Peru: In a Few Words (Final Project)
INTRODUCTION
Throughout the past month in Peru, I kept a journal that I tried to write in daily. Originally, this was just going to be a journal to keep track of my experiences and to jot down my feelings, but I started the practice of writing down a word that stuck out in my mind based on the events of each day. I decided to revamp this journal, specifically these words, and turn them into my final project. I am going to be taking the words from each day and describing how they formed part of my understanding of what makes for a just education, a high quality education and equity in education. I have paired the list down to the fifteen most relevant words from throughout the entire month and separated them into groups of five based on the three essential questions of the course. Since I have been back, I’ve gotten a lot of broad questions about my experience that it’s hard for me to answer without diving into all the details of my trip. I’d consider these words to be the most important ones I could use to describe my month in Peru. That being said, here is Peru: In a Few Words.
AN EQUITABLE EDUCATION
Eye-Opening
This was the first word that I wrote in my journal, right after we spent our first day in Lima. When I wrote this word I think I was focused on being exposed to an entirely new culture and way of life in Peru. The differences between Peru and the United States were overwhelming, even simple things such as driving and flushing the toilet were different. I was also grappling with the more systemic, complex differences such as language, a culture of machismo, and stark differences in experiences in education. Looking back at how I was feeling when I wrote this, I was still in a bit of culture shock and only focused on the differences. As time passed I was able to understand the importance of looking for similarities between the United States and Peru. Once I did this, I realized there were a lot of similarities, especially when it came to education. The inequities I was seeing in Peru were also present in cities like Milwaukee and Chicago, perhaps just a little more hidden. Why was I noticing the inequities in Peru more quickly than I was noticing the ones back home? Inequity is truly ingrained in society, that sometimes it takes stepping away from it and seeing it from a different perspective to finally notice it.
Language
Language, specifically the language barrier is something that I dealt with early on in the trip and throughout our time in Peru. At first my lack of knowledge of Spanish was another thing that I found overwhelming, however as time passed, I got both more comfortable with spanish and developed ways to effectively communicate despite a language difference. At this point, I still needed to get over the vulnerability of not speaking the common language and the embarrassment of potentially saying something incorrectly. Though I was feeling so out of place for speaking English, it was such a coveted language to know in Peru. Every school we went to in Lima had some level of English classes. The difficulty and quality of the English classes helped determine the status of the school and its students. La Inmaculada had an extensive English program, and was a bilingual school, while Tupac Amaru had basic English classes, but the teachers were not fluent. English is seen as a symbol of privilege in Peru and proves extremely helpful to a successful business career later in life. The inequity of these two English programs mirrored the inequity between the communities they were located in. I don’t think that in order to make the education in these two schools equitable, Tupac Amaru needs better English classes. I think it is entirely possible for students of Tupac Amaru to be successful in life but not fluent in English. Focusing on English classes alone would be trying to achieve equality, not equity. The first step toward equity, in my opinion, would be to focus more broadly on equipping Tupac Amaru with tools for success, such as quality teachers, working and safe facilities and improved technology.
Contrast
As we spent more and more time in Peru, the contrast of schools in El Agustino and other wealthier parts of Lima stood out more and more. The obvious example here was when we took our tour of La Inmaculada, with its exotic animals, ample greenspace and many gymnasiums only three days after our visit to Pamplona Alta, which barely had the resources to get by. Seeing all of this made me so upset and angry that La Inmaculada could have such excess while other schools in the same city, on the other side of a wall, couldn’t even imagine having half of what they had. Through our seminars, we discussed whether simply giving schools with less resources, the same things that the schools with more already had would fix the inequity. We determined that this wouldn’t completely solve the issue, and I still stand by this point. It goes back to the reason La Inmaculada doesn’t have scholarships anymore. No matter how hard they tried to integrate the low-income students, the balance between life at home and at school contrasted too much. Education is only one part of a system of inequity that is societal, and schools are one way in which social inequity can be seen. Making education equitable can not reach full effectiveness without making society equitable as well. This makes equity even more challenging, but I believe there are still steps toward that can be made toward this goal, which I will discuss in coming entries.
