Welcome to Puebla!!

Today we got to spend the day exploring the beautiful city of Puebla!  After breakfast we went to visit an archaeological site by the name of Cholula.  We visited two very beautiful churches!  We had a tour guide that taught us a lot about the indigenous people and history.  After lunch at a fantastic restaurant we got free time!  Susanna, Melanie, and I, explored a little and relaxed in our beautiful hotel.  Our hotel in Puebla is a historical and has been a hotel since the 1930's.  The hotel is known for its excellent cuisine, and is recommended by almost every foreign tour guide.  We ate two meals at the hotel and both were delicious!  I had tacos with chicken soup and we also shared some guacamole. 

The room that Melanie, Susanna, and I had, had two beds on the main floor and had a little loft with another bed.  It was so cute!  We also had a balcony! Puebla was my favorite trip during my time in Mexico.  I loved the variety of people and the pretty zocalo. 

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Today we had classes as usual from 9-12 and then had cake for Katie and Roberto’s birthdays. ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

 In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to go to another public elementary school called “Cuitláhuac”. We split up and observed for about 2 ½ hours. Rachel had the opportunity to observe second graders in both their regular classroom and in the computer lab. The students were absolutely enamored by the fact that we were from America and kept giving us gifts. Something to note about this class was that they hardly paid attention while the teacher was talking, and when she left the room they were running around the classroom and fighting and screaming. On the other hand, when we went to the computer lab, the students were very well behaved and worked pretty diligently. The computer lab had about 20 computers that were all IBM’s, older models, but still in very good condition.

Stephanie observed a second, fourth and fifth grade class. To my surprise, students in the fourth grade class were cleaning and organizing the room. Everyone seemed to have a job as the teacher spoke with various parents that entered the room. In the second grade classroom, all of the students were excited to have us in their classroom and gathered around us as we helped them with their class assignment.

  Later on, while observing a gym class the fifth graders were learning how to march because they will be carrying the flag during the sixth graders graduation ceremony next Thursday. The ceremony is a large celebration that will start at 2 pm and involve dancing and even students carrying real machetes. As our Fulbright group was gathering to leave, all the kids came to talk with us and asked us where we were from. They were so excited to take pictures with us and everyone wanted us to sign their notebooks as we were leaving out the gate. The last image we had of the students was waving goodbye to us and smiling as our bus pulled away.

Saturday June 23

Saturday, June 23, 2012

This morning we were up bright and early in order to catch the bus to travel to UAEM--a local university.  Here we met with Marta Fuentes the coordinator of the special education program.  She talked to us about a group of teachers who were pursuing their Master’s degree in special education.  Marta told us about the availability of night classes so that teachers who are currently teaching can enroll in Master’s programs.  In all, the college serves about 1,000 teachers.

After the overview of the school we were introduced to some teachers who are currently enrolled in the program.  We were able to talk about issues in education in Mexico.  We discussed the identification process for Special Education services as well as how identified students are served in schools.  They told us that gifted students in Mexico are also served by special education programs.  These programs are either integrated into the regular education classroom or take place at a school called a “Centro Multiple”.

The issue of school funding in both countries also arose.  Dr. Hatt explained that due to decreasing funds for education in the US, teachers and teacher education programs are under attack.  She further explained how teachers who have increased their salaries by continuing their education are losing the raises that they earned.  

The panelists described how lack of funds in Mexico means that many schools turn to parents to provide money for building repairs and basic materials such as toilet paper.  They discussed various initiatives the government has attempted: providing Smart Boards for classrooms but not money for training, electricity or computers to operate them and providing books for classroom libraries only to have the district or school authorities keep them because they are afraid students will tear or dirty them.

We also discussed other current hot topics in education both here and in the United States such as the nutritional quality of the food served in schools and problems with bullying.  The final topic the panelists brought up was the influence of US media on kids in Mexico.

It was truly wonderful to spend time talking with teachers.

When we got back from our visit from the UAEM we helped set up for the 25^th anniversary party for CETLALIC.  Once the school was set up for all of the  guests, we were ready to start the party!  It was amazing to see so many people gather together to support Jorge and Marta and all of the families and participants of CETLALIC.  We had a delicious dinner made better only by the wonderful conversation.  After we finished eating the dancing started.  We loved watching the Chinuelo, the state dance of Morelos.  It was almost like our party turned into a parade.  There was dancing and laughter well into the night.

Charla: Mexican Education System

Today we had a talk with Professora Leticia.  She is a professor at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico) and also works at the UPN. In order to give us a strong foundation in the Mexican education system, she began by speaking on how schooling is broken down here.

