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8 Dec

Empty Chair

Posted by Wes in Mexican culture, Photos, Poverty and the Poor.

There are many empty chairs in Mexican schools. They are empty because of poverty. They are empty because of corruption. And they are empty because we live in a fallen world.

Empty Chair

7 Responses to this post.

  1. Posted by Christina on December 8, 2008 at 8:18 pm

    very true… one of the things I try to instill in my students everyday here is about important education is… what a privilege it is to be able to go to school for FREE… and even be given a FREE breakfast… and free/reduced lunch… that’s 2 hot, nutricious meals…. they just don’t get it sometimes

    though it impacted one student the other week when I shared some things about Mexico with her… she is no longer just “surviving” in class… but has really given value and work to my clas…..

    all I can do is share with them…and try to encourage them… i long for a day when my students will be motivated by the importance and education and no longer b/c of a song or dance

    my highest performing students (all A’s and B’s) are my migrant workers kids…b/c they see the value of education… it’s been instilled in them from their parents…

    I met up with a friend from high school the other week.. and this gives me hope (sorry this is a long post… but it really encouraged me on the opportunity provided… and how I long for the world to be equal)

    I found out a little bit more about his family background… he is the main reason I know spanish as well (or i hope) as I do.. he really pushed me to learn it in high school, during national spanish honor society and many hours studying for their competitions

    he graduated the year before me (96) and went on to notre dame and then continued on to go to harvard law school (both full scholarship)

    we were talking about school, and the importance of education and the opportunities that it brings

    he is the son of migrant workers(just found this out . some things go unspoken in high school ya know?)… they migrated between idaho (potatoes) and ocala (orange packing houses)… his parents are also the children of migrant workers… he has been there… picked watermelons, oranges, potatoes, apples and the sort…

    now his family has settled (his mom works in a horticulture place and his dad is a truck driver)

    and he is a lawyer that mainly works with helping out small businesses (loans etc… based in NY but working in central and south america, helping out small national businesses succeed there)

    we also talked about teachers who had impacted us in high school.. how they challenged us and how at the time we did not like them (for they were HARD), but we see now it is because they cared about our future (our grading scale was that a 94 was an A… so when we got a 93 we were like “man… grrr he gave me a B”) but without these teachers we would not be where we are today

    that’s the kind of teacher I hope to be

  2. Posted by Wes on December 9, 2008 at 9:53 am

    Praise God that he led you to such an important vocation!

  3. Posted by Bill on December 13, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    incredible picture

  4. Posted by Wes on December 13, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    What do you like about it? I’m trying to improve in my composition, and any comments or suggestions help!

  5. Posted by Christina on December 15, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    I like the way the light comes in an reflects/highlights the lone seat… gives you a sense that something is missing…

  6. Posted by Amy on December 15, 2008 at 10:17 pm

    I like the shadow cast by the chair. And also the vivid colors: dark blue, lighter blue, royal blue, yellow, rusty orange. Also, the band of light shining across the desk seems symbolic to me (especially b/c it is a bit diagonal) of, for example, the line through a “no-smoking” sign. So, it seems to represent the idea that “no…” there is no education taking place here right now. Education prohibited…b/c of poverty, corruption, the Fall, etc.

  7. Posted by Wes on December 18, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    Thanks for the comments on the picture! It’s good to hear what other people see.

    Very insightful, Amy!

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