On Display
People from the United States are somewhat admired in Peru. The reason for that has to do with their whitewashed standard of beauty and other broad racial intricacies, that I can’t get into in this journal, without making it twice as long as it already is. The time that I noticed this the most was when we toured Tupac Amaru and we surrounded by shocked students, a worried staff trying to impress us and having our photo taken at every turn. This did not happen in any other school we went to because seeing white people was not as much of an anomaly there. This further proved that schools like Tupac Amaru are not where funding is focused, or even where missionary efforts are being sent. For this reason we were on display, but from my perspective the inequity of this school in comparison to others was on display, loud and clear. Again, it took me some reflection to realize that the same inequity is present in the United States, but I along with many others choose not to see it, often without even realizing it. In the United States, the social and economical segregation often means that people stay in their own bubble, and do not see what other areas have or do not have. This is a major reason that inequity persists, because it goes unnoticed or is never fully experienced. For me, experiencing inequity in a totally different context made me more wary of it at home and how I can take steps to be less passive about it in the future.
Exclusive
Visiting Colegio Roosevelt was the time I felt the most exclusivity in Peru. It was obvious who belonged at that school and it was completely closed off from anyone else, therefore isolating its students to the city around them. This isolation is the most dangerous part of inequity and what allows it to persist in society. The desire of those who benefit from the setup of the current society for schools to maintain the status quo is a reality. It is also hard to reverse this because the people who believe this is an aim of education, tend to have the most power when it comes to promoting and actualizing aims of education. That being said, and equitable education is not impossible, it just might not be accomplished by working from the top down or with big structural, legal changes to the education system. Equity in education can be providing a high quality experience, based on the needs and assets of a particular community. This can look like learning Quechua in the Andes, providing career exploration opportunities for students at La Inmaculada or technical classes at Tupac Amaru. Equity can change between contexts, and though it is not fair that some students have such a wealth of resources in comparison to others, it is not a reasonable first step to equalize these resources. Ideally, this would come with time and the inequalities would balance out eventually, but equity is about ensuring that the needs of an individual and a community are addressed first.
A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION
People
I wrote the word “people” after our visit to Pamplona Alta, which was one of the experiences that has stayed with me the most now that we have returned to the United States. No matter what a community is experiencing and no matter how much material wealth they have, it always comes down to people. It is the people who make any place what it is. This same philosophy can be held for schools. All people have assets and are rich in some way. They give life, vibrance and feeling to a place. This shows that while physical things are important for the progress of schools or neighborhoods, they are in no way the only things that matter. Quality does not only lie in material possessions, it comes with passionate people and the strength of the community they are able to build. For this reason, I think that what is more important than new computers or smartboards in classrooms, is training for teachers and hiring committed, caring teachers who are dedicated to their students’ success. This is the highest quality education that a student can receive.
Enthusiasm
I found the people in Peru to be very enthusiastic. Whether they were people who saw us passing by in our bus or the students we saw when we visited schools, I always felt welcomed. On this day, the enthusiasm I felt was at the International Day of Play at the MLK Sports School, when we were dancing with the community and everyone was so excited to see us participating. Now, I am stretching this enthusiasm to be an aspect of a high quality education. Sticking with the theme of a high quality education not necessarily meaning one with a lot of material resources, enthusiasm is something that I think should be present in every school. There should be an enthusiasm for learning from both teachers and students and an enthusiasm for teaching. We’ve all been in classrooms where the teacher is so enthusiastic about the subject matter, that it is contagious.That being said, we’ve also all been in the opposite situation, where the teacher just doesn’t seem engaged, and therefore, the students aren’t either. I found the former case in Peru, especially when we were playing soccer. The soccer instructors’ passion rubbed off on the students and made them that much more excited to not only play, but turn their game into an educational experience. This is something I want to take back to my professional experiences, remembering just how much a teacher’s outlook and energy can have on the quality of students’ experience in the classroom.
