María Vacca Crisostomo, Grade 12
UWC-USA
Before coming to UWC, I already had strong aspirations regards teaching people. The patience inspired me that most of my mentors had when I was at school, but their fondness and appreciation for little human beings stuck with me the most.
When I applied to UWC, one of my objectives was to retribute to my community and teach them what I had learned in an international community. My focus was not limiting myself to academics, instead, explaining life lessons, values, and helping others to find their purpose.
Montezuma is a small and rural community in New Mexico, but it does not mean that one cannot improve it. Instead, it is a call for action for everybody who steps on its grounds and the surrounding areas. I firmly believe that change starts with education - and I was lucky enough to have found Reading Buddies.
Reading Buddies is an ExEd (an “Experiential Education”, the name that our extracurricular activities receive) at UWC-USA. It partners with Don Cecilio Elementary School in Las Vegas, a town close to the school. At this ExEd, we go to the school to teach children in third grade to read. Or well, at least that was the purpose of this activity.
Teaching is never limited to just preparing a lesson and then, dictating it. It involves passion and interactions with the students, but also being mentally and emotionally prepared to encounter unknown backgrounds from the learners. When we first went to Don Cecilio, I was paired with three children. We started with an ice breaker to get them to know more about each other. Definitely, I was not expecting anything that happened later.
From stories about immigration to children telling me that they were scared about learning because it made them feel insecure, I immediately made a connection with them. My role as a teacher turned into a role as a mentor - somebody that they could trust and feel comfortable with. Engaging with them felt easy, but teaching them carried new challenges.
After testing their reading skills for some minutes, I realized that education has, indeed, privileges. I had a teacher who helped students to learn how to read in after-class workshops. They did not, because they had other responsibilities at home even at short age. Reading Buddies made me realize that I genuinely cared for education and its impact on people. I rediscovered a passion for reading and teaching at the same time.
Unfortunately, due to covid, we were not allowed to attend to Don Cecilio as much as we had wanted to. However, this year I am proud to say that I will be leading this ExEd - focusing on planning the teaching sessions and introducing new vocabulary. Nevertheless, academic achievements are not my main goal for my “buddies”. What I care about most importantly -and I am sure that new members will also agree- is connecting with the children, inspiring them, and making them fall in love with reading.
When I applied to UWC, one of my objectives was to retribute to my community and teach them what I had learned in an international community. My focus was not limiting myself to academics, instead, explaining life lessons, values, and helping others to find their purpose.
Montezuma is a small and rural community in New Mexico, but it does not mean that one cannot improve it. Instead, it is a call for action for everybody who steps on its grounds and the surrounding areas. I firmly believe that change starts with education - and I was lucky enough to have found Reading Buddies.
Reading Buddies is an ExEd (an “Experiential Education”, the name that our extracurricular activities receive) at UWC-USA. It partners with Don Cecilio Elementary School in Las Vegas, a town close to the school. At this ExEd, we go to the school to teach children in third grade to read. Or well, at least that was the purpose of this activity.
Teaching is never limited to