Class in Buenos Aires – Clase en Buenos Aires
As you know I arrived in Argentina on June 19th. The main purpose of my visit was to spend some time in an Argentinian school. I was nervous before I left because I was not sure exactly what to expect. I had nothing to fear because everyone was especially nice and welcoming. The teachers at the school received me into their classes and activities with open arms and hearts, and the students made me feel happy to be there.
Como sabes, llegué en Argentina el 19 de junio. La razón por mi visita fue pasar tiempo en un colegio argentino. Estaba nerviosa antes de ir porque no sabía exactamente qué esperar. Al final mis temores eran innecesarios porque todo el mundo me dio la bienvenida y era muy amable. Los profesores de la escuela me recibieron en sus clases con brazos y corazones abiertos, y los alumnos me alegraron la visita.
In the eight days that I spent at the school I was able to visit classes ranging through all the grades. Elementary school classes were fun to observe, as it is the only age level that I have never taught myself.
En los ocho días que pasé en la escuela pude visitar clases de todos los grados. Las clases de primaria me eran especialmente interesante de observar porque es el único nivel al cual no he dado clases yo mismo.
I sat in on quite a few history, language and literature classes, both in English and Spanish, as the school is bilingual. I also had the opportunity to see a middle school art class.
Presencié muchas clases de historia, lengua y literatura en inglés y en español, porque es un colegio bilingüe. También tuve la oportunidad de observar una clase de arte de la escuela intermedia.
I watched high students participate in debate and went on a field trip to a local museum with them.
Observé un debate de unos alumnos de su último año y fui con ellos a un museo del barrio.
Besides observing classes, I was given the opportunity to teach a couple of my own. On the last two days that I was there, I was able to teach several classes of Middle 3 students, which would be 9th graders in the United States. We discussed the short story “El escuerzo” by Leopoldo Lugones, an Argentinian author. I was apprehensive to teach a class of kids that I do not know very well, but it ended up being a rewarding experience.
Además de presenciar unos cursos, me dieron la oportunidad de dar unas clases también. En los últimos dos días que estaba allí, di unas clases de alumnos de M3, que sería noveno grado aquí en Estados Unidos. Estudiamos el cuento <<El escuerzo>> por Leopoldo Lugones, un autor argentino. Es difícil dar clases a estudiantes que uno no conoce bien, pero no tenía nada que temer porque fue una experiencia gratificadora.
Community service or “social action” as they call it, is very important at the school, and I was able to participate in several of those activities. I lead a discussion on community service with Senior 4 students, which would be 10th graders here in the U.S. I also helped a group of Middle 3 (8th grade) students prepare crafts that they will sell to raise money for a cause that they adopted at the beginning of the school year.
La acción social es muy importante en el colegio y pude participar en varias actividades de acción social. Dirigí una charla del tema con alumnos de S4, que serían del décimo grado en Estados Unidos. También ayudé en la tutoría de M3 (octavo grado) donde estaban preparando artesanía para vender y reunir dinero para donar.
One of the most rewarding experiences at the school was a trip to a local senior citizens’ home with a mixed group of students. They go regularly to play Bingo with the seniors. I enjoyed spending time with them and learning more about them.
Una de las experiencias más satisfactorias para mí fue una visita a un geriátrico con un grupo mixto de alumnos. Van habitualmente para jugar Bingo con los ancianos y compartir con ellos. Fue muy especial para mí ir con ellos y aprender más de todos.
The school day is divided into ten periods of 40 minutes each. Some classes last a single period, while others go for a full 80 minutes. In between each 80 minute block there is a fifteen-minute break. The students often meet in the courtyard during break to play soccer.
El día escolar se divide en diez periodos de cuarenta minutos cada uno. Algunas clases son de cuarenta minutos y otros son de ochenta minutos. Entre cada bloque de ochenta minutos hay un recreo de quince minutos. Durante el recreo muchos estudiantes se reúnen en el patio para jugar al fútbol.
While at the school I also witnesses an assembly, a fire drill, a drug talk and the annual school play, which was amazing. I really think that I got a good representation of what school is like in Argentina.
En la escuela presencié una asamblea, una práctica en caso de emergencia, una charla de las sustancias tóxicas y la obra de teatro anual. ¡Me dieron una representación de la vida escolar en Argentina bastante completa!
Argentinians commemorated their bicentennial as an independent country while I was there. I witnessed some preparations for the celebration in different classes. It gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more about Argentinian history than I might have otherwise.
Los argentinos conmemoraron el bicentenario de ser un país independiente mientras estaba allí y vi muchas preparaciones para la celebración en cursos diferentes. Me dio la oportunidad de aprender mucho más de la historia argentina que hubiera aprendido en otras circunstancias.
Here are some pictures of the faculty bathroom. I know that it is weird to take pictures of the bathroom, but they are different than school bathrooms here in the United States, and I wanted to share them with you. I particularly like the soap on a stick.
Aquí presento unas fotos del baño de las profesoras. Sé que es un poco extraño sacar fotos del baño, pero es muy diferente que los baños en EEUU y quería mostrar como son allí. Me gusta el jabón en los palos.
I am so appreciative of the administration, teachers and students at the school for welcoming me so thoroughly into their lives. I am also fortunate that I work at a school here in the United States where my bosses approved my proposal for this trip and gave me the money to make it a reality.
Aprecio mucho a todos los directores, profesores y alumnos del colegio que me recibieron tan abiertamente en sus vidas escolares. También agradezco a mis jefes aquí en EEUU quienes me aprobaron el viaje y me dieron el dinero para hacerlo realidad.
In the upcoming weeks, I will write more about my trip to Argentina and the other places I visited while there. It was an amazing trip, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you.
En las semanas que vienen, escribiré más de mi viaje a la Argentina y los otros lugares que visité allí. Fue un viaje muy especial para mí, y espero con emoción compartirlo contigo.
Happy Travels!
¡Feliz viaje!
I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com
What an awesome opportunity! How do students in Argentina compare to those in the US in terms of attitude toward school? How does the curriculum compare (more or less advanced)? Do they have computers in the classrooms? How did you sell this idea to your bosses, and how are you going to use your new knowledge in your classes? Too many questions, I know … but this is interesting! 🙂
I found that there were a lot of similarities. The girls’ skirts were also too short and there were just as many surreptitious glances at hidden cell phones. The biggest difference was that the students do not choose their classes or have free periods. It did not seem that the curriculum was more challenging. The trip was not hard to sell as it cost less than it would have cost to send me to a conference since I was able to stay with a teacher. One of the teachers at the school and I are going to create a virtual exchange this year where our students study the same text and complete some assignments together. We still have not finished the details. I also hope to create a real exchange maybe for the 2017-18 school year. Let me know if you think of any more questions. 😉 I will try to answer them faster this time.
It must have been such an interesting experience!
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
wow, what an amazing experience. very neat to see the pics of the different classrooms, age groups, and activities! love the drawing the girl is doing in the last pic – that’s pretty much how i would draw a dog.
Hahaha! That boy is supposedly drawing a frog!
LOL!!! i’m sure he’s good at other stuff… like me… i can’t draw for shit. no offense, little boy, but that doesn’t look like a frog! and i mistook you for a girl… oh dear! i hope he never sees this.