Relationships
As we read in our first seminar article about power, relationships are unavoidable and when there is a relationship, there is a power dynamic. In the classroom, there are relationships between the teacher and student, a student and their classmates, the teacher and the administration and more. If the power dynamic is extremely skewed to one side in any of these scenarios, one side can abuse their power and the other side can feel vulnerability and fear, which would not set anyone up for educational success. Therefore, these relationships are fragile and if they are positive, they can make for a high quality education. The relationship, I want to focus on is the one between teachers and students. If this relationship extends beyond one of relaying information and testing to ensure that the information has been retained, it can be very powerful. The idea of educating the whole person is what a high quality education is all about. The quality of education is not only about learning the curriculum, it is also about ensuring that the student’s mind, body and soul are cared for, and doing this requires a more personal connection and relationship. This is possible regardless of the social context of a school or student, only requiring teachers who are committed to this philosophy.
Teamwork
This was by far the cheesiest word I picked to describe my takeaways from Peru, but I think it has a strong significance. Teamwork stood out to me most at the MLK Sports School because it was a team effort from all areas of the community. They had the students and the coaches, but they also stressed the importance of parent involvement, which is something that must be addressed when it comes to education. Students are ultimately only in school for a portion of their day and spend the rest of their time with their parents or guardians at home. If learning and students’ interests are not stressed in this environment as well, the progress made at school can only go so far. This is challenging because educators and schools cannot control a student’s home life, making it an ever-present factor to be taken into consideration at all times. This reminded me that a high quality education does not only exist in the traditional classroom, but should extend to the home as well. This parent involvement piece was something I was still curious about, particularly in disadvantaged families where parents might not be familiar with the education system. I found an article about a 2008 study in Peru on this subject, and though it is a bit dated it still provides valid arguments. Schools can be intimidating for parents who had more negative experiences in them, but they still want their child to succeed. Therefore, schools should provide parents with resources to help their children and opportunities to see how their student is being educated and a safe environment to get any of their questions about the process answered. This is where a high quality education can be enhanced with social workers and counselors who care for the students’ mental health and are in touch with their life outside of the school building, as well as working on the parental connection. Between teachers, families, social workers and students themselves, a team is formed that can provide the student with a rich educational experience that goes beyond the classroom.
Curiosity
Curiosity is somewhat of a buzzword in education. The way a student will learn best is if they spark a curiosity in the subject matter and want to find answers for themselves. As we discussed in seminar, some people are naturally more curious than others. Young children tend to have the most curiosity because they have the most to learn. They are constantly asking question after question about anything that they encounter. In Peru, I wanted to tap into this childlike curiosity and not be afraid to ask questions. In fact, I wanted to challenge myself to ask questions of both myself and all I was experiencing. Curiosity is a main aspect of a high quality education because it is the most natural way in which learning can occur. When a student is inspired to not only ask questions about what they are learning, but to simply feel impassioned to learn more, they will have a better experience in the classroom. A high quality education is all about a student having a positive classroom experience. Though materials are necessary to an extent, as I have mentioned before they do not make an education high quality. The quality comes from the way curriculum is taught and the way students are learning it. Teachers really determine the quality of an education with the relationships they have with their students and the environment they establish in their classrooms to inspire learning.
A JUST EDUCATION
Experiential
Ignatian pedagogy is all about experiential learning. What we were doing in Peru was also experiential learning. Ignatian pedagogy argues that people learn best through experiences and proper reflection on them. We had many discussions in seminar about whether or not the experiential learning happening in the pastoral program at La Inmaculada was actually impacting the students, and we determined that it had the potential to if the proper context and reflection was part of it. Experience is so powerful because seeing something and living it makes it so much more real than reading about it or only hearing about it inside the classroom. This is also why an education for activism is so powerful for privileged students. The idea behind service experiences in education is to make the future world more just. If privileged students can experience the inequities that are a normal part of other students’ lives, the hope is that they are inspired to work to rectify and prevent them in the future. Again, this is a tricky thing to navigate and honestly, most of the time might not work, but I still think it is worth it for the instances that it does.
