Our first public school visit was breathtaking. As we climbed several flights of stairs to the library, I felt literally dizzy and breathless from the altitude. Bogotá is already 8,660 feet above sea level, but now we were up even higher in the mountains that encircle the city's basin (part of the Andes). Yet by the end of the visit, while my lungs had adjusted, it was my heart that felt overworked. It was emotional to connect with these students, who hours before had been strangers.
The Colegio Confederación Brisas del Diamante is a public school (K-11) located in the Ciudad Boliva area of Bogotá. It started as a community center, and in 1991 they hired an architect to construct a school that would reflect the value of a balance between humans and nature. The school was built with many open areas intended for socializing and is also astronomically aligned. With its brick, domes, and other features, it's an intentional mix of Spanish, Arab, and native architecture.
The school is working hard to promote bilingualism in line with the government's bilingualism initiative. They're also proud that one alumni is an elected official in the neighborhood. The principal gave a speech about the community's desire to give students a successful future. "With quality, discipline, and love," he said, "we will do well."
Many of the students we met had never spoken to a native English speaker before. Rather than being shy to speak in their second language, with only 1.5 hours of English instruction per week, to a one they all took joy in speaking with us. As we walked through the flights of stairs up and down the hillside that comprised the school's hallways, packs of students shouted "Hello!" and "My name is _____" and "Nice to meet you!"
These packs of students were an immediately noticeable difference in school culture. Whereas in U.S. schools, students are supervised at all times, even the youngest students here are trusted to wander the maze of buildings and outdoor spaces. When I asked a student about this, she said that students are responsible for being in class after the bell rings, but they're otherwise free to roam the campus. During break time, or if a class is cancelled, they can socialize, visit former teachers, study, play soccer, climb trees, or buy snacks. For example, a primary-grades math teacher had recently quit. The students in those math classes still come to school, because their other classes are still held, but during math they have an extra free period. The Ministry of Education will assign a replacement teacher, but in the meantime the students spend the time how they choose.
The students and teachers we met had great pride in showing us what they were learning. From robotics to phonics, we saw teachers and students mutually expending lots of effort and deriving satisfaction from their accomplishments. We received a particularly enthusiastic welcome from the dance teacher, whose loud whoops got his students moving. The girls swung bright skirts wide while the boys swirled around them with fancy footwork. They arranged themselves in lines, pairs, and rows, moving in colorful swoops. By the end, we each had a partner who was drawing us into the dance! They wore the costumes and danced a choreography traditionally from the Caribbean region of Colombia. (Photos intentionally blurred for protection - but I think the joy comes through very clearly!)
One highlight at the school was the Natural History Museum. A teacher and his students created during free time in some spare classroom space. An exhibit they showed us was called "The Broken Branches of Life." It's intended to express that humanity will be the next endangered species if we don't take action. All of the animals featured are either endangered or extinct. Another project displayed animals native to Colombia. All were created on a life-size scale using recycled plastics and other recycled materials.
This school has a strong partnership with SENA, the vocational education program. Students in late high school can select a vocational track and begin preparing for future careers. Our tour guides for the day were part of the administrative program. We also visited a marketing class where students were using laptops to create advertising for real businesses. My favorite SENA component, of course, was the culinary arts class!
We were treated to their Tres Leches cake, which was covered in the zest of a "green orange." Confused, we asked some students to tell us more about the green orange. They confidently assured us it is neither a lime nor an orange, but a different citrus altogether. Sometimes it's the small things that rock your worldview! Some research into this point led me down an interesting rabbit-hole of citrus genetics. Which led to the potentially more earth-shattering revelation that even plain old regular "oranges" are green on the outside, unless exposed to cool temperatures!
I observed lots of collaborative learning and an ethos of supporting each other. This was most obvious when I visited an intervention class for struggling students. It had the unusually small size of about 10 students. They were working on 2nd-3rd grade skills, despite ranging in age from 11-16. Their Spanish-language phonics game involved supplying sample words and writing them in categories on the board. Although the game was ostensibly competitive, with students earning points for each word, the teacher encouraged them to help each other. Rather than clamoring for credit for the point, students exerted themselves to help their classmates "complete" points with a correct examples.
The teacher also explicitly invoked empathy. When some students on a break came into the room to visit, she welcomed them. As they stood in the back of the room, she told them that the students in her class have difficulty learning things these observers might think of as "easy." You all have things you struggle with, she told them, so be respectful of these students working very hard to overcome their struggles. They listened thoughtfully and complied, staying even after we left and offering quiet support to their peers.
From left: The teacher watches as one student helps another spell the word correctly; the teacher explains a spelling pattern, and a birthday bulletin board and student artwork are displayed in the background; "We are all different" poster on the wall; student drawings and spellings in notebooks.