Day #15, August 9

I took a taxi to Mirian’s house and we drove to pick up Monica, another principal. Monica took us to see her school in another villa. This villa is the equivalent of our housing projects, but in much poorer condition. The people build the homes themselves: some out of cardboard, some out of scrap lumber, some out of brick. The families living here are the third generation living on public assistance. They live in these villas and if the government decides to use the land for something else more lucrative, they uproot the families and move them somewhere else. Sound familiar?

This school was very depressing to see. It is a relatively new building, but has nothing. Every door and window had a huge padlock on it. We met a woman who works for the school as a porter. She followed us around removing padlocks and putting them back on after we had seen a room. Some doors had to be soldered shut because of thieves breaking in to steal. A flagpole stands in the little school patio, but not flag can be hung because the rope and clips to raise it have been stolen. The neighbors are afraid to say anything against the robbers and the police are “blind” to what is going on. Monica says that the children “shut off” about the time they turn 10. Some are younger. How can education take place in this sort of setting? I'm not sure Monica was attempting to educate or just attempting to survive. How will the cycle be broken?

We returned to Mirian’s house for dinner. Her mother cooked Italian for us – cannelloni and spaghetti. Victor’s parents also joined us for dinner.

Later in the afternoon Mirian invited a group of about 8 principal friends over for dialogue. It was an excellent conversation, comparing our education systems and hearing them compare their own schools. A gentleman who coordinates the city’s museums was also there and was very interested to hear how the Chicago museums connect with the city schools.

I returned to the hotel and went to bed hoarse after such lively conversation.

Day #14, August 8

Today we would be tourists. Victor and Mirian picked me up in their car and we drove to Victoria. This is a small colonial town on the other side of the Parana River from Rosario. We first visited a Benedictine Abbey where we stayed to hear prayer sung in Gregorian Chant at noon. We then drove into the city and walked around. There was not too much going on – very quiet for a Saturday afternoon.

We returned to Rosario. I spent some time in the hotel before Mirian picked me up to go to the city center. Victor was too tired to join us. We walked around the Monument of the Bandera and drove around the central plaza. We went out for dinner at El Cairo, a classic Rosario restaurant.

Day #13, August 7

Mirian picked me up at the hotel at 9:30 and we went to visit a school in a villa (areas of extreme poverty where people are allowed to build temporary dwellings). This villa was made up of families from the Toba or Qom nation. This is an aboriginal group native to the Parana region. Mirian brought me to this school because she knew that I was interested in bilingual education. This school was attempting to do bilingual education with the Toba children – Toba/Castellano.
When we arrived to the school the children were dismissing. There was no water and therefore the classes had to be canceled. Instead of observing in classrooms I was able to meet with the faculty. This was actually more informative. I shared what my school was like and concerns my staff had in working with our families and they did the same.

The faculty in general was quite young and very committed to serving the Toba children. One teacher, Javier, was a native Qom speaker and also served as the translator for the school. He explained how there was distrust of the school by the Qom parents, but this was decreasing. The distrust is related to lingering discrimination toward the people by criollo Argentinos. If the school summoned the parents for any problem, they would pull their child out of school so as to not be a problem.

Evangelical protestant churches have been successful in working with the Qom. Their success started when they were able to translate the Bible into the Qom language. The school works with the churches and other community agencies in educating families.
Javier took us to a neighboring secundaria, or high school. I met the principal and a few students and looked in classrooms. Both schools were in very poor condition and had very few resources, but there was a real sense of hope and wanting to continue the struggle in the staff that I met in both schools. I wanted to walk through the community with Javier but Mirian wouldn’t let me. We didn’t have time and she didn’t know how she would explain it to the Fulbright Commission if something happened to me.

We drove to Mirian’s school, Escuela 147 Provincia de Entre Rios. It is a very nice building located in what seemed to be a middle class neighborhood. I greeted the students as they began the afternoon shift and then spent some time visiting classrooms. This school has many more resources than Marcela’s school, beginning with 8computers connected to the internet. The teachers I observed seemed to be more creative in their pedagogy, also.

