During the SD immersion day, we started out by reflecting on ideas of service and privilege within the CASA center in the SLP. Additionally, we reviewed videos about students who cross the border daily to attend school and discussed how we might support our students facing this challenge. To begin our journey of empathy and perspective taking, we arrived at Friendship park and met with a border patrol agent and a gentleman who works with border angels. After our time at the border, we journeyed to Via International in Barrio Logan and met with community members regarding teaching unaccompanied minors and community activism through spoken word and delicious vegan food. We also walked around the community and passed out flyers for an event Via International is participating in; which also gave us the opportunity to see the homes our students could be living in. Lastly, we met with Spanish-only or bilingual moms of students in Linda Vista and hear their perspectives on what makes a quality teacher in terms of the supporting their students and parent engagement. Two weeks later, we met again in the SLP at the CASA center. During this time, we prepped our lessons to teach to the scouts. Once we crossed the border we met the Scouts, taught our mini lessons, and ate lunch made my community members. After the Scouts, we journeyed to friendship park. After time for reflection, we sat in the border line and ate yummy churros.
My role or objective for the day, was to immerse myself whole-heartedly. What I mean by that, is that my role was to be a human being and engage in conversations, actively listen, observe, smile, and laugh. I was there to be present with my own thoughts and actions and with those of others. Additionally, my role involved planning and implementing an equity activity centered on community. In the activity, students were in two teams and tasked with acquiring all the resources (10 balls) needs to sustain a community. However, since there was only 10 resources (balls) today, the teams needed to think through how both communities could be sustain which involved moving the hula hoops instead of the balls. During the activity, my role as teacher became a co-teacher with the amazing translator Alejandra, which was an enlightening and informative experience. During this trip my learning was confirmed and shifted in two specific instances. The first, my learning was confirmed in the sense that children in Tijuana are just like any other kids in any other county. Between my previous trips to T.J. during USD undergrad and this trip, I am continuously reminded that the humans on either side of the border are the same – they smile, laugh, cry, want a higher quality of life, need community, need education, etc. During our time at friendship park I smiled at the sight of multiple girls dressed beautifully for their quinceaneras. These girls were surrounded by their court of best girlfriends and their family beaming with pride. Three different quinceaneras and yet the scene was the same. I began to think about how many sweet 16 birthday parties were happening in the U.S. at that moment as well. Especially in San Diego on such a beautiful day. See these girls again confirmed my thoughts when I came to T.J. for the first time – we are really all the same – humans looking for love and support. This trip also shifted my beliefs in a way I hadn’t expected. I have only been to TJ a few times – always with USD and never on my own. I don’t have a great attachment to the city, although some of the people certainly have stolen a piece of my heart. Yet, in preparing for this trip I thought I was going in unbiased because I had been to the poorer parts of TJ. before and knew what to expect. But when we got the Scouts park, as I was ready to talk with the scouts and jump into the activities of the day, I was surprised by the judgement in my mind. This judgement was not about TJ or the scouts, but rather judgement of my peers – my familiarity with TJ although minimal compared to some, clouded my ability to realize that others around me may be experience the shock I experienced my first time seeing the poorer areas of TJ. My cohorts said “it is just dirt? I was picturing grass – they kept saying it was a park.” While my brain was saying “yup, this is it, now let’s have some fun!” My cohorts again “I have this whole lesson planned out I don’t know how it is going to work out.” While my brain was saying, “We are here in their community to share insight but ultimately allow them to reveal to us their understandings.” I caught myself multiple times judging my peers for the Americanized view they were bringing in to our experience – and forgot that my role was not to judge others but to invite people into the special places of Tijuana which I have found a sense of “home” in. In terms of multiculturalism, I was interested in a conversation with my peers about boy/girl scouts versus a non-gender binary scouts. This difference between America’s scouts and TJ’s scouts is significant and something to consider. I struggle with gender binary biases in America constantly and seeing the scouts in TJ made my truly wonder what differences in society would be present if our scouts and other organizations were not gender binary. Additionally, I thought about language in terms of the multiple languages the scouts and ourselves as teachers with a translation, and the connection of languages between what could be understood and what couldn’t. While speaking broken Spanish has always been my reality, speaking with a translator was a new experience for me and I questioned how bored the scouts might be having to listen to a language they might have minimal understanding in, just to have it repeated by someone speaking their own language. As an educator, I want to be active in my school’s community. Whether it was our delicious lunch being prepared for us by a community family in TJ or seeing the community organizations and leaders at Via International or listening to the mothers in Linda Vista – I truly gained a sense of the importance of creating connections not only with my students but with the community. Hearing the stories of children who are unaccompanied minors or seeing the power the scouts organization to allow joy and pride to be present on the faces of children encouraged me to think of community inside and outside the classroom. It is important to create a community within class so everyone feels welcome and some students may receive a sense of peace they do not gain at home; and expanding my community beyond the classroom will encourage immersion not only with our neighboring border country, but with the people I see every day picking up their children or at the grocery store and yet have never immersed with. It is ironic that community was also the topic of my scouts lessons, but I truly feel creating community is what I will carrying into my future work.
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AuthorGrowing with students in the garden of life. Archives
August 2020
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