The Quebec experience

History Of The Foundation “Plein Equilibre”

My friend, Christian, was visiting me one day and said” I would like to volunteer with children. I want to investigate ways to help them have a better future. Because they are the women and men of tomorrow.” He was also very interested in finding a way to help hyperactive children, so that they would need less drugs. (Ritalin, for example)

So Christian, my wife Nicole, and I started the foundation ”Plein Equilibre”, or Full Equilibrium, in Quebec in __________, and other volunteers joined us a bit later.

This foundation was based on the goal, a child is a source to let flow. We started offering help to children with dyslexia and other problems two days per week, and we organized “days of tenderness”(originally in French (journee enfant tendresse.)

On that special day the child was the most important person. The volunteers used different techniques:

Christian: Chiropractic and Naturopath. He was also checking - children with learning problems in relation to post trauma from birth.

Denis: Educational Kinesthesiology and specialiazed learning problems.

Lucie: PNL (NLP) (Neurolinguistic Programming), Chemist, music approach, sign language.

American-Quebeq Experience in Guatemala

The Pedagogic project in San Marcos, Lake Atitlan

1- Beginning April 2002

Daisy and I reeducated dyslexic children in front of Doctor Juan Navarijo Rodas from San Marcos and he saw the significant results in the following days. He observed amongst the children a better laterality and improved capacities to recognize forms, and that the children were more synchronized. The Doctor gave us a letter of referral.

Later on, another Doctor, Dr Julio Cesar Vargas, who saw the results with some other children, also gave us a reference letter.
These reference papers served as an introduction to the Supervisor of Education of several villages, el señor Porfirio Geremias Par Chavajay.

Click to see the Reference Letter 1 and Reference Letter 2

1-A Teaching (workshop) at the schools

El señor Porfirio Geremias Par Chavajay, efficiently organized courses in different schools of the region in the villages of San Pedro, San Pablo, San Juan and San Marcos.
Daisy and I gave courses with the help of a translator.

A. Introduction to the Educative Kinesiology
             Evaluation and reeducation of the dyslexia
             Verification of the eyes and the ears
B. Introduction to Brain Gym

C. Basic pedagogy.
             Basic skills of learning
             How to use the materials
             How to improve the learning

WORKSHOP TEMPORALY IN SPANISH
Talleres (Taller I detalles: parte1, parte2, parte3, parte4, parte5, parte6, parte7, parte8, parte9, parte10, parte11, Taller II detalles: parte1, parte2, parte3, parte4, Taller III detalles: parte1, parte2, parte3, parte4)

IT WILL BE IN ENGLISH LATER ON.

1-B OTHER COURSES ( WORKSHOP )

At the same time we started a special training program with two local teachers who talked Kakchiqual, the Mayan language of the village of San-Marcos la Laguna, on Lake Atitlan.

With Rodolpho and Edgard, our two local teachers, we were making some formation of little groups for those who were at first interested. Some of them were just passing by and others stayed to learn the educational technique.
Some came from other regions. They had heard of our work. Colby who at the moment was in charge of the pedagaogy in an orphanage in Rio Dulce came with his assistant to take the course.

We gave other instructions in Panajachel. For all our workshops we were fortunate that Edgard talks Spanish, English and Kakchiqual.

With the teaching that the foundation gave we had the chance to spread the introduction of the Educative Kine and the Basic Pedagogy. At the same time we were able to supervise the two Guatemalteque teachers and to verify their teaching.

With my daughter Julie we gave a course in Antigua for some teachers of a little village , "Santa Maria de Jesus". Afterwards we went into the village to help the teachers with the evaluation of those children and to make some reeducation in front of them.
Then by the request of Alma, in charge of a project with the school, I went to give a workshop in Santa Cruz del Quiche. One of the trained teachers told us that now the parents who had children with learning difficulties wanted them to learn in her class because of the quick results she had.

We gave two other workshops at the request of Sylvana for teachers in Guatemala City. Also Sylvana ( Guatemalteque) came for three weeks to the lake for more training and also to practice with our local teachers in different schools. She wanted to start working with children in Guatemala City.

During this time I had contact with the primary school in San Marcos, on Lake Atitlan. Meeting the director, Jose Luis Puac Juarez, a man who was open to new ideas, we talked about pedagogy, about the students ....

While talking about the children we found out, while using little games and basic exercises, that in most families there was a big lack of psycho-motricity and laterality.

2- PEDAGOGIC REALIZATION

LUCK IS WITH US!