We next drove to the "sindicato" where a group of about 10 normal and university professors wanted to meet with me to discuss the Chicago education system. It was a great conversation and I was disappointed when Mirian had to cut it short so that we could get to our next stop. I really hope we will be able to continue this conversation at some point.

Mirian took me to San Jose, a Catholic school for boys run by the Salesian priests. We arrived just in time for me to greet the boys on the patio as they were being dismissed for the weekend. Mirian had taught at the school the first 13 years of her career. She was fired because she was sympathizing with the public school union in their strike and encouraging her colleagues to do the same. She still is fond of the school.

We were given a tour of the huge facility. The students not only take academic courses but also participate in vocational trade workshops. We saw huge carpentry workshops and tool and dye workshops. I was also shown the church and crypt by the pastor and his sister who was a former vice principal of the school (one of the administrators who fired Mirian).

After the tour, there was a small reception for us with a group of retired teachers who continue to meet. We had coffee and cake and I was presented with a number of gifts from the school.
We drove to Mirian’s house on the edge of the city. Victor was grilling meat for our dinner. I met their two children, Carolina (23 years old) and Guido (16 years old). We had a delicious meal together and I took a cab back to my hotel.

Day #12, August 6

It was a 6.5 hour bus trip to Rosario. I left at 6:00 AM and arrived at 12:30. Mirian was at the Terminal waiting for me. Mirian did a Fulbright Exchange the same time as Marcela. She was with an elementary school principal in Skokie. Because she had become friends with Marcela through their preliminary Fulbright activities, she visited Volta and went out with us a couple times. This led to her inviting me to spend time in Rosario when I came to Argentina . We got in her car (a Fiat!) and drove to a Normal School (teacher preparation program) where we would be sitting in on final exams for a course on Professional Ethics. Final exams are administered orally with a team of professors led by the course instructor interviewing the student.

When we arrived in the school’s office we were greeted by a number of teachers who were coming and going. One instructor Mirian pulled aside and introduced to me as one of the best instructors she knows and how she wished she would apply for the Fulbright. The instructor snapped back that she would never participate in any exchange program with the USA. All the USA does is exploit Latin American countries. She would only participate in an exchange with a Latin American country. That was my welcome to Rosarino higher education.

Mirian took me to the classroom where the exams would be given. I was introduced to five other instructors who would be involved in the evaluation. They were much more welcoming. Three young ladies would be tested and an instructor named Maria would lead the process.
Maria was brutal. The first two women were eaten alive by her. As they began to respond to her probes she would put her head down, shake it, and say “No, no, no. That is all wrong.” Once that happened, it was all over. The women lost their nerve and confidence. The first two failed. The third young woman did much better and was passed. The one male instructor in the group was more interested in showing me card tricks. He was a magician on the side. Mirian said that he has a history of passing all of his students.

From the Normal School, Mirian took me to a meeting of professors who were working on a project related to teacher preparation. They had received a grant to do the project and were in the planning phases. I was introduced to the group and spent a short time talking about my school and the Fulbright Exchange. A short time into the meeting, Mirian signaled that we had to leave.

We went to another evaluation at another profesorado. This exam would be on The History of Modern Philosophy and Mirian would be the principal evaluator. Two women were tested. The first one knew the material but had a difficult time synthesizing it. The second one was able to demonstrate knowledge of the material and was able to think beyond what she had memorized. Mirian was much gentler with her students. She passed the second woman, but I’m not sure what she did with the first one in the end.

After the exam we hooked up with Mirian’s husband, Victor. We went to pick up their friend, Elda, a district administrator (sort of an AIO) who had done a Fulbright Exchange in Nebraska. We went for dinner at a small restaurant near Elda’s apartment.
After dinner we dropped Elda off at her place and I was taken to my hotel. I would stay at the Hotel Vienna, near the city center.

