everywhere but most gringos choose to send their children to private school. Public or private, each school has a distinct uniform which the children from four to eighteen wear.  Almost all schools teach English at some level. One school we know of teaches English two hours a day yet another teaches English only twice a week. We have looked carefully at three schools for our 4 year old grandson who lives with us. The German School which is very regimented who do teach English but they don’t begin until the 4^th grade. The school has an excellent reputation but, unfortunately, they teach German in the Spanish language from almost the beginning which would make it doubly difficult for an English speaking child.  Another, called the American School has one or two teachers who know English and is also quite regimented.

Then there is CEDEI who has many English speaking teachers plus student teachers from the US doing their college practicum. It is where Jonny goes to school.  Choosing a school is a very personal choice and really depends, as everywhere, on the child and his learning needs. There is a continual controversy in the expatriate community over whether to send a non-Spanish speaking child to total immersion at a school where no English is spoken or to a school with English speaking teachers.  We have tried both and have found our child was happiest in the later. The private schools require the parent to supply the books. But school work books written in English are extremely expensive. For instance, a simple pre-school workbook we bought for Jonny cost $37. It is not unusual for an American parent to think their child has been assigned to a class that is too young for their child when they visit the classroom for the first time. However, the size of an Ecuadorian child is illusive. The typical Ecuadorian child is much smaller than most American children (as are most adults) so they look much younger. Ecuadorian children are also very well behaved almost to the level of seeming shy. Our exuberant child stands out with his high energy as well as his curly, red hair but he is adjusting rapidly and is very proud of his burgeoning Spanish.