Before we all head off to our host communities, we have spent a few days getting to know some of the different types of schools within Bogota. First on the list was a stop at UNITEC, a private post-secondary school that is known for offering various degree programs in the arts, such as dance, music and film studies. We got a chance to look at some of the film editing and recording studios, as well as view two different short films produced by students. Both were so impressive and interesting, with one of them having been shown at the Cannes Film Festival! After a truly delicious lunch prepared by students in the UNITEC hospitality program, we were treated to a special dance performance. You could see the intense level of preparation done by the dancers, most of whom seemed to be around 17-19 years old. They were so proud to have been asked to perform for us and we all felt honored that they treated our visit as something special. The next post-secondary school we visited was SENA which, unlike UNITEC, is free (free!) for all students and offers technical training and English-language courses. Funded by a collaboration between the government and private corporations, SENA trains students for the jobs most needed in the community. The campus we visited is one of the largest in Bogota, with thousands of students attending during four different shifts, but there are others in the city, as well as throughout the Colombia. This campus focuses on vocational and technical training and the classrooms we visited included engineering, electrical, and English language courses. The students usually attend an 18-month training program (including required English courses) and then can go on to get further certification or enter the job market. Since there is a direct link between businesses and SENA, a job in their field is virtually assured. It is such a great educational model (and such an interesting, productive relationship between government and business) that doesn't exist in the US, but definitely should. I know from experience that many of my students at home would benefit tremendously from an institution like this one. Everyone we met at SENA, from the director down to the students, was so proud to be there. The students certainly seemed to recognize and appreciate the opportunity to gain training and certification in a marketable skill, and the teachers we talked to said that SENA pays well (definitely more than a public school teacher) and that teaching here is a coveted position. It was both encouraging to see this type of school and the programs offered, but it also left me with more questions than answers regarding the current state of post-secondary education in the US. We had a chance to interact with some of the students in one of the required English courses (that was being co-taught by an English-speaking Polish volunteer) and, while many of them were a little hesitant about attempting their English in front of us, they were all so interested in the US. They reminded me so much of my students and it was heartwarming to see them be as shy, silly and curious as kids back home. Tomorrow we are visiting two K-12 schools and it will be interesting to see if there are the same noticeable similarities.
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After a long day of travel we made it to Colombia around 10 pm on Sunday night and were met with such a warm welcome in the Bogota airport by our in-country hosts, Yanalis and Kevin. They helped us get our luggage on the bus (...so I'm apparently the only diva who brought two full-sized suitcases) and we made our way across town to our hotel. By midnight, we were all checked in and hoping to get a few hours of sleep before our adventure began. I have to admit I was a little anxious yesterday as I prepared for our first full day in the city. I wasn't sure what to expect and, while I have traveled in Latin America before (the most recent time about two weeks before this trip when I visited my dad in Panama), Colombia is new and so is this type of experience. I reviewed my basic goals for the trip before going to breakfast - be present, be open, be engaged. Simple enough, but I want to take advantage of every opportunity given to really get to known this country, its people and its educational system.
As I write this at the end of the second day, I can say that my first impressions of Bogota and the Colombian people have been exceptionally favorable. Sprawling out toward the mountains, the city of almost 9 million people seems to stretch on forever. It's crazy, but oddly enough in a good way. In addition to the physical geography of the city, a few other things that stand out are:
After working together online since September, I finally got to meet the other members of the Colombia team in person when we traveled to Washington, DC this past February. It was a fast-paced three days full of workshops and travel information (all were very helpful!), but was also a chance to get to know an amazing group of teachers from all over the United States. It was inspiring to see such dedication and really got me excited about ways in which I could actually implement all of the global awareness information we had been learning throughout the online course. Plus, we got to meet our travel cohort and start planning for our trip to Colombia. While our trip seemed so far away back in February, it snuck up on us fast and now it's down to three days and counting before we head to Bogota! The Colombia cohort is awesome. There are definitely going to be some good times had by this group over the next few weeks. My travel partner is Jordan Hightower (striped dress on the right), a Humanities teacher from Tacoma, Washington. We're headed to Pereira, in the coffee region, where we will spend almost two weeks working with teachers and students at Normal Superior El Jardin de Risaralda. Our host teacher has put together an incredible itinerary and I can't wait to get to know her, School Normal Superior and the town of Pereira.
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about KZSHi, I'm Katey Zara-Smith (KZS) and I teach history at Eastside High School in Gainesville, Florida. This is a record of my trip to Colombia with IREX Teachers for Global Classrooms. Enjoy! ArchivesCategories |