Colegio Roosevelt Day 1

Hello! It was an eventful weekend of sightseeing and eating our way through Lima. Sunday morning, we went to the Historic Center of Lima where we took a walking tour and saw many churches and historical sights. We had a delicious lunch at Villa Chicken which was smoked chicken and papas fritas. We also visited Miraflores and Barranco which are affluent districts on the ocean. There was a big mall in Miraflores that was right on the ocean with lots of American stores. It reminded me a lot of Florida and seemed like a tourist destination. We finished our day with some gelato from Blu in Barranco and were ready to get started observing the next day.

Monday morning, we were welcomed to Colgeio Roosevelt, an International American School in Lima. We were given a tour and were introduced to the Superintendent as well as many faculty. The campus is beautiful with lots of colors and green space for the students to enjoy. Colegio Roosevelt is an affluent, American based school that is focused on innovation. Students can attend Colegio Roosevelt from early childhood which is 3-4 years old, all the way up to high school. I was placed into a fifth-grade classroom where I was welcomed warmly. The students were curious about my family and were interested in why I wanted to become a teacher and what my favorite book was.

During my time in the classroom, the students began a book club and got to choose which book they wanted to read after Mr. P gave them a brief description of what each book was. This was really cool to see because in my reading class last semester we learned how to run book clubs and, Mr. P ran them very similar to the way I learned about them. The students got to choose which book they wanted to read and who they wanted to read with, which they enjoyed. They also just finished exhibition last week which is a big project that they research and work on for many weeks. Because of that, during writing, the students wrote thank you notes to their mentors. I also got to attend a music class where the students were uploading a picture or video of them playing an instrument to a weebly, where they had to write a reflection on why it was important to play that specific instrument. In just my first day there I got to see a lot of exciting work. The students are encouraged to be creative and work collaboratively in their classroom.

Because the students in the 5th grade classroom that I am observing were encouraged to debate with each other on what book they wanted to read, I believe that teaching is more than drawing out knowledge from the learner. Teaching is encouraging students to find ways to build their knowledge, either using books or the internet. The teacher should not just be placing the information in front of the students and have them regurgitate it back to them. Rather, the students should be encouraged to engage in critical inquiry when talking with each other and researching about a specific topic. Because teaching is more than just drawing out knowledge, learning is also more than listening. Learning is researching specific topics and drawing on those to create something larger. It involves taking action and being engaged in the learning.

Knowing that learning is more than a teacher drawing out knowledge from the students and the students just listening, I agree with Dewey’s fourfold interests of the child. Dewey believes that it is important for students to engage in conversation, in inquiry, in construction, and in artistic expression. These are all important because they form a well-rounded person. Rather than just sticking information in front of the students, it allows them to use their imagination and engage in multiple forms of learning. I am excited to see how my classroom at Colegio Roosevelt incorporates these fourfold interests of the child in the classroom during the rest of my time here.