Helping Children… is the best!
Helping children is near and dear to my heart! As I write about this amazing teacher volunteering her time in La Cruz and creating an amazing difference for young people I learn that today is teacher’s day in México (May 15th)!
FELIZ DÍA DEL MAESTRA, Carmen!
Carmen Tapia was brought into the world at the Robert Parker Hospital in Bradford, Pennsylvania where her dad was doing his residency. Two months old when her dad finished his specialty as an orthopedic surgeon, Carmen and her family returned home to Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico where her extended family still lives.
In 2010 she bought a condo in the beautiful Punta Esmeralda development of La Cruz. Initially Carmen only came on vacation as she was still working in the USA, moving here in 2014 when she retired. Carmen visits her Arizona home in the summer.
When asked why she lives here she told me “I love the ocean and the community of La Cruz”. Her choice to move here was precipitated by her desire to be by the ocean and the proximity to her daughter and granddaughter in Guadalajara. “I love that La Cruz is so clean, that would have been a breaking point for me! La Cruz is perfect for me, I LOVE dancing!”
One of her teachers told Carmen “You’re a born teacher!” For Carmen it has been enriching to work in the education systems in Mexico (10 years) and in the United states (20 years).
Now back in Mexico, as a retired, bilingual education teacher and by all accounts she’s exceptional! She told me ”Working with children… that’s where my heart is!” It all began when she moved into her condo, she says “I was driving around and saw the elementary school from the highway. I went in and offered to volunteer as a teacher. The principal needed a reading tutor and I started teaching; for an entire year I taught outside, under a tree, before they gave me an empty classroom.” Carmen’s neighbors at Punta Esmeralda had a fundraiser to buy books for the library. With excitement she told me “They raised 21,000 pesos that I used to buy beautiful books.”
The principal then told Carmen that she needed to vacate the library room because it will be a classroom next year, but he said not to worry, that they were going to fundraise to build a new room for the library. She says, “It didn’t happen and when I was ready to spread the books among the schools in the area, a generous donor volunteered to let us use his beautiful building for the library… The Kids Club was born. The goal is to teach English to the children through playing while immersed in a second language. The proposal is to take a class for an hour and then play with the educational materials another hour. The children that are not reading at grade level will take reading in Spanish with me, and then take directed playing in English. The children that are already reading at grade level will take an English class for an hour and then go to directed playing in English. Many adults are requesting English lessons in the afternoon. The address of the Kids Club: Club,de Ninos y Ninas is at Coral 5 by the Glorieta (the circle with the cross).
Carmen says her job is filled with rewards; especially when children’s eyes light up because they finally GOT IT… it’s priceless. Always immediately after their behaviour improves, they they start handling themselves differently because they’ve been given a life strategy to succeed.
Carmen has an EDS (education specialist) in teaching students with learning disabilities. “What made me do all this? It’s to pay it forward. You see; life has been generous with me, and I feel I need to use my talents to help those that have not been so blessed.”
She’s inspired by; Helping children succeed!
In her sparetime, hehe; Carmen is the Education Chair for the Amigos de La Cruz organization. Carmen is one of the most wonderful volunteers, she heads up the Education program and helps Cynthia as coordinator in the medical program.
Carmen loves swimming, kayaking, hiking and snorkeling. She loves cooking and says, “I’m a good cook, but I don’t have any particular favourite recipe”.
She likes that people are getting educated, little by little. “We have to be very careful of our impact on the Mexican Culture in La Cruz. We need to be very respectful of their culture and their language.”
Her favourite quote; “To teach is to touch lives forever”·
She would love for people of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to stay true to themselves, to preserve the towns charm, never getting too Americanized nor too modern; no franchises, no big hotels. “Please not another Sayulita!”
She’s most proud of “I think the greatest achievement of my life was to be able to break with everything I knew and move to Tucson, Arizona. It was hard but in time it proved to be one of the best decisions of my life. One of the best recognitions in my life came from my exceptional education students in middle school; they voted me their favourite teacher… because I helped them succeed! They were so proud they weren’t dummies anymore!”
She says; “Others should move to La La Cruz
Thank you, Carmen! Feel free to email Carmen to donate your time or shall we say play with the kids or donate books. carluctap228@gmail.com
Volunteer Moments:
Linda Ward and her buddy, Walter;
Ran out of things to do so I had the kids do a portrait of Walter. Walter loved it…ears, eyes, nose stuff and the kids did a great job! The bonus was that they had to get their pictures taken with their portraits! I’m going to give them each a copy.
