In recent decades, rural Mayan women in Guatemala have been working to overcome long-standing disadvantages: illiteracy, poverty, lack of basic community services, and lack of respect for women's abilities and contributions. Profiles of 10 Mayan women describe their educational experiences and their community development work, particularly in the…

Describes development of a rural Guatemalan women's organization created to respond to the psychological, economic, and educational consequences of long-term war, massacre, military occupation, poverty, and exile. The association's genesis and current work reflect collaborative processes of interethnic and transnational nonformal education,…

In today's internal armed conflicts that pitch one group against another, minority and indigenous children are often seen as "legitimate targets" despite the wealth of international law to the contrary. This report focuses on three recent or current armed conflicts, drawing on interviews with children and others to piece together the…

To examine the process of language shift (bilingualization) in an area where there is a local dialect equivalent to a "language of solidarity" and a national language equivalent to a "language of power," language interactions in the impoverished village of San Marcos in the highlands of Guatemala were examined. Although Spanish…

Profiles Rigoberta Menchu Tum, a Maya-Quiche woman from Guatemala who in 1992, was the first indigenous person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize's youngest recipient, Menchu Tum is using the prize money and prestige to promote the international movement for peace and the rights of indigenous peoples and to contribute to indigenous…

This study examined the idea that toddlers in some communities are accorded a privileged status in which they are allowed what they want, assumed not yet to "understand" how to cooperate. U.S. middle-class and Guatemalan Mayan mothers and 3- to 5-year-old siblings were observed while the siblings and toddlers (14-20 months) both sought…

This document outlines a course unit on Pre-Columbian Mayan Myths intended to be part of a semester-long survey course on world mythology. The intended unit length of three weeks for three hours per week allows time for consideration of a brief geographical, historical, and cosmological background against which to place Mayan myths, study of the…

This simulation allows students to explore the lives of the great rulers of the Mayan culture. Students learn the mysterious history of the Maya by decoding glyphs, investigating the unusual religion of the Maya, unraveling the complex Mayan calendar, and discovering the Mayan number system's secret meanings. Specific cooperation skills are taught…

At the present time, approximately 50% of the population of Guatemala is classified as indigenous, while in Mexico the figure is estimated to be between 10% and 15%. The figures are deceptive, however, since there is no legal definition of what constitutes an Indian in either country. This unit contains lessons that focus on indigenous groups in…

If a civilization as powerful and technologically advanced during its time as the Maya could disappear, can the same tragic outcome befall the United States? In this lesson, students work in teams to research the ancient Mayan civilization, specifically the circumstances of its demise. Student teams prepare a report of their findings and recommend…

A University of Yucatan (Mexico) professor who taught a Mayan linguistics course to indigenous teachers in Mayan discusses three issues that are central to understanding how indigenous education interacts with pan-Maya identity: the importance of locally developed Maya literature, the symbols used to define Maya culture, and a conflict over Maya…

Designed to supplement an established language arts and social studies program, this books deals with the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayas of Latin America. All of the "Story Starter" books are intended to give a variety of vocabulary and story ideas to help with the writing process. Each of the books is divided into four main sections: (1) an…

Many health and development programs have been initiated for the rural poor in the world, but few have achieved as strong an association with the cultural values of the people as has Dr. Carroll Behrhorst's work in Guatemala. The two major communication thrusts of his health programs are education of the native population, emphasizing…

States that students often utilize sources from the Internet without evaluating the quality of the information presented. Discusses how to use technology in the history classroom in order to help students think critically. Describes different assignments and the problems that were encountered. (CMK)

Contrasts two models of instruction: building on ideas in shared endeavors; and transmit-and-test formats. Discusses how these contrasting formats may relate to interactional patterns observed in toddlers and caregivers in a Mayan and a middle-class European-American community; and elementary school children in Japan and the United States. (SR)