After meeting together for seminar at UARM on Monday morning, we met with Martín Vegas, the former Minister of Education in Peru, who explained the history of education in the country, how the country is changing, and what challenges they are working to overcome. He explained that the history of cultural gender norms have contributed to the gender inequality that is present inside and outside of schools and that the education system overall is at a transitioning point from a deficient level to a regular level. He also discussed many of the difficulties rural schools face, and how they differ from the difficulties urban schools face, as well as the challenges that many indigenous people must overcome when attending school.
After the presentation and lunch at UARM, we headed to Colegio de la Inmaculada, a private Jesuit primary and secondary school in Santiago de Surco that currently has about 1,800 students. As we could see upon arrival, the school is dedicated to keeping their huge campus immaculate and impressive. When I say impressive, I mean beyond what you could imagine. Within the school’s gated campus, is a zoo of all endangered animals, including goats, turtles, birds, bears, crocodiles, ostriches and mountain lions. Since we had limited time at the school we didn’t see much inside the classrooms, but I was impressed by the structure of the school and its philosophy and mission, which the principal described to us as an inclusive one, that promotes creativity, autonomy, democracy, and social change.
On Tuesday morning, we went to a public school in La Victoria and visited the 3 year olds, 4 year olds, and 5 year olds in the “initial” school or preschool. As we toured the school, one of the teachers described it and briefly gave us its history and how it is improving and changing. We learned that this school is considered a school for students who come from families in Class D or low Class C. While the school is funded by the government, each classroom is only stocked with tables and chairs and the parents and families of the school provide toys, decorations, games, markers, pencils, scissors, etc. The school has a strong sense of community and it was interesting to see the way the teachers interacted with the students in a more loving and personal way then other schools I have been in in the United States and in Peru.
During the past couple of days, we have been discussing what makes a quality education and how that may differ for individual students depending on their background and their interests and also their culture and socioeconomic status or class. Based on what I have seen so far here in Lima, when I think about the quality of education students are receiving, I think of the effort the teachers put in and literally what the students are being taught. For example, while I am sure the faculty at Inmaculada does a fantastic job educating their students, the majority of what I saw during our time there was the zoo, the well-watered and up-kept campus and soccer fields, which in my opinion doesn’t truly affect the education the students at the school receive. (These additional luxuries are indeed nice to have, but when we discuss quality of education, I don’t think they have as large an impact as we, or prospective parents and students, may initially think). In my opinion, every student is entitled to a high-quality education that challenges them and guides them in developing their imagination, and then gives them the tools they need to reach their goals that they originally thought were only imaginary. While many schools, unfortunately, do not have the resources and funding to be as prestige as some, developing relationships and building self-esteem and motivation among students is something all teachers can aim to accomplish no matter what the context is.
