Today was all about debriefing the International Field Experience in Colombia. First I want to say how honored I feel to be a part of the group of educators that traveled to Colombia, a part of Teachers for Global Classrooms, as well as part of the larger Fulbright scholars. The educators that I took the online course with, met in Washington D.C. and traveled to Colombia with were passionate about what they do and were fully immersed into creating more globalized classrooms and developing more meaningful lessons and content in their classrooms. Additionally my teacher Angelica is an alumni of the T Fulbright Program in Colombia and her commitment to teaching and enhancing classroom experiences for her students was strong.
As I end this experience and begin a new school year it is important to remember everything that I have learned along the way in this journey as a TGC fellow. The momentum of this program while fully immersed here in Colombia with like minded educators is strong but as the new school year begins I imagine that old routines and new requirements will set back in place. While I do not expect to change my way of teaching and curriculum overnight I think that small changes and strides towards globalizing my classroom will be key. I am so proud to be a part of this program and would highly recommend Fulbright TGC to anyone who is up for a life changing experience!
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Colombia is a devote country with over 90% of the country being Catholic. This was evident while traveling around the country and while exchanging words with individuals that I met. Today we traveled to the Salt Cathedral. The Cathedral was built in the 90's and functions as a Cathedral/tourist attraction as well as a working salt mine. Mostly everything inside of the cathedral was carved from salt. The piece of salt above that I am touching is 2 million years old! Colombia has continued to surprise me with its diversity and this is yet another example of how.
The most memorable experiences in Cartago have been while building relationships with my host teachers, administrators, teachers, students and locals. It's the questions you ask and the questions that they ask. I really enjoyed sitting down with the students informally and asking them what they saw for their future and the future of Colombia, what they wanted me to tell my students and community about Colombia upon returning home, what they liked to do, and much more. One resonating point was that Colombians wanted people to know how beautiful their country is and that the people are so friendly. They want to break the stereotype that used to be heard on the news. They want to build a better Colombia for their future. I see Colombia growing as the country focuses on its youth and education. The students have classes on the conflict, peace resolution and incorporate self and Colombian identity into their classes. I am going to miss these people but it is the relationships that were built will stay with me.
How do I put into words my school host community visit? This is a question that me and my fellow colleagues have been trying to find the answer to. Here is a list of 10 things that this experience has given me.
1. I was surprised how impacted I was by this program, my school and the community 2. I am impressed with Gabo school and teachers for how well they educate their students with little resources 3. I am more excited about going back to my students after this visit 4. I admire the teaching philosophy of the art teacher and how she wants each student to find their identity through their work 5. I am impressed with how hard the students work and the effort they put into their education 6. I have learned that Colombian students/people are extremely proud of being Colombian 7. I understand my Hispanic students lives and cultures better as a result of this experience 8. Sometimes the individuals who have the least give the most 9. I want to incorporate global education into my classroom to create open minded and culturally sensitive students 10. I felt so welcomed into the school community and loved speaking and learning from the students Gabo, Cartago and Colombia will always hold a special place in my heart. Today teachers from Cartago were invited to a conference led by the Fulbright teachers titled, "Arts as a Resource for Global Education". Gabo school with the help of my host teacher Angelica hosted the conference in a beautiful building downtown. The conference involved teachers from Gabo as well as other schools. Great conversation after our presentations and time for questions was the real benefit of the conference. My guiding questions for this fellowship were answered during our question and answer session. Both Colombian as well as the Fulbright teachers had questions for each other. I found the answers I was looking for with my guiding questions during our conversation. Below are my questions.
