For Purple Mountains Majesty…..

Ok, so this post will not be on mountains or hiking or climbing, but I am going to camp and hike in the mountains tomorrow, and it is the fourth of July, and I could not resist this title.

On Wednesday morning I got up at 4:30 in the morning to drive to Huaraz (a neighboring town) and facilitate a workshop on balanced literacy for teachers at a private school there.

The school itself was absolutely beautiful! It was located in a gated community with many amenities – they had a computer and projector and speakers for me to present with. Almost all the teachers at the workshop spoke impeccable English. I became worried as I began to present that the teachers would not find my material helpful, they were beyond the concepts I was presenting. Kelly, the volunteer who coordinated my visit assured me that it would not, and she was right!

Their reading instruction primarily consists of the whole class reading from a workbook and then answering questions independently on a worksheet. Teachers do not read aloud daily to their students, don’t utilize graphic organizers, and had never heard of guided reading. Kelly told me that as long as the teachers can walk away learning one thing, then my visit was worth it. Likewise, Mac told me if I could walk away learning just one thing from the Peruvian teachers, then we had accomplished so much more.

At the completion of the workshop, a teacher approached me and gave me a hug. She thanked me because she had never realized that she needed to model for her students how she uses reading strategies. It was a real break through for her. It also was a real break through for me!

I had modeled for teachers completing a read aloud for your students and we focused on character analysis using the book (in Spanish) A Bad Case of Stripes. For those who have not read this fantastic book, basically a girl is so worried about what others think of her, and she will not be true to herself. She literally wakes up one morning covered in rainbow stripes form head to toe. If a person calls her a color or shape, she morphs to match it. In the end she realizes the only cure, of course, is to be herself!

Quechua is the native language of many people in Peru, however, the school system is moving to all Spanish. One teacher made the profound connection with the text to many of her students whose native tongue is Quechua feeling the need to deny their culture and speak Spanish only. I read this book aloud to my students almost every year, and not once had I made that connection with my English Language Learners. I guess I had to travel to a completely different continent to make the connection:)

That afternoon I presented in a small town in a community center for a group of about 35 teachers who came from many different local schools. I was humbled by the efforts of these women to travel many miles to attend a training. In my school system, unless you are paying them, most teachers will never attend a professional development session!

About halfway through the training the electricity was cut off. Apparently this happens every so often in the area for various reasons. (Like the citizens of the city are protesting, so they shut off the electricity….to punish themselves???? I’m still scratching my head on this one) And unlike the electricity going off in the states, there is no back up generator, no street lights outside – there is just NO light!! Fortunately I had packed my headlamp, which helped, but finishing the training was simply impossible. It was pitch black!!!

The following evening as we were throwing together a delicious feast from freshly picked vegetables from Kelly and Mac’s organic garden, the electricity cut out again. Unphased, Kelly and Mac lit candles, and we prepared and ate dinner by candlelight. It was a lovely ending, to a lovely day. Taking the time to appreciate all we have, and not letting little things spoil all the beauty around us.