To be honest, many of the pre-trip assignments felt like busy work and after completing student teaching and moving to Texas the idea of developing a lesson plan about the historical roots of the Mexican revolution was just about the last thing I wanted to do. We were instructed to think of three carefully worded non-judgmental questions that we could ask the people we had the chance to meet with throughout the trip. You might think that formulating three intelligent questions about the educational system in Mexico would be an easy task but at the end of a mentally exhausting year, I found this task to be most difficult. I normally don't have any problem thinking of questions to ask people as I am generally a curiously interested (often at an irritatingly high level) person but at this point my brain was mush and I was empty. I was highly motivated to finish the program and thankfully a close circle of friends and family continued to remind me that end was near and that cranking out a few silly questions and one last lesson plan was not that big of a deal knowing that the end was clearly in sight. Fueled by diet Dr. Pepper and true love I read the articles, made the time line, taught the lesson and cranked out a few measly questions and before I knew it I was boarding a plane for Mexico city armed with sunscreen, bug spray, sturdy walking shoes and a journal ready to jump through the last fiery hoop of my graduate program. Ole!
This was not my first trip to Mexico and I have done a fair amount of traveling during the last few years however this trip was quite an eye-opening experience. We spent eight days exploring what real life is like in Mexico, not touristy beachy Mexico….real life poverty Mexico. It was an inspiring and heartbreaking eight days and each day was chuck full of button pushing conversations. I was stretched in ways that I did not expect. Inspired by the power of humanity that spans far beyond national boarders. Enraged by negative outcomes produced by people living in desperate situations. Hungry for a greater understanding of national political movement and a new sense of desperation for educational equality for all children and families. Before the trip began, I struggled in coming up with three dinky questions and by the time my flight touched down at the DFW airport I had filled an entire journal full of questions. Endless questions regarding how and why and when education and access to education happens and does not happen continue to run through my brain and heart even weeks after this trip. My head continues to spin regarding the issues we explored during the trip and I am grateful for the experience. On the last night of our trip several members of our group went to dinner together at a restaurant close to the National Palace in Mexico City. As the evening drew to an end I had the chance to chat with one of the professors and explore some of my questions and concerns. At the end of the conversation, I explained that I had no intention of returning home with a laundry list of burning questions to explore and was really ready for some mental down time. He politely responded, “well, congratulations…it appears you have completed the program….welcome to the field of education….an adventure of life long learning.” I think he was intending this to be a compliment and in a way I suppose it was. Vive’ la Mexico!
I actually have a lot more to say about this trip but can't yet muster the mental energy to revisit everything. I can tell you that I continue to gravitate to news stories about immigration and trade agreements and drug trafficking FAR more than I ever have. Once I unpack a few more things in Dallas and figure out where the public libraries, I have a list of books I intend to read so I can further explore some of the questions than were generated from this experience. I have decided to post a few of my academic papers on this blog regarding this trip so I can better organize and catalog my now post graduate school study of these topics. These papers are reflection/opinion pieces and were written in the weary hours of my masters program. Let the nerd-ery commence...
Elizabeth Robinson Rich
Westminster College
MAT 606: Standard 15 Part II
·Most traditional Mexican families consider the land to be sacred and the food that is grown from the land a precious commodity. Indigenous Mexican people believe that they do not own the land but that they came from the land and therefore consider the farming process a spiritual offering of gratitude and respect. In rural villages, water is considered to be the blood of the earth and this blood nourishes its people by helping seeds produce healthy food for families to eat.
· Most meals in rural Mexico are centered around corn tortilla paired with other vegetables grown on family farms. Family farmland is passed from one generation to the next and working the land is considered both a spiritual privilege and an opportunity to maintain traditional customs and practices. Crops harvested from family farms make up the majority of food for daily meals.
· At the beginning of the growing season, a series of prayers are offered to bless both the seeds and the fields. Mexicans consider planting crops a spiritual act and carefully follow religious traditions and customs to help ensure a fertile and prosperous season.
· At the end of the growing season, the first ears of corn are harvested and the women of the community process the corn and make a traditional tamale dish which is offered to the land as a way of showing gratitude for a generous growing season.