Day #11, August 5

Today I spent the morning at Marcela's school, Republica de Siria. First period I was in a 5th grade math class. The class started with a HOTS (higher order thinking skills) word problem and then moved into division. The teacher gave the students a series of problems which they had to solve. She then asked them to show how they solved the problems and encouraged them to find different ways to arrive at the same solution.

I then went to a third grade classroom for their "Technologica" class. This is a class in which students produce something and study the origins of all the components that go into the production. This is a class taught in every school in Cordoba province. (Maybe in the entire country.) The third grade students were making scones. The teacher did the mixing. The students explained the origin of each ingredient as she put it into the mixing bowl. Once mixed the students each formed their own scone and they were brought to the kitchen to be baked.

I returned to the fifth grade classroom for a class in language arts - same students I observed doing math but different teacher. They were working on how gender and number effects articles. They were doing a fill-in-the-blank activity when I entered, but quickly moved into another activity that involved more thinking. The teacher wrote a story leaving blanks for the students to fill in. They had to be creative when filling in the blanks and also make sure that nouns and articles went together (gender and number).

I moved to a fourth grade classroom that was have "Technologica". They were doing weaving. Students were using different types of looms to complete their projects.

When the students dismissed at noon, the teachers had a faculty meeting. The afternoon teachers also came in for the meeting. I was the presenter. They wanted to know about behavior management techniques used in USA classrooms. I did a short explanation of Social Emotional Learning and gave some Lee Canter techniques (Assertive Discipline) and then showed them the CPS Student Code of Conduct. The teachers loved that. They don't feel supported by the central office with regards to students who have severe behavior problems.

After my presentation, Silvia, another assistant principal who is on "licencia" ( sick leave) came in to lead us in an offering to the Pacha Mamma (Mother Earth). One of the older teachers made a side comment to me that she didn't understand why we were doing this since the practice belongs to the aboriginal cultures, not to them.

After the faculty meeting Marce took me to another primary school where Silvina is principal. She gave us a short explanation of the PIIE projects they are involved in and gave us a walk-through of her school. PIIE is like SGSA. It is money that schools with "vulnerable" populations can apply for to do special projects. It is because of PIIE that many poor schools have many resources such as computers and internet while Marcela's school, which is middle class, has very few resources.

We went home so that I could get ready for my trip to Rosario.

Day #10, August 4,

We started the day early as Marcela had to open the school. We left the house at 7:15 in order to drop her kids off at school on our way to school. It is interesting to note that Marcela's children go to a private school.

We arrived at Marcela's school at 7:30. There were already children on the patio. Her office looked similar to Volta's office in the morning with a steady stream of teachers and parents coming in with questions and concerns. Students began the day at 8:00 by lining up on the patio. The national flag was raised and the National Anthem was sung. Announcements were made. Students were allowed to throw in there own neighborhood news tidbits. They were off to their rooms by 8:10.

I sat in a second grade classroom the first period. This was Seno Marcela's first year in second grade. She had been many years in first grade and wanted a change. There were 25 students in the room and they would be working on Lengua or Language Arts. The first activity they did, which seemed to be part of the daily routine was to write in their notebooks their personal goal for the day: Me propongo ....... They then moved into an activity which required some higher order thinking. They worked on understanding and writing riddles. ?Cual es el colmo de....? The students were extremely engaged in the activity and it really got them to think.

At the 9:00 recess I went back to the office to meet with Marce before we left for the office of the Inspectora de Zona. In the hierarchical structure, the Inspectora is at the level of the Area Instructional Officer. We got to the Inspectora's office at 10:00. Her name is Rosa Cutaia. I was offered coffee and we visited for a while and made comparisons about the structures of each of our educational systems. I also met another Inspectora named Maria Angelica. She had with her the principal of a school impacted by a large Bolivian Quechua-speaking student population. The principal shared that while the law of the nation requires bilingual education for these students, she had no resources - material or personnel - to provide it. She explained how she was connecting with community agencies for translating help in order to draw parents in to a fuller involvement in the school. Hopefully, I will be able to visit the school before I leave.