Guiding Question: In Colombian schools and communities how are the visual arts used to rebuild relationships to create a more peaceful Colombia? Artwork can be seen everywhere in Colombia. From powerful messages painted in murals to handicrafts created by local artisans. In Colombian schools and particularly at Gabo students are asked to respond to events and societal issues that are happening around them in their art. Their art can also take place not only visually but also through poetry and the written word. The youth which makes up 50% of the population in Colombia is strongly focused on entrepreneurship and students are creatively rising to the challenge to create a better Colombia in the future. Supporting Questions: How are the visual arts integrated into the curriculum in Colombia? How does the artwork created by students show individual/local identity and culture? Schools in Colombia have the choice whether or not to include art education into the curriculum. At Gabo students have art every year for 2 hours a week. Gabo had a strong art program that you could see through the students artwork displayed around the school as well as the creativity that the students displayed. Art is used at Gabo to help students find their identity and to respond to events and social issues around them. Students are asked to use the arts to find their own voices and individual styles. Collaboration between students in varying schools is happening to help students become aware of what other students are working on/collaborate artistically. At the end of the year the community comes together to host a large art show that all students participate in. Today after another warm welcome at school we visited the Frixio embroidery factory. Embroidery is one of the arts that Cartago is known for. The owner of the tour gave us a tour of the factory. Linen is chosen from Colombia, Turkey or India and then cut and sewed into the garments. Designs for the garments are machine printed but much of the process is done by hand. Each embroidered piece is sewn by hand by women of Cartago at home. The handicraft of the women is truly a work of art. When the women are finished with a piece they bring it back to the factory to be checked before receiving more work. There were women who were there creating work during our tour and the speed and knowledge in which they worked showed their experience and skills. I absolutely love anything handmade and I am happy to see that this work and tradition still continues in Cartago.
Today was our first day at one of Angelica's schools; Maria Immaculada School. We had a warm welcome from the principal of Gabo's schools. The students welcomed us with songs and dances that they performed. Afterwards we participated in 2 seventh grade classes and a ninth grade class where students had prepared presentations on the culture, food, dances, etc in varying regions of Colombia (Amazon and Orinoco). After lunch we visited the younger students at the school. They were so excited to meet native English speaking teachers at their school as for most of the students this was their first time meeting someone from the United States. I learned so much today about the beautiful country of Colombia as the students were so well prepared with anything that they shared. I hope that my encounter with the students today will encourage them to want to learn more English as this is a goal that the country of Colombia has for it's youth. They see English as one of the ways to move their country forward. Today was a beautiful day and I am even more excited to meet tomorrow's group of students!
Today we explored the coffee region of Colombia, "Valle del Cauca". Our first stop was Cocora Valley where we saw the beautiful valley filled with wax palm trees. The trees are around 200 years old and are not reproducing in the way they should be. The wax palm is the national tree of Colombia and some fear that the tree may go extinct in the future. Additionally the valley is being sought after to extract minerals so the beautiful landscape that we saw today may not exist in the same form in years to come. We rode horses through the valley which was equally exhilarating and scary. After lunch we headed to Salento where we shopped for typical handicrafts of Colombia in the colorful little town. In Salento we saw an Independence Day parade in the town as July 20th is Independence Day in Colombia. A quick stop by the colorful town of Filandia finished off our day together. Colombia is such a beautiful country with such warm people that we have met along the way. We arrived in our host community of Cartago! Our host Angelica and her family is amazing and were so welcoming. Knowing that we are arts teachers she took us to visit Museo Rayo in Roldanillo to see Omar Rayo's work first hand. I had seen Rayo's work online but did not know much about the artist or that the artist was Colombian! When thinking of Colombian artists, the artist who comes to mind is always Botero. This day at the museum was also a special event. Other artists additionally had work on display while we were there and we got to meet and talk with 3 separate artists. One of these artists was actually an apprentice of Omar Rayo's and gave us a first hand tour of the museum.
I was so excited to get out and experience Monserrate in Bogota this morning. Monserrate rises 3,152 meters above sea level and is a symbolic spot in the city. The church that sits at the top is an important pilgrimage location for the devote 90% of Catholics that reside in Colombia. The view was breathtaking once the sun came out and you could see across the expansive Bogota city.
In the afternoon we had a historical and cultural presentation on Colombia by Yanilis our in country guide. She reinforced my knowledge of Colombia and surprised everyone with an impromptu dance party with a local Colombian band and dance group. |
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