What would you to be ready to do? What would you sacrifice in order to learn, advance? Would you give up a week end at the beach? I imagine the answer: “Miss my holidays? No way. “ And that´s quite respectable, but today I have to extend my congratulations to a group (not small, by the way) of undergraduates who, being practicing teachers, do not have a degree yet and do everything in their power to become professionals in their own right.
Last week end I was invited by the School of Education of San Marcos University to teach a course for the Programme of Licenciatura in English for teachers who don´t hold a degree, and I entered a different world.
I had been asked to prepare the materials for the course, which have been published in a very nicely edited book, and to cooperate with the virtual campus moderation; but spending 12 summer hours on Saturday and Sunday, exchanging experiences with the group I was assigned to was invaluable, and a boost to my spirit.
The enthusiasm, open-mindedness, courage, and clearness of objectives these colleagues have are really admiring. Their sole presence and full attention made my own little sacrifice of one week end worth the effort. Imagine: these people have to study on their own for three weeks and then attend an intensive weekend of taught classes, every three weeks or so. Together with that they have jobs, families, problems . Two of the students had recently given birth to twins and a boy, another had nobody to leave her little daughter with, so she brought her to class, another had to work on the week end to make ends meet, one more had to leave for a couple of hours because she had promised a group of handicraft exporters from the sierra that she would help them translating in a visit of potential clients.
But that was not all I saw last week end. I saw the seeds of a bright future. I saw the embraces that will receive our children one day. I saw the light of hope.
For more information on the UNMSM programme click here.
2 comentarios:
First of all Cesar, thanks a lot for sharing your expertise with the undergraduate students of my Alma Mater. I had exactly the same feelings of amusement, surprise, pride when I started studying there, and yes, I must admit I might have shed a tear or two after learning what those brave future teachers do to become teachers in Peru.
Vargas LLosa says he didn´t know what Peru was really like until he went to San Marcos,and oh boy he is right. I spent five years in that great education school and believe me I learnt as much from my classmates there as I did from the teachers.
once again thanks for sharing with them.
Edgar Larrea
UNMSM education class of 2003
North Carolina
This is a great example of how things are changing in Perú. I hope this will help leave behind those days where anybody who spoke English could also teach it. Congrats to those undergraduate students!
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