Seven teachers participating
in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program visited the U.S.
Embassy July 10 to share stories of their time spent in
Uruguayan schools.
The program, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy,
the Fulbright Commission and the National Administration
of Public Education, is aimed at creating and strengthening
links between Uruguayan and U.S. Schools.
This experience has given the U.S. teachers
an opportunity to share their knowledge with Uruguayan schoolteachers
about the U.S. educational system and learn how the Uruguayan
educational system operates. Several teachers also brought
various types of learning resources used in their classrooms
in the states to share with their Uruguayan counterparts.
During their visit to the Embassy, the U.S.
Fulbright teachers received a briefing on Uruguayan economics
and politics by Political/Economic Officer Oliver W. Griffith.
After the presentation the teachers spoke candidly of their
work during the first half of their educational trip.
The U.S. educators explained how they have
gained an appreciation for the enthusiasm and dedication
of the Uruguayan teachers, who often teach under difficult
circumstances.
“I’ve seen them do some
of the same things we do in theory and practice,”
said Terry Forward, of Greece Atenia High School, Rochester,
N.Y. “It’s amazing how much enthusiasm for learning
they can create with far fewer resources than we have.”
Ismael Sosa, from Heuco Elementary School
in Texas, dressed as a Texas cowboy for students, to introduce
them to the culture of his state. “They learned about
Mexican Americans living Texas and were able to experience
first-hand what they would normally only see in a movie
or on TV,” Sosa said. “They called me ‘Walker,
Texas Ranger’ and ‘Pecos Bill.’”
Students in Melo now have an English laboratory,
thanks to the efforts of Virginia Doherty, of Mt. Vernon
Community School in Alexandria, Va. “The school directory
desperately wanted an English program, but had no space
and no English teacher,” Doherty said. “But
what he did have was a computer lab with 16 computers and
a teacher who knew how to make programs. We sat down with
the materials that I brought and created a program with
seven recorded lessons.”
Sonia Soler used some of the same strategies
she found successful to get children interested in reading
in her home school, to reach Uruguayan students. Soler brought
a felt apron and Velcro characters she uses at the Rachel
Carlson Elementary School, Chicago, Ill., to animate her
storytelling.
Teachers reported that the Uruguayan school
officials wanted to learn more about volunteerism and parent-teacher
organizations in the U.S.
Also participating in the program are Brenda
Hall from Blue Ridge Elementary in Walla Walla, Wash., Derek
Fraizer, from Lincoln International Studies School of Kalamazoo,
Mich., and Sherry Watson from Phoenix Elementary School,
Phoenix, Oregon.
“We all agree. We may have come with
supplies to give the school and knowledge to share, but
we have received more than we have given,” Doherty
said.
