A Teacher's Heart Reaches Across Borders
Special New Friends at Colegio Bucerias
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Presentation of Certificates of Completion of the Teaching Beyond Borders Program - June 11-15, 2018 |
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Principal y Principal |
Our time in Bucerias is quickly coming to a close. We are processing our week with much gratitude for an amazing experience that we will never forget. Colegio Bucerias is a beautiful school with amazing staff members and intelligent, capable students just preparing for their positions as future leaders of the country of Mexico. Susan, Amber, and I are so thankful that we had the opportunity to become acquainted with this gem of a learning community - we now have a partner school in Mexico! As soon as we left the school on Friday, our Facebook messages started "dinging" with friend requests from all of the teachers that we worked with this week. A few of them are already planning trips to come to Colorado and visit at Mortensen!
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Main office with the Vision and Mission of the school prominently displayed |
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Each day we were served a delicious traditional Mexican lunch complete with tortillas and beans |
Susan's Teaching Lessons
As we observed for a couple days in classrooms Susan (in particular) noticed that students were eager learners, but lacked some self-regulation skills of sitting and listening and taking turns to raise hands for answering. A simple competition between teacher and class made all the difference for Susan's students in this lesson. Here are two videos of Susan teaching a shared reading lesson on a book entitled "Sweet Potato Pie." Notice the "night and day difference" when the students were focused upon the appropriate learning behaviors so that everyone could listen and learn.
Susan's Lessons - Notice the Difference between #1 and #2
Amber's Teaching Lessons
As Amber observed the teaching of English to native Spanish speakers she was drawn to the older students - those in middle school who more than likely moved into the school in later grades. These students are behind in their English acquisition due to no fault of their own. They haven't had 2.5 hours of English instruction each day since kindergarten like most of the other students at Colegio Bucerias. Amber noticed that students of this age need to see the relevance of the learning of English. As you will see, her lesson focused upon a topic of interest to them - her own son's first day of driving a car and little brother's obvious emotions! Amber had the students rapt attention as she compared the emotions of her driving son, her passenger son, and her own feelings as a mother!
Amber - Making the Learning of English Relevant and Interesting - Click here!
Karla's Teaching Lessons - Can 4th Grade Mexican Students Understand the Concept of Symbolism in Literature in English, No Less?
As I was preparing for teaching a Wednesday lesson to fourth graders, I got to thinking about the developmental levels of students at that age. OK - fellow educators - go back to your early teacher training to Jean Piaget (1896–1980). Students at the end of fourth grade are typically 10 years old. They are just ready to move from the Concrete Operational stage into the Formal Operations stage. They begin to be able to think logically about abstract propositions and can test hypotheses systematically. So, I wondered "Could these students do the same, but in a second language?"
I used the book "How Full is Your Bucket" where we all carry around a symbolic bucket to hold good feelings, self-confidence, and gratitude. Could these students understand this symbol and what it means?
Here are my Goals for the lesson along with Success Criteria - just for those of you who question whether school principals actually know how to make learning clearly visible to students!
After helping students consider the symbols of the Mexican Flag and the Logo of Colegio Bucerias embroidered upon each of their shirts, we were ready for the concept of the symbol of the bucket. Did they understand it? A resounding YES!
The Public School Next Door
And when I say, next door - I mean Colegio Bucerias and Miguel Aleman Public School share a dividing wall. We were hoping to be able to visit the public school, but it was not a guaranteed opportunity. Thursday Morning we found out that we would get to go! It is a school of over 800 students divided into two groups - one-half of the students attend school for three hours in the mornings, and the other half attend for three hours in the afternoons. We learned a statistic that was very interesting: Only 10% of Mexican children are able to attend private schools and of the remaining 90% - only 10% of those are able to continue their education past public school into the Universities even though the public universities are free of charge to Mexican young people. Of the students who successfully complete the Colegio Bucerias program from kindergarten through grade twelve virtually 100% of them are able to successfully complete university and advanced degrees.
During our visit to Miguel Aleman, we were impressed with the behaviors of the students, the dedication of the staff, and of the positive learning environment even with limited resources. Here are some photos of our visit to Miguel Aleman:
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At Front Entrance - with the Assistant Principal |
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Playground - They have tried to plant grass, but have no irrigation system, so grass does not grow. |
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We counted 31 students in this classroom of First Graders. |
What Did We Do in our "Off Time?" - Well, Played, of Course!
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Cooking Class at My Mexican Kitchen in Bucerias |
Here is a listing of the yummy Mexican specialties that we learned how to cook!
Agua Fresca (Fresh Fruit Water)
Cafe de Olla (Mexican Coffee)
Salsa Verde Hervida (Boiled Green Salsa)
Chalupas Poblanas
Sopa Tarasca
Rajas de Chile Poblano (Roasted Chile Poblano Stir Fry)
Pollo Almendrado (Chicken in Almond-Chipotle Sauce)
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Dinner at Karen's Restaurant with Peggy (daughter of owner attends Colegio Bucerias) |
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Clown at Senior Frogs on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta |
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In Bucerias - we enjoyed a full dinner for three for less than $10 USD |
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Sayulitas - Beach |
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Sayulitas - Street Scene |
On boat toward Rhythms of the Night - Our Final Night in Mexico |
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Puerto Vallarta |
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Amber was the best at the Selfie!Final Take-Aways |
It will probably take me a bit more time to fully process and consider the impact of my experience of teaching and learning in Mexico, but suffice it to say, it was significant. The main take-away for me is a further solidification of my belief that people around the world are really the same - we are all here for a short time on the earth, and it is up to us to try to make the most of it! Here are a few more insights that I am considering this morning:
- Children are counting on the adults to show them how to live successfully - even though success can look very different to different people.
- Relationships that we create and maintain along the way make going through this life much more pleasant, and why not try to make it as pleasant as possible?
- A teacher is a teacher wherever you go - they are not in it for the money (obviously) - they truly want to touch the future with their impact on their students.
This photo says it all for me - as we were receiving our certificates of completion of the program, the students from Miguel Aleman must have heard us from over the dividing wall. They wanted to say good-bye to us, so they climbed upon the roof of their school to get a chance to catch our attention!
My heart was full as we waived good-bye to our two friends from over a wall that really means nothing to them!
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Miguel Aleman students saying adios! |
Mis mejores deseos para un verano feliz, saludable y seguro!
Best wishes, my friends for a safe, happy, and healthy summer!
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