Guatemala’s Sputnik Moment

This week I taught self-esteem to a group of ninth graders. We explored where it comes from, why it is important, and how to build it. The teens wrote lists about themselves and assessed whether their self-image was mainly positive or mainly negative, and how to change their negatives into positives.

Then, as a first step to building healthy self-esteem, we played the “Pat on the Back” game. Each student had a paper taped to his or her back, and their classmates went around writing compliments on their backs anonymously. Later the students read out loud what people wrote about them. It affirmed the students to hear that their classmates thought highly of them.



With another group of ninth graders, we talked about professions. Using materials I had translated from the English-language book “Do What You Are,” the students assessed their Myers-Briggs personality type, and they read about professions matched well with their personality.

14-year-old Lucía (who happens to have the same personality type as me) asked me, “I want to be an astronaut. What do I have to do?” She was serious about her dream, so I invited her and a friend over to my house today to research space careers. First, we went to the NASA website. NASA plans to send a rover to Mars this fall, and you can enter your name and country on their website, and your information will be carried on a computer chip to Mars! We entered their names, and now rural Guatemala will be represented on Mars.


Then we researched the requirements to become an astronaut. It seems like a reach for them: a college degree in math or science, three years professional experience, and sponsorship by a foreign government. But, in fact, the biggest obstacle may be the 5’2’’ height minimum, which is literally a stretch for the typical indigenous woman.

Finally, we researched the career of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. When I was 10, I wrote to Ride, and she wrote me back with an autographed photo! That picture hung in my room for years, and I thought we might get lucky again. So the girls dictated a letter to Sally Ride, and I translated it into English. I’m also attaching a photograph of them, and I’m writing a letter that explains how their interest in exploring professions came about through my Peace Corps classes. We’re going to mail the letter and see what happens!