Why are we here?
This first week in Peru has been a whirlwind; a crazy, beautiful intermixing of hands-on learning of Peruvian culture and lifestyle, soaking up all the sounds, smells and striking sights, and of course, the unavoidable traffic that is seemingly omnipresent here. Traveling to various districts within Lima, we have seen most of their class- spectrum, consisting of A-E, thus giving us a unique perspective that a tourist would never receive. The most surprising aspect thus far, aside from the traffic and driving here, has been the kindness and welcoming nature of the Peruvians here. Whether it be our host family or a stranger on the street, they have been very welcoming to us, despite us not being able to communicate with them perfectly. I was nervous coming here that since I did not fluently speak their language, I would not be accepted, but overall, they have been so encouraging and have made this experience that much more joyful!
Despite this being a unique country, I cannot help but compare and contrast it to my experiences in the United States. When taking a step back upon my initial “culture shock” of overwhelming emotions of being in a new city far from my home, I have realized the valuable differences and similarities of Peru and Milwaukee. Aside from the obvious differences of language and climate, the core values of many Peruvians of family and care for the individual translates across all cultures. Additionally, I have noticed similarities in social inequality that is comparable to home. Coming from Milwaukee, one of the most segregated cities in the United States, systemic poverty and unjust education is a major issue that permeates into daily life. For example, I had field experiences in private schools in suburbs of Milwaukee, in which they receive adequate funding, well trained teachers, and the students only have school to worry about, and public schools in the heart of downtown, who are underfunded, have under qualified teachers, and students who are working part time jobs or are caretakers of their siblings, thus making school a lower priority not by choice, but by necessity. Physical barriers, such as the “wall of shame” here quite literally separate neighboring lower and upper class towns, similar to Milwaukee’s redlining, to supplement the social segregation in both cities. These physical barriers, used to discourage physical and social movement, create an automatic, universally understood message of perceived superiority and perpetuates the systemic injustice for people living in the area. In both cases, the inequality existing through the lack of a quality education, governmental aid and resources must be addressed for progress to ensue.
An equitable, high quality education is deserved by every child in the world, but uncovering what makes an education equitable poses a challenge. Systems of power deeply integrated into systems of inequality perpetuate the inequality experienced ubiquitously. In an educational context, teachers, administrators and other authority hold power, and students learn this from early on. One learns that you need to obey your teacher and school rules if you want to be successful, and if one does not, they will be punished in various forms including poor grades or disciplinary measures. Inherently, power is unequal by definition and exists wherever social relationships occur. With the governmental corruption here in Peru, their power is manipulated thus continuing the systems of inequality to keep the power and wealth in the hands of the few. Rather, power must be delicately utilized to aid in the betterment of the many. Students do not consent to such power systems, much like the people experiencing inequality at the hands of authority. In order for consent to occur and positive relationships between power systems, those holding power, and the individuals who are disturbed by said power, care for the people within the system must occur. Inequality stems from social, economic and political agendas and perceptions that is cyclical; systemic oppression in various forms that needs to be broken to provide a just education for all. The way in which we view students must change and the classroom dynamic must be shifted for true learning to occur. A student-centered, place-based classroom that accounts for each student is a successful classroom for one reason; it wholeheartedly cares for the student as a PERSON. Humanizing education is not a crazy concept, as every person wants to feel valued and understood, but when this translates into the classroom, quality education ensues. By building solid relationships that encourage an open dialogue while making meaning of context, enrichment learning occurs. In order to examine what a just education is universally, we cannot forget about the engine of our educational system; our students. They are all simply human, who through Ignatian Pedagogy deserve an education that cares for them as an individual. We must attend to inequality in order to provide children with an opportunity to empower themselves and to make each student feel human.
We are here in Peru to learn; to learn from their culture, their practices, their community, and their education through their experience and our own experience. To study pedagogy here in Peru through seeing it in action is to understand the inter-working of Peruvian society and how their education works, which is the first step to simply observe and integrate into their society to truly learn and understand. We are blessed to be welcomed into these schools and communities, as without them we would not nearly learn as much. So no, we are not here simply to eat ceviche and look at the beautiful buildings, but we also are not here to volunteer. Rather, to examine in depth the educational system and pedagogical perspectives while also developing our own educational pedagogy and expanding our perspectives to include everyone.