1.       Básica- These years in school are mandatory.

a.       Prescolar for 2 years

b.      Primaria for 6 years

c.       Secundaria for 3 years

2.       Educación Medio Superior- There are options for how you choose to spend these years…

a.       Prepatoria

b.      Bachilleres

c.       Colegio de Ciencias Humanos

d.      CONALED

e.      CECYT-Vocational

3.       Educación Superior

a.       Licenciatura for 4 years

b.      Maestría for 2 years

c.       Doctorado for 4 years

As core component of each of these branches of education, there is also the “Four Pillars of Education” as a result of the education reform in Mexico. They are knowing, procedures, being and sharing. Leticia also spoke on how teachers stay connected through their once a month, “consejor técnico escolar” meetings. It is at this time where teachers can collaborate, plan and reflect on articles.

She also mentioned “rincones de lectura” or reading corners that all public schools should have. The SEP (Secretary of Education) has submitted books to every classroom for students to read. Although, we have visited many schools and have never seen a “Rincon de lectura” in a classroom. This program is called the “Programa Nacional de Lectura”.

A difference between the public schools in the US and the schools in Mexico is that schools can choose whether or not they want to take standardized tests. If public schools agree, in exchange for testing their students they receive compensation. We also learned that there are a few scholarships for students who want to further there education, where students can receive up to 1,500 dollars in pesos.

Tepotzlan - afternoon

Tepotlzan (afternoon) - After we climbed to the pyramid we had lunch in the Mercado, from there we visited a church called Convento Dominico de la Natividad.  Outside the church was an amazing mural made of seeds (semillas) that is changed every September during a festival. The church we visited used to function as a monestary and had very interesting details. There was even a defunct bathroom. The views were amazing from the windows of the church.

Also inside the church was a museum which had lots of cultural information about Tepotzlan. Our guide, Roberto, was born in Tepotzlan and still lives there. He had the inside story about what makes this town special. The town leaders actually listen to the population and they have successfully avoided big name stores to keep the small town feel. The map shows how land ownership works with most of the land being considered "communal". After we left the museum/church we hopped back on the bus for the half hour bus ride back to Cuernavaca.

To market we shall go ... And a talk with teachers

Today we went to the "mercado" (market). It was kind of like a farmers' market. There were fruits and vegetables, shoes and clothes, bags... Probably anything you can imagine was sold in this market. The thing that stood out the most was the meat market. Besides the strong odor, there were full pig heads that were for sale. This was something different for us. Señor Robert and Señora Laura are public teachers who graciously shared with us their experiences in education. To be a teacher in Mexico, one must attend a teacher school and pass the required tests. The education system is Federal with the government hiring and locating teachers. However for school maintenance, the parents help with what is needed. No report cards are sent home, but there are 5 grading periods with a parent/family meeting after each. Classroom sizes are large with 29 students or more. The students wear uniforms as they are from various economic levels. Children are tested in reading and mathematics. There is teacher tenure but finding an open teaching position is difficult. We found the discussion very energizing as we compared our own experiences in the classroom.

Caminando Unidos

Thursday June 21, 2012  > Stephanie & Rachel

Today we visited an organization called “Caminando Unidos” which means walking together.  This was a unique school like nothing we’ve seen so far. The school was an alternative approach to other programs being offered in Cuernavaca. It focused on the creativity of the child and developing future leaders, then they incorporate the academics. Creativity is the only reward and the only punishment is not being creative.

The school, which was founded by a couple almost twenty years ago, and has grown tremendously, is based on several founding values including:

-          The biggest takes care of the smallest

-          The one who knows more teaches the one who knows less

-          Be impeccable with your words (be honest and true)

-          Take nothing personally

-          Don’t assume

-          Give 100% of yourself

-          The only reward is to learn

-          The only punishment is to not be creative

Today we watched several of the volunteers create fire from two sticks of wood. It took several tries and about four people until the spark finally began to smolder and ignite. The school explained that it had taken them almost 2 years to find the right combination of wood so that now they can create a fire in about 2 minutes.

The students of the school have a voice in what they learn. So as long as it’s creative the teacher will try to incorporate it. This school is ONLY supported by donations and doesn’t receive any government assistance. There are only 12 paid staff members; the rest of the staff is strictly made up of volunteers. 60% of the donations they receive are from people who donate every month; the other 40% comes from sporadic donations. Because the other 40% of donations has been scarce recently, the staff members have taken pay cuts in order to have money to fund the organizations need. The love and hard work that was felt at this organization was incredible.

To find out more about this group visit http://www.caminandounidos.org.mx/

Later in the afternoon our Fulbright group had a reflection session where we talked about some of our favorite parts of the trip. Obviously, “Caminando Unidos” was one of the favorite trips thus far, along with all the school visits we have done. This hour of reflection really showed how close our group has become over the last two weeks and how much we have learned in such a short amount of time. We are all looking forward to the next two weeks and learning even more Spanish and valuable life lessons!