On June 2, we visited the public middle school in San Jose. Although we arrived earlier than they expected us to, we got to sit in on their first class and watch the teaching in action. We were all very surprised buy how relaxed the school environment here is. The students are allowed to get up and walk around the classroom while the teacher is speaking. We were stunned by how the teacher was able to still teach around the chatter of students.
We took notice of their lack of school books and class materials, and their
uniforms color coordinated by grade level. After we observed the classroom for about an
hour, we went to the dining hall where a few of the students put on a play for us. Although we couldn't understand Spanish so well, the acting was still amazing and they made use of their limited materials.
We followed an English teacher around the
school while she brought us to a kindergarten classroom. There, we observed them playing during free-time, which was very different than the play time at the Montessori school. In the Montessori, they children were extremely organized and put everything back the way it was where as here, it was a bit more chaotic.
We then moved to the 9th grade math room, where they proceeded to ask us questions. A lot of the questions were general (where are you from, what is your major, how old are you ect..) but some were quite random and very funny. Each time they asked a question, they recieved a t-shirt, so the questions were rapid fire. We felt very honored that they were so excited to see us.
Despite the language barrier, we got along with the school group very well and made amazing friends! It was a great day in San Jose.
- Sarah & Joanna
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