Three Quebecois in special education,while passing by San Marcos, agreed to help us. The school director aware of the situation had agreed that we evaluate the children in the school. It was a great project, with about 600 children.

We gave intensive instruction for one week in Educational Kine to new volunteers from Quebec; Patrick, Caroline, Julie and a French woman, Violaine, who wanted to take the course before going to do some volunteer work in Xela.

Note: We were supervising their work and sometimes the children were passing through 2 evaluations to have precise and correct work.

We had for this evaluation a nice team including the 3 from Quebec, Julie, my daughter, Alain, the 2 local teachers, Daisy and myself.

We were going to work in teams of 2 persons, except with the older students.

EVALUATION

A- Dyslexia evaluation
          X and II
          in position bilateral
                              homolateral

Click to see documents 1, 2, 3, 4

A -1. Eyes and Ears Evaluation

The first step, A, needed personal
                              work with each child.

*** Important information about the Eye's Evaluation. Click to see it

B- Psychomotricity verification, spatial orientation and laterality by group in the classes

.

Results Put Into Action

a. 38% of dyslexia

b. in certain classes only 40% of the  kids pass the test of psychomotricity and laterality.

The Pedagogic work ( action)

C - Then a second verification of the dyslexic children and the appropriate reeducation.

D - Then with a friend, Cynthia, my daughter, and
Edgard, we went in the classes to make
psychomotricity exercises and basic skills.

With the results, there was an evident need of basic re-education.

n.b.: You can find these exercices in the pedagogic part and also in kinesiology exercices.

Basic psychomotricity and laterality in group:

A- Basic exercises with the group
B- We played with the straws and circles
C- The papers with the arrows

Many times after some exercises my daughter and Cynthia were going out of the class with some children for individual work with the basic exercises.

After they had worked with the children it was easy to see the difference with all the other exrcises in the group. They were a
LOT MORE SYNCHRONIZED. And they were a lot better to follow the group.

After we introduced the puzzles and at the beginning it was easy to observe that the children had never done puzzles before.

**** It was interesting to observe that they progressed rapidly, very rapidly, in comparison to other children of the village who did not practice the basic exercises. Also we saw the same difference in other schools.The children who did not practice the basic exercises were less successful.

Back to 38% of dyslexia and a significant weakness in psychomotricity and spatial orientation

It was evident that there was an important need of a special program for basic skills. Basic skills: What a child needs to be able to learn.

The director accepted the project.

It is this project, which was created and validated, that you can find in the pedagogic part of the web-site.

This project is also based on our experience as specialists in education in Quebec, and with the collaboration of friends, who are
orthopedagogues.

Note: We had already started the Pedagogic action in section D above.

First it is necessary to help the teachers feel safe:

- The dyslexia is not a sickness and it is not in relation to their teaching.

- Many dyslexic children are very intelligent but they can't use their intelligence properly because of the desynchronization of their 2 brain hemispheres. It is like 2 horses in a team, one pulling at left and the other one pulling at right.

We taught more specifics with Edgard, who talks Kakchiqual, the local language of the children who come to school. His function for a year and a half was to receive the village children in their own language and to verify whether or not they were having the basic skills to learn, and if not, to make the necessary reeducation. It was also to introduce to them some basic exercises that the teacher will do with the group. Missing space to work, we had to build a little place, so that Edgar or others could work privately.

At this moment Daisy decided to manage only the administration part of the foundation, so we needed someone to come with us, which would allow me to follow the other project with the school.
A second chance came for us; the arrival of Katrin, a social worker from Germany who needed a project to finish her studies. This filled a need for us and wonderfully, she spoke Spanish.....

Together we began to prepare Rodolpho and Lenny for another pedagogic plan. Katrin could supervise Rodolpho on his work with the SOCEP (Kindergarten). She also did a good job preparing Lenny to begin working with the reading problems with the children of the 3rd to 6th grades.

Then Katrin created a music therapy course.
From this course, we worked out an efficient way to stimulate and harmonize the two hemispheres. Later on, in Bolivia, on Isla del Sol we tried out the technique and it was effective.

N.B.: In 2 months we are going to give more explanation of the technique and the results.

GAMES ASSOCIATION ( ref: pedagogic part )

Rodolpho and Lenny, sometimes with a volunteer, introduced the game association for 1st and 2nd grades before going to the 3rd grade.

Afterwards. Lenny ( Guatemalteque ) and Melanie ( from Quebec ) worked out more intensively with the 4th and 5th grades.

