Escuela Numero Cinco: Dora Meyer

June 29 - Escuela Numero Cinco: Dora Mayer School, Fresh Market Tour, Cooking Class, Farewell Dinner

Today was our last full Fulbright day, and boy was it a busy one! We started the morning at Dora Meyer School, with Anny, a teacher we met during the alumni collaboration earlier in the week. Anny is the English teacher at DM, and her students are so proud of the hard work they’ve done learning a second language. It was clear to see the passion for learning in both Anny, as the teacher, and the pride the students had in showcasing their learning. This was the only school that we visited that has an English club, and the members were fluent enough to be our tour guides throughout the day. Each had a business card and were eager to share them with us.

The visit began in the gym/auditorium with some presentations of Afro-Peruvian drumming, singing, and dancing. These traditions come from the jungle part of Peru and celebrate freedom from slavery.

The principal of this school, Mrs. Persida Gomez, was very well spoken in English. I felt she was leading by example in encouraging students to pursue their English language skills. Though only the secondary students receive English classes, it was evident that the elementary students were eager to learn as well. Mrs. Gomez presented each of us with certificates for the educational collaboration, and left us with these words that touched my heart: “Though we all experienced different levels of difficulty through the pandemic, and we all are finding it hard to recover from the lost instructional time, we’ve learned that what’s most important is the friendships and community we’ve built along the way.” I thought this was a beautiful message. Coming from different places, different walks of life, we all have the common bond of struggling through a pandemic. Whether we lost loved ones, suffered with our health, or struggled to adapt to a life of isolation for several months, we have all walked out of the pandemic with stronger relationships and a renewed sense of community, which no virus or global catastrophe can ever take away.

After the warm welcome and presentation of certificates, the English Club students took small groups of us Fulbrighters around to different classrooms in the school. My favorite part of the day was an unplanned, spontaneous interaction with 2nd grade students who appeared to be outside for physical education. As my small group walked past, they were eager to say hello and take selfies. Rather than rush by without interacting, I asked if I could share my story with them. Right there in the middle of the cement courtyard, we made a little story circle as I read my book, with Adrienne translating. With each page, the children “ooh’ed” and “ahh’ed,” it was absolutely heart-warming.

Though they aren’t learning English yet, and weren’t on the schedule to interact with our groups, their long-term substitute teacher thanked me for taking the time to interact. She stated that she’d like to see more English being taught in the lower grades, but there aren’t enough teachers or resources. I hope that our small interaction inspired these students and excited them for what is to come in their future educational endeavors. While visiting other classes, we were interviewed by students, and asked questions to students to practice English skills. I was also able to present my lesson to students in their last year of school. They did so well with the new knowledge of the Goals, and were quick and eager to identify issues in their community and post them on the board.

There was a campus-wide desire to learn and practice English and interact with all of us Fulbrighters, and the energy buzzing through the school grounds was phenomenal. It was such a great school to finish our trip, one that I will always hold dearly in my heart.