Marce dropped me off at her house and I spent the afternoon working on a dual language proposal that I have to submit to the Office of Language and Culture Education before August 10th. As we expand our Spanish bilingual program I thought that the one-way dual language model would be the best way to proceed with it. I finished the 8-page proposal and sent it off. All fingers and toes are crossed!

In the evening, Marce and I went to a small bar to listen to Francisco Castillo's (the district music education coordinator) jazz band rehearse. They played great ragtime music.

Day #9, August 3

After desayuno in the hotel I decided to go hiking. Classes in the Cerro Colorado school don't begin until the afternoon because of the cold morning weather. I hiked along the river bed past the Atahualp Yupanqui Museum. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I didn't even feel the cold. It was great to be alone with my thoughts for that block of time and the only interruption being an occasional group of parrots scolding me for invading their space.

I walked back toward the village at noon. My plan was to get a sandwich somewhere and then head to the school. As I walked past a cluster of houses, Mariana and Marcelo came out to greet me. I discovered through our conversation that classes begin at 12:30 not 1:30 as I had been told. Changing my plans I decided to pass on the sandwich and walked directly to the school.

When I got to the school, the principal and Cycle 2 (4th, 5th, 6th grades) teacher was pleased to see me. Juan is 40 years old and is only a substitute principal at the school. He has been a substitute for several years now. He lives in a town that is 90 km from Cerro Colorado. He rides his motorcycle to Cerro Colorado and then stays at the school until Friday, when he returns home. He sleeps on a mattress he rolls out on the floor in his office.

The students were in the comedor having lunch. Juan invited me to join him for lunch. Lunch is cooked at the school by a man from the village. We had an OK hamburger with gravy ghoulash. When we got halfway finished with our plate, Juan announced that it was time to start class.

We got up and went to his classroom. He had 15 students present today - four 4th graders, six 5th graders, and seven 6th graders. Juan gives full group instruction and then differentiates the assignments according to grade level. All of his lesson/concepts for the year are written on 6" X 8" index cards. When he teaches the lesson he just pulls out the necessary card.

Class began with prayer - complete with the sign of the cross. I guess this is acceptable as long as no one complains. Juan then checked homework. He had given the students instructions for an origami project which was an extension of their geometry lesson. Since less than half of the students were able to complete the project he walked through the steps with them in class. He did not finish, however, before moving on to a review of geometrical terms.

A bell rang and the students went to the comedor for milk and then outside for a 15 minute recess.

When the students returned Juan did a lesson with them on prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning. He started by doing a little skit in which he dressed as the villain Monoxidio de Carbon. The students then were given copies of different periodical articles which they had to read and report out. It looked like Juan was going to move into a cooperative group activity but instead just explained the roles of group members in a cooperative group activity.

Juan seemed to think that I was there to observe him teaching. He didn't realize that I was more interested in his role as principal. He was obviously trying to show me he knew all the current teaching strategies (which he did) but he never followed through with using them.

I stepped out and walked over to the Cycle 1 (1st, 2nd, 3rd grades) room. There the teacher moved each grade to a different part of the room and taught them separately. Those who were not working with the teacher did seat work.

I walked across the hall to the Jardin de Ninos. The teacher only had two of her five students today, so she was able to talk to me. She said that she and Roberto attended this school when they were children. When she attended the school there were 130 students, now there are only 42. She attributes this to smaller families and to families moving away to find work. She also told me that less than half of the students continue in secundaria once they finish 6th grade at Cerro Colorado. This is inspite of the law that requires education until the age of 18.

The day ended and students filed out to the patio for closing activities. The flag was taken down and there were closing announcements. I said my good bye's and thank you's and walked back to the hotel.

I was impressed by how many resources this rural school had. Marce told me that this isn't surprising. Often, the rural schools and poor urban schools qualify for projects that give them more resources than their middle class urban counterparts.

