Tara
Transit Middle School
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Tara
Transit Middle School
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Upon returning from our travels in Colombia, I have a wide range of emotions. I am very thankful for the opportunity, excited for future collaborations with Colombian educators, impressed by the efforts of teachers in schools abroad and reflecting on my own practice as a Spanish teacher. I have told everyone that there is not one favorite part of the trip. Each day was valuable to me in different ways. We accomplished so much in one week that it truly felt as if I had been in Colombia for a whole month!
I had never visited a city quite like Medellín in the past. It is built within a valley, and there is a variety of housing structures situated on in incline. My first thought was how do people have access to the conveniences that a typical American would- such as grocery stores, schools, traveling to work? I was astounded by some of the buildings we encountered. Our tour guide, Marcelo, was very knowledgeable and shared the history of the city and the factors that led to the city’s violent past. He guided us through the construction of the “metro cable” or cable cars that connected poor communities to the wealthier neighborhoods. It removed the isolation and allowed children access to more opportunities. We toured through “Comuna 13,” one of the most violent cities under the influence of drug cartel leader, Pablo Escobar. Currently, it has been revitalized as an artist community, with colorful murals adorning the walls of the neighborhood. You travel up several escalators to reach the top. One can imagine the conditions prior to having these escalators available to be able to connect the people to the rest of society. While Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, you can still witness the effect he has on people in this city, both good and bad. Our tour guide advised us not to speak his name out loud in public, as it may incite anger from families who have lost loved ones to the violence. We first visited the Columbus School, which is a K-12 bilingual institution which resembles a small college campus. The resources and opportunities available to the student body are immense. I observed a few different classes and was able to meet with two teachers to collaborate on future projects with Williamsville students. I am proud to be able to connect my students with native speakers who are also their peers. As a middle school student, it is a rare opportunity when you live in an area where Spanish is not prevalent. While the Columbus school has seemingly unlimited resources to offer students, we also witnessed the opposite end of the spectrum. The second school we visited was San Benito school. The staff and children were very welcoming towards us. The first graders sang a song in English and we were presented with a gift and breakfast. I observed a classroom with forty-two students and the lesson was a lecture on science vocabulary. The students were directed to copy notes dictated from the teacher in their notebooks. It is quite a challenge for a teacher to maintain the attention of that many sixth graders for a whole hour without other resources like worksheets or technology. I admired the teacher for her dedication to her students. The staff told us that the main goal at their school is to offer their kids happiness while they are with them during the school day, since it is a very unhappy existence once they leave them for the day. Later in the week, we arrived in Cartagena, Colombia. It is a beautiful coastal city with a rich history. You can notice the visible divide between the older section of the city with Spanish-style architecture, and a newer area with high rise apartments. The third and last school we saw was COJOWA, Colegio Jorge Washington. I was delighted by the classrooms I observed and made a connection with a 5th grade teacher so that we may do a video chat with our groups soon. Upon returning home, I am grateful for the entire experience. It makes me hopeful to be able to offer new opportunities to my students in Williamsville. Through this process, I am able to develop myself as an educator and collaborate with teachers across the globe. I would highly recommend this exchange program to any teacher interested in learning more about Colombia and connecting their classes to some wonderful schools abroad.
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I first discovered this opportunity at a conference last summer when I saw a flyer for the trip. I inquired about the cost and realized that it was an amazing opportunity both professionally and personally. The next task was convincing my husband of the same! Luckily, he was very supportive and encouraged me to apply for the IPDS Colombia program. We have two young children, ages 4 and 1. My incredible husband will care for our boys while I travel to Colombia during February break.
Over the fall months, we met several times to plan out the details of the trip. Each time, my excitement grew with the realization that I would be able to visit South America once again. I studied abroad for a fall semester in Argentina over a decade ago. I look back on that time in my life with very fond memories and gratitude. It was in Argentina that I decided to apply for a graduate education program and become a Spanish teacher. Eleven years later, I am teaching at Transit Middle School in Williamsville, NY. To be able to spend time in Colombia and learn more about the culture is a dream come true. Currently, I teach fifth grade and eighth grade Spanish. I have been communicating with one of the teachers via email from the Columbus School in Medellín. We have implemented an online pen pal system for our students, where they create videos on a designated topic in Spanish and respond back and forth. To be able to offer my eighth graders the opportunity to converse in the target language with a native speaker who is also a peer is priceless in my mind. It is a way to apply the knowledge from class to a real-life setting. While visiting each school in Colombia, I hope to deepen these relationships with educators at each school to collaborate even more moving forward. |
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