Wow! What a week it has been since I last wrote. When I blogged last, I spoke of the impressive ability of the Chilean GC students to take immediate action through research to counteract the disequality rampant in their school systems. When we reconvened on Friday to synthesize our work, students quickly transferred their research into colorful pages of our final pamphlet. In their work through Thursday and Friday we found that small groups proved most effective. Students easily paired up and focused well as they created their product. This was also great for all of the mentors because we were able to move from group to group and give students more individual attention as they worked. On Saturday, we then worked to put together a final presentation for the camp on Sunday. Unfortunately, our students´ lacked some necessary motivation to create a creative presentation, but this may also be because they did not feel as pressured because they were presenting to younger children rather than to their governor and mayor. That this missing component of the model inhibited our final development speaks to the need for youth to feel important, valued, and professional. Luckily, GC has been able to achieve this in the states!
We also found that through the last few days we had to combat students´ expectations for more of a summer camp experience (which was the environment that we worked in at TAC). Fortunately, we had enough quick and fun games up our sleeves to keep things energetic and moving. While this summer camp atmosphere posed a significant challenge to our students´ work, the effectiveness of games in re-energizing students may be something GC may want to more formally incorporate into its curriculum. Either way, students did finish our intensive week-long workshop with a higher degree of knowledge they can definitely apply in their own lives. Thus, the model proved efffective in illuminating and addressing an important issue close to the students´ hearts and future, though the final product faltered after our intensive first few days.
In looking back over this experience, two important concepts surface as vital to GC: relationships and time (and the link between the two). Evan and I were thrown into the workshop after it had already passed two days, which initially set us back in trying to build communication and trust with our students. But as the week progressed and we grew closer to both our students and fellow Chilean volunteers, we could more easily navigate our necessary tasks and understand the students´ thoughts and interests. I wish that we had been able to arrive on the first day, but alas, we continued anyways! Once we were here in Chile, our students arrived to TAC not promptly at nine am, but when they felt personally ready to begin the day. Everyone would then stay not just until our workshop was supposed to end at 4, but whenever we had actually finished our activities, which was usually closer to five thirty or six. This more relaxed and open concept of time actually supported our work, as everyone at TAC at any given moment was fully invested in engaging with the tasks at hand. This of course helped to build the relationships we depended on to accomplish our goals together. In our increasingly fragmented and fast-paced American life style, it seems as though we have become so preoccupied with time that people never fully commit their minds to any certain moment. They show up when they are told to, whether they want to be there or not. They then run out at exactly the moment acceptable to leave. Unfortunately, our entire American school system functions this way! While changing the concept of time may be outside of GC´s scope, this experience speaks strongly to taking the time necessary to build relationships. The end result is a stronger community.
In looking forward to our next and final week, I anticipate may fruitful conversations and planning sesions with our Chilean partner university. We have collected surveys from all program participants and have began the process of debriefing, analyzing, and building a Chilean model. Seeing as our recent group of students achieved an action project despite language barriers, delayed arrivals, and an non-academic environment, I believe we can only improve from here! Indeed, I also look forward to using this perspective to further inform and reflect upon our U.S. model- both its strengths and its weaknesses.
And to conclude on a fun note- GC is now internationally broadcasted! Evan and I stumbled through our first radio interview this past Tuesday on a local station that discusses a different cultural development in our city of Valparaiso each week.
- Elena Maker
Advertisement