Sacred
The word sacred was ripped right from an article we read for seminar, “Engaged Pedagogy”. This word struck me because I never considered teaching to be a “sacred work”. This term seemed far to broad and serious for what teaching was, but I quickly realized how much it fits. If teaching is my career and my vocation, I want to consider it sacred, and I want it to be something I take that seriously. This ties into a teacher’s role in ensuring a just education for their students. A just education means that the student feels like their teacher is their advocate and truly believes in their abilities. Teaching is such an important job, that has the ability to transform a student’s life, which is not something to be taken lightly. Teachers can recognize their student’s full potential and equip them with some of the tools and skills they need to be successful in some aspect of their lives. This is not to take away from the student’s own abilities, but to enhance them and help the student realize them. This was very inspiring for me and reminded me why I was in Peru and why I want to be a teacher.
Accepting
Peru was one of the most accepting places I have ever traveled to. The people were accepting of my shortcomings when it came to things like English or cultural knowledge. In terms of education, accepting has to do with an asset-based education. Approaching something with an asset-based mindset means looking at using the strengths a struggling community already has, instead of uprooting the whole system you are trying to fix. This is a much more positive and manageable approach because the community is using some things they already are familiar with in order to make some sort of change. This is a just way of mending educational inequities and ensuring a high quality education for all. This is a humanizing way of making changes and ensuring that everyone gets to experience the right to a high quality education. Being accepting of systems and people we are not entirely comfortable with or that we do not fully understand, is just because we are still honoring the beauty in them and not saying that they are completely wrong. An accepting or asset-based education considers the contexts of students and a community, making it a solid step toward providing them with what they need to enhance this.
Cultural
The word cultural stuck out to me throughout the trip, but mostly when we were in Cusco. I thought it was great that the Fe y Alegria schools were working to ensure they preserved and honored their students’ culture of Quechua. From what I gathered, this seemed rare, as Quechua is often looked down upon in Peru. Though Quechua may not be the most beneficial language to help students get a job in the future, it is still incredibly important and just for them to learn it. Quechua is their culture that students have grown up in and that their parents and grandparents have grown up in before them. It is a major part of their identity and therefore should be celebrated. This can extend to schools outside of Peru as well, especially in the case of African American education in the United States. I am reminded of the Ladson-Billings article we read, “Landing on the Wrong Note,” which was about the price we paid after Brown vs. the Board of Education. She argues that black culture in schools was lost when they were forced to integrate into white schools. Though there were obvious problems with segregated education, one thing that those schools had was an appreciation and emphasis on black culture and history. After Brown, all black schools were completely abandoned and African American students were forced into schools that celebrated white culture and customs. It is just for a student to be able to learn about themselves and their culture in school. This makes it known that they matter and they are important in the eyes of their school. The opportunity to learn about many different cultures in school is important for students to gain an understanding and acceptance of people who are different than them. They can see the beauty in their own culture and others’, which makes for a more just education and society in general.
Love
Love is a word that stayed with me each day in Peru, and I have made it my final word in this journal for a reason. I think love sums up what a just education is and what it can provide for students. I saw love with all the people we encountered in Peru from our gracious host families to all the schools and programs that took us in. Love is such an important part of education and it is not talked about enough. Providing a just, equitable or high quality education in the ways I have mentioned in this journal means nothing if a student doesn’t feel that this is the type of education they are receiving. The best way to ensure this is to teach with love and for love to be present throughout the school. If a student feels loved they will feel safe and they will be able to flourish, realizing their full potential with all the support they need and deserve. This also involves caring for and educating the whole person, so the student knows that they are truly valued. There is not really any policy that can be put in place to create love in a school, but, at the same time it is not hard to accomplish. If each teacher contributes their own grain of sand, as the Colombian expression goes, and incorporates love into their classroom, which they have total control over, love will be present throughout the whole school. This love has the potential to impact students in the way they see themselves, treat each other and the way they learn. This ideal environment with love at the center is what a just education is all about. Seeing so much love around me in Peru made this clear and I hope to bring the love and acceptance I felt in Peru back to everything I do in my life in the United States.