Anna, the hotel proprietor, arranged for a friend of hers to drive us to Santa Elena. There we caught the bus to Cordova. I took a taxi from the bus terminal to Marce's house.

Day #8, August 2

I got up and quickly got dressed as my hotel room was like a freezer. The little space heater did nothing to warm it. There would be no shower today. I went downstairs for a light breakfast in the hotel lobby. Andrea and Nestor were already there and Miguel and Marce soon joined us.

After breakfast we went to the Atahualpa Yupanqui Museum. Atahualpa Yupanqui is a famous Argentinian folk singer and composer who died in 1992. He had a home in Cerro Colorado that is now a museum of his belongings.

We returned to Roberto and Aura's hacienda for another day of gaucho food and fun. We had a wonderful meal of beef pierna (leg) roasted in the wood oven. I have eaten more meat in the last two days than I usually eat in an entire year.

I've been drinking a lot of mate here, too. Many people have their mate and thermos in hand and are quick to share.

After dinner, Roberto and some of his neighbors organized some gaucho horse competitions to demonstrate for us. They rode around barrels, raced under a dangling ring while trying to put a stick through the ring, and pulled children on blankets made of cow hide. It was all great fun and seemed very natural - not like a show. Someone soon opened the trunk of their car and turned their stereo on and more dancing began: chacalera, gato, and samba. They got me out to dance some chacalera.

Marce, Miguel, Andrea, and Nestor returned to Cordoba. I returned to the hotel to spend one more night. I would be visiting the Cerro Colorado school tomorrow. I was given a new hotel room which was already warm when I entered it. Bath tonight!

Day #7, August 1

Miguel, Marce, and I left at 8:30 for Cerro Colorado, a village about two hours away from Cordoba. We were followed by Marce's friend, Andrea and her husband Nestor. Arriving in Cerro Colorado we checked into a modest hotel which looked quite nice next to the other simple buildings in the village.

The five of us found a guide who took us on a walking tour of some rock paintings done by aboriginal people sometime between 1000 and 1600 AD. The paintings were of llamas, and hunters, and even of the conquistadores.

After the tour we drove to Roberto and Aura's haciendo about 4 km out of town. There we would participate in an offering to Pacha Mama (the Inca word for Mother Earth) and then enjoy a gaucho feast. Arriving at the 200 year old ranch we were led out to a site where about 15 people had gathered. Silvia, a homeopathic doctor from Cordoba, would lead the rite. Silvia lit some herbs in a clay dish and blessed each of us with the incense. We then made an offering to Pacha Mama. A hole had been dug in the ground. Each of us took some prepared fruits and vegetables and dropped it into the hole. Someone then produce a bottle of cana liquor (the equivalent of mezqual). We each took a drink from the bottle. After we each took a drink, the rest of the cana was poured into the hole for Pacha Mama.

We returned to the hacienda for a feast of carnitas and cabrito (baby goat) roasted over an open fire. Wine washed down the delicious food.

After we ate Laura (the music teacher) and her husband Nestor took out their musical instruments and the pena began. There was folkloric singing and dancing for the next two hours.

We were then sent to a large brick dome which had been built as an oven to produce charcoal. It would now serve as a chapel for another "new age" rite. Silvia was waiting in the dome. She had us all sit in a circle and then led us in a reflection on sound and chackras.

We returned to the hotel to rest for an hour before the next musical event began. The evening pena took place at the Guardaparques, or park building, in the village. This is the same place we met our guide for the rock paintings tour. The pena began at 9:30.

We ate empenadas, drank wine, and listened to folkloric music. The son of Atahualpa Yupanqui sang, as did Laura and Nestor, and Marcelo, an artist who lives with his family in Cerro Colorado.

While I enjoyed the evening, the Argentinos who were with me were disappointed. They said it was more of a talent show than a pena. A real pena should have everybody singing and dancing - like we did in the afternoon at Roberto's.