· Once the corn is harvested Mexican woman make corn tortilla daily to feed their families. Corn tortillas serve as a primary food source for many Mexican families.
· Making tortilla from homegrown corn is a spiritual act, which demonstrates both gratitude and devotion to God. The Nahuatl speakers called tortillas “tlaxcalli”.
· A corn tortilla is a thin unleavened flat bread that is served at all meals. Tortillas are made by curing maize in limewater, which causes the skin of the corn kernels to peel off. Soaking the kernels in lime creates a chemical reaction which releases vitamins and amino acids that fortify the corn with a chemically created protein. Next, the corn is ground into a powder and mixed with water until soft dough is formed. Small handfuls of dough are placed inside a metal tortilla press and a thin disk is formed. The tortillas are cooked on a “comal” or terracotta griddle until they form a bubble and turn slightly brown.
· Mexican woman consider preparing food and feeding their families as a spiritual act and not just a daily task. Cooking traditions, recipes, and cooking supplies (bowls, stoves, mortar and pestle, etc…) are passed down from one generation to the next. In the Mexican culture, women prepare food and men rarely prepare meals regardless of ability or interest.
Throughout the travel seminar, I was moved by the spiritual nature of preparing food, and particularly the historical significant of corn tortillas. As a future teacher, I plan to research various cultures to learn about similar culinary traditions. Learning about food and food preparation from various cultures can serve as a gateway for students to begin making personal connections between their own culture and unfamiliar groups.
Elizabeth Robinson Rich
Westminster College
Standard 15 Part III
Throughout the travel seminar my thoughts and feelings continued to gravitate toward three concepts: communication, connection, and curiosity. Each theme, carefully connected to the next, became more important as we moved from a mountain community to a small rural village and then to one of the largest cities in the world. As I now reflect upon the experience as a whole these three concepts serve as an undercurrent of my learning and can stand as the capstone of this program.
As the trip began my in inability to speak Spanish and communicate effectively with people in Mexico became clear to me at the Airport. For whatever reason the airline had misplaced the English version of the Passport form and handed me the document in Spanish. I became overwhelmed and frustrated while reading the foreign words knowing that I needed to understand the content of the document but could not read or process the information. Becoming dependent upon others to communicate is a humbling experience, which continued with great momentum for me as the trip progressed. I have traveled to many cities and countries however I have always been able to communicate in English. I am grateful for the consistent level of discomfort I experienced throughout the trip as I have developed a sense of what it must feel like to live in the United States and not know how to speak English. As a future teacher, I anticipate that I will encounter students and families who do not speak English as their primary language and who will be required to complete forms and exchange critical information. Throughout this trip I have gained a greater perspective for what it must feel like and am dedicated to create a safe place for these children and parents within my classroom. I am highly motivated to learn Spanish in order to ease any frustration or anxiety they may have about communicating with their child’s teacher.
I was delighted but not surprised to observe that family dynamics in Mexico, even as there are some differences, are generally the same for American families. Participating in the home stay visits confirmed my understanding that people are people regardless of nationality or political status. Throughout the travel seminar and particularly during the school visits and home stay my mind was constantly racing from one theoretical concept and application to the next. I feel that I was constantly critically analyzing the information that was presented to the theory we have learned throughout the program and my personal life experience. As I began the Masters of Arts in teaching program and now after completing the travel seminar I believe that effective education can only be based upon making a personal connection to both the curriculum and the people with whom you are teaching. Fundamentally, I believe that people are more similar than they are different and I was inspired by the humanity and honesty we observed throughout the trip. As a future teacher I plan to make as many personal connections to my students as possible so we can develop a safe learning environment where everyone feels safe enough to participate in learning activities.
Curiosity is the mother of invention and I believe good teaching.
I have always had a sincere desire to learn new things and plan to continue my study of various cultures when I become a certified teacher. Throughout the trip, I found myself writing question after question in my journal. I feel that in order to create a safe learning environment for my students I will need to continually question my teaching practices and how they are affecting all of my students, and especially my students who come from different cultures.
0 comments:
Post a Comment