Puerto Rico: Day 4

Today was the meaningful day I have had on the trip thus far. Each day focuses on one aspect of Puerto Rico such as music and art, landscapes, and history. Today focused on education!!! We began the morning with a trip to Abraham Lincoln School, which is an elementary school found in Old San Juan. I must say it was one of the most educational and enlightening experiences I have had. It really opened my eyes to how education is similar and different around the world. One of the biggest differences I noticed was just the condition of the school. The school had open-air hallways and the classrooms were in need of some repair. We first met in the library which had very few books compared to a library in a York County school, but when we walked into the English classroom, she had 7 computers lining her walls. What a contrast! One of the most interesting aspects of the school was the fact that is sat directly across from La Perla, one of the poorer sections in San Juan. The school provides an education to most of these children. I will discuss La Perla later in my blog.

We were able to meet with teachers to discuss the similarities and differences. We went around the room and introduced ourselves, and when I said I was a learning support teacher, I received many strange looks. I could not believe that teachers, some of whom had taught in the United States for many years, did not know the term learning support. After describing the components of my job, they thought it was closest to their resource room teacher. They also mentioned that special education services are different from one school to the next. This gave me the idea to write my paper on special education in Puerto Rico. I want to explore what components are the same since they are a U.S. territory, but also how the services are provided differently.

Here are some links on special education in Puerto Rico:

Concise Encyclopedia of Special Education By Cecil R. Reynolds, Elaine Fletcher-Janzen

Lifetime Success through Education in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Department of Education Special Education Program

Deficiencies in the System of Special Education in Puerto Rico

After discussing teaching in a large group, we broke down into smaller groups. I met with three teachers. Ms. Guzman was a pre-school teacher that taught students with autism. Ms. Marin was a first grade teacher and Ms. Santos taught English to second through sixth grade. I greatly enjoyed talking with all the teachers and seeing their classrooms.

With our meeting complete at the school, we were able to visit the community of La Perla; however, you can not just walk into the community. There are guards who watch the entrances and exits to ensure no one from outside the community enters unless they are accompanied by a representative. We met with the community leader. It was interesting that this area is so poverty stricken, but the leader is so proud of what he has been able to accomplish to better the community. They have their own doctor's office, daycare center, and tutorial center. However, walking through the narrow alleys, I could see the evidence of neglect and low funding. I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up in a community such as that. Although La Perla is one of the most devastated and poor areas, one could argue that it has the best location in San Juan. In fact, it is so beautiful that it is rumored that Donald Trump wants to buy it so he can build a resort. Overall, our visits in the morning were one of the most important and influential things I can take back with me into my classroom!

Our afternoon had us in classes learning more about education in Puerto Rico. One thing that surprised me about education is that it is so unstable. Whenever a new government enters power, things are changed throughout the territory. For example, just two weeks ago, ALL school districts were dismantled and the superintendents were put into vacant principal positions. I can not imagine anything like that happening in the United States. Also, at the end of the school year over 1,000 teachers were fired, just for the fact that the government had no money to pay them over the summer. However, with school beginning next week, those vacant positions have not been filled yet. I thought it was very interesting that the principal at Abraham Lincoln School had only been there for a week; I later found out that that was because she actually worked in the Department of Education and she was put in the position to "enforce" what they want to see in schools. Also, we were told that a teachers starting salary in Puerto Rico's public school system is $17,000. I can't help thinking how good we have it in York County!

After our history of education class, we returned to our Spanish lessons; however, instead of listening to our professor talk in Spanish for two hours, we were able to talk about lessons we could bring into our classroom to teach our students about Puerto Rico and other Hispanic cultures. One of ideas I really liked was posting the Spanish word for items throughout the room. Also, singing to students in other languages can teach them the language without them even knowing it! I can't wait to go back to my classroom and implement some of these ideas!

Lastly, we spent the evening reflecting on what we have learned and experienced thus far with one another. I feel that we have really learned a lot from our short time here. I must admit that, although I have had a great time here, I am a little homesick and can't wait to return to Pennsylvania!