We returned to our ice cold hotel rooms at midnight. I threw two extra blankets on my bed and went to sleep.

Day #6, July 31

Today, I will spend time in Marcela's school, Republica de Siria. I wanted to just spend time observing in a classroom. Students do not wear uniforms in Argentina, but they wear guardapolvos, which are essentially white lab coats. Teachers (all women), on the other hand, wore an apron of sorts.

I spent two hours in the morning observing in a first grade classroom. It was the teacher's first year teaching first grade. A student teacher was also in the room, assisting with students who had difficulty. There were 17 students in the room. I would be observing a class of "Lengua" or language arts. The teacher had the objectives or tasks for the first period written on the board: ARMAMOS PALABRAS. TRABAJAMOS CON EL EQUIPO DE LETRAS. The students had to copy this into their notebooks. Being first graders, this task in itself took about 15 minutes. The students then worked with paper squares with letter printed on them to form words. The teacher did two or three examples with them and then the students worked on their own with a partner. They were able to complete maybe two words on their own.

The bell rang and the students went out for recess. When they returned the teacher had written more tasks on the board: LA HORA DEL CUENTO. ESCUCHAMOS EL CUENTO "EL MISTERIO DEL COLLAR". ESCRIBO LO QUE MAS ME GUSTO DEL CUENTO. The students took about twenty minutes to write these tasks into their notebooks. The teacher read the story out loud and the students had to write in their notebooks what the story was about and what they liked. They did not seem ready yet for this sort of assignment. While the students worked the teacher passed out books for them to read at home.

Marce and I went to meet with the Supervisor, Stella Maris Adrover. She is sort of the Chief Education Officer for Cordova. She will be doing a Fulbright Exchange next year with an administrator in Bellingham, Washington. She explained the bureaucratic structure of the Argentinian school system. I also met a friend of Marce's in the same office, Francisco Castillo, the music coordinator for the district.

At 1:40 I observed a fifth grade mathematics lesson. The lesson was on long division. The teacher emphasized to the students that there is more than one way of solving a problem and allowed different students to explain how they arrived at their answer. The teacher told the students, "I am not concerned about you becoming good mathematicians, but I want you to be good problem solvers."

In the evening Miguel, Marce, and I went out for pizza at Pizza Zeta. Argentinian pizza reminded me of pizza I had in Italy - not piled with so much stuff.

Day #5, July 30

Today will be a day of tourism. Marce and I will accompany Laura (the music teacher) and her father, Carlo on a tour of some of the Jesuit estancias. Estancias were ranches established by the Jesuits in the 1600's to support their work. They were cut off by the Spanish government because they took the side of the aboriginal people in Argentina. In order to continue their work, the Jesuits had to grow their own food and other products. Carlo was an exceptional guide as he is a professional photographer. He published a book of photographs of the estancias and other sites surrounding Cordoba.

The first estancia we visited was in Jesus Maria. There we took a tour of the buildings and were then invited to have coffee with the curator. He was a personal friend of Carlo. Of course, it helped that Carlo brought photographs he had taken of the estancia to present as a gift to the curator. After coffee, the curator share with us some old Jesuit documents that were being cleaned, preserved and archived.

We next went to the estancia of Caroya. This estancia was not as ornate but I thought it was prettier in a primitive sort of way. We were given another tour of the buildings at this estancia.

We had lunch in a sort of bodega or general store in the town of Caroya. We ate a plate of picadas - home made salame, ham, and cheese on homemade bread. We drank Frambua wine, which from the bodegas of this region.

After eating we went to the Posta de Sinsacate. A posta is a rest stop for messengers and other travelers that rode between Buenos Aires and Cuzco, Peru. At the Posta we got stuck with an over-zelous guide who tried to give us a complete history of Argentina in 30 minutes. I mentally fell asleep within the first 10 minutes. We finally hurried him to the present so that we could tour the buildings and be on our way.

We drove back to Cordoba and had dinner with Miguel - leftover picadas and wine.