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This weekend, my group and I used our time away from Colegio Roosevelt to explore the varied districts of Lima a bit more. In the
affluent district of Mira Flores, we explored the markets and dined at an AMAZING restaurant called Embarcadero Cuaranta Uno. In
Barranco, we walked in scenic parks which were filled with artists and musicians. We stopped at our favorite gelato place, Blu, and ate at a beautiful, outdoor eco café.
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Plantique," a store in Mira Flores
Although all of this was adventuring very picturesque and enjoyable, by far the highlight of the weekend was our return visit to El Agustino. The children’s day camp organization that we visited last weekend, MLK Asociacion de Juveniles del Agustino, was putting on a festival on Saturday for all of the children and invited us to come back and participate. The festival was a declaration and celebration of the children’s right to play has part of their innate human rights. Festivities included dancing, food, music, and different stations where the kids could play games and jump rope. Seeing the students again and being able to partake in such a fun festival was a joy.
I have been writing a lot lately about the fantastic elements of Colegio Roosevelt's quality, innovative education. Therefore, I thought I would take today's blog post to appreciate the fantastic pedagogical values that I saw in MLK's program both last weekend and this weekend. As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, MLK is an educational organization in a neighborhood (El Agustino) with a high poverty level and a lack of resources. It is a stark difference in reality than Colegio Roosevelt and La Molina.
El Agustino
Therefore, leaders at MLK have to find innovative ways to educate the students who may not be able to afford the same quality of education as students who attend schools like Colegio Roosevelt. The goal of the program is to provide equity for these students, and to, I believe, employ a “critical pedagogy.” A critical pedagogy, as educational philosophers Paulo Freire and Maxine Greene have pointed out, provides students with an education that makes them active learners, intrinsically motived learners, and learners that will lead and problem-solve systemically in the future. MLK’s emphasis on reflection throughout every activity the students do (even soccer,) which I mentioned in a previous blog post, helps students to actively participate in their own education and to become self-aware and aware of others. I believe that valuing reflection is an important part of having a critical pedagogy.
As part of this pedagogy, teachers must be innovative and have a mind for the future as well. A huge objective for MLK is that it teaches students creative skills and conflict-resolution skills while fostering imagination in order to turn them into leaders and keep them out of gang-related activities. The teachers at MLK have the students’ futures in mind, and wish to promote individual thought and imagination in innovative ways due to the lack of resources available. Freire emphasizes the importance of fostering imagination in children, as it will make them problem-solvers in the future. Thus, this aspect of MLK aligns well with Freire’s ideal pedagogy. Infusing conflict-resolution into activities like soccer and dancing takes a lot of ingenuity, and thus MLK’s subtle innovation plays a part in its effective pedagogy.
A Picture from the Festival Of Children's Right to Play
Most importantly, MLK’s festival this weekend displayed its valuing and celebration of the students as individuals and their rights as human beings. This is, I believe, another HUGE sentiment that educators need to hold if they are to be the kind of educator Freire would approve of. He is a proponent of not objectifying students and of seeing the potential in all students. Instead of writing the students off as children who cannot be successful because of their background, MLK values and celebrates each child. Through festivals that celebrate the students’ human rights, the program sends the message to each child that they are important, that they have a voice, and that they have rights, no matter their circumstances. This lesson is arguably more important than anything else that the program could provide students. Self-worth and the knowledge that one has a voice form learners who question, who value their work, who problem-solve, and who lead. I think that truly believing in the individual significance and potential of all students is the greatest value a teacher can hold, and is the key to being a critical educator.