***** Interesting work with the Veritech forms and shapes and the houses associations games
.

The houses game ( an example )

*** We reduced the game from 12 to 6 houses so that it was more accessible, more understandable

GAME
With the pieces of # 1,” which house can I build” ?

*** In their training, they had been advised not to say yes or no, but to ask why ?? “Give me 3 reasons”. Normally the children answer too rapidly ( without thinking ) and they guess what looks similar.
We want them to analyze a little.

In the present example, the answer is 3
Then # 1 goes with # 3

The reasons
The green triangle of # 1 goes with the green triangle of # 3
The red square goes with the red square
The yellow rectangle goes with the yellow rectangle

The fact that the student has to give the reason for his
answer, gives him the chance to analyze and verify his answer.
He cannot verify the answer by luck.

WE CAN WISELY INVERSE THE PROGRAM

The teacher asks
Give me 2 reasons why with the pieces of # 1 I cannot built the house # 6

THE WHY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

And the same with the sticks game and many game of association. They are in the pedagogic section.

Lenny and Melanie also made an introduction with the children for the understanding of the writing problems and the fractions( the meaning of a fraction).

3 - IN THE SOCEP ( Hogar communitario )

At that time we also instructed a group of teachers working in the SOCEP (pre-school) or kindergarten, in the villages of San Pedro, San Juan, San Pablo, San Marcos and Santa Catharina.
Rodopho and I instructed all the SOCEP's teachers and afterwards Rodolfo went to all Socep to help the teachers to evaluate the children and practice reeducation with them. In the SOCEPs, sometimes with the little children, the reeducation is made on a table as you can see in some kinesiology books.

** The main goal was to prepare the children as soon as possible with basic skills and abilities that allow them to be more prepared for school. And the teacher's were also given basic exercises and material to work out with the kids.

Somes photos with Estella, who organise the courses in the Socep.
She also give initiation, of basic exercices , working with her children, that people can do at home with their children. In the Socep they were also shown that they can practice somes exercices on a mat with the little ones.

Juan Manuel his showing the second basic exercice < I open my arm ( on the side ) I open the opposite leg and I center >

And we do not forget the infinity symbol… that the child draw with his arm. After with the left before passing with both arms. And most of the time it is more easy to make them practice on a drawing due to the fact that it is difficult for many kids. For some dyslexic it is even hard on a paper drawing because they can not cross the middle line. We had observe this fact in Quebec, but here in San Marcos it was a lot more evident < the great problem they had with crossing the middle line. ( ref. also to their great difficulty of crossing the two hemispheres.)

Katrin went to the North of Guatemala to the project Mayan Hope in Nebaj to give a workshop for another group managed by Colby Martin. He wrote me recently that with this experience they are going to open a second special education class next year.

In Guatemala, Edgard continues his work with the children for the coming year.

South American Experience

Isla del Sol - Training a volunteer (Mathieu from Quebec)

Bolivia and Peru pedagogic experience

At the end of the school year I went with Jennifer to Peru and Bolivia for traveling and also to initiate some projects.

In Copacabana (Bolivia) I trained a psychologist in basic pedagogy and basic skills for the teaching. He is now using what he learned in his courses at the University in La Paz. He is asking for more pedagogic materials.

We presented the pedagogic material and how to use it to many teachers in different towns, as well as in Puno and Cusco in Peru

Isla del Sol ( Bolivia )

We taught volunteers who were there for one year and who agreed that they did not know how or what to do with the students. After some instruction, and some practice with them and with the use of the material shown to them, they said that now they knew that they were going to be more useful in this part of the island, the North.

At Christmas (due to the generosite of a donator) I put on a Santa Claus suit and we distributed gifts to the children in many parts of the island, we also distribuited pencils & books for the children.

We met with the Superintendent of Schools, and his assistant.

We distributed the pedagogic material.
We demonstrated and used the basic part of the material with the children in front of the Superintendent and others in charge.

During this time and on their request, Jennifer was teaching English to the children. And for the guides she recorded an English/Spanish tape corresponding to their needs.
Before we left Bolivia, we gave them a lot of tapes and photocopies of the English material created in Copacabana.

Also the pedagogic material and the English work has been distributed in Puno and Cusco in Peru.

A business man from Lima took the responsibility to spread the pedagogic material in his town and to other towns where he has hotels.

At this time, the foundation has finished the translation in Spanish of hundreds of pages of pedagogic material from Quebec that will appear later on the pedagogic web-site.

The South America experience: Isla del Sol - Training a volunteer