Bright and early we arrived at Colegio Confederacion Brisas del Diamante, a public school in an impoverished neighborhood on the outskirts of Bogota. They are doing good work there with teachers sharing new language teaching strategies and students were engaged, performing, and leading. We saw little ones learning new vocabulary through decoding, pictures, and games. An English teacher compelled all of us to share the most interesting new word we had learned while in Colombia. In another class, we found science students using recyclables to build giant paper mache creatures. Our student guides were patient and hospitable. Many students bravely demonstrated their newly acquired bilingual skills.
In the afternoon, we visited IE Distrital Usaquen, a public school offering a focus in environmental sciences and engineering. 5th Grade students were preparing to read a complex text about Sebastian Bach by exploring and discussing academic and content vocabulary on the subject of music and symphony. The teacher ran a tight ship and, by all appearances, remained unruffled by the noise coming in from a nearby courtyard.
Again, we were treated to a surprise at the end of the day. Students performed multiple dances, invited us to participate, and gifted us with various traditional treats from Colombia that they made including panela, a sweet brown tea, arepa con queso, a corn cake filled with cheese, guava jelly, cucas, brown sugar cookies, achiras baba, a small crisp salty snack, Granadilla, a delicious orange fruit filled with juicy edible seeds, and cocadas, an Afro-Colombian coconut candy. As if the afternoon's events hadn't completely blown us away already, the celebration was followed by a panel discussion with 10th, 11th, and 12th Grade students answering our questions about, among other things, their environmental projects, gender, success, and their futures. Students asked us questions about our notions of Colombia before we arrived in their country.
Both these communities left me hopeful about the future of education in Colombia. While serious economic issues are still to be witnessed, it is clear that these teachers and administrators care very deeply about their students and their success, and further, these students evidence that Colombia is turning out thinking, skilled, conscientious, and compassionate young people.
1 Comment
Grumpo
7/22/2016 12:49:32 pm
Wonderful blog. Well written. Well illustrated.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Open ForumThis blog exists in order to encourage discussions between my high school English Language Arts students at New Futures School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and other students around the world. Archives
August 2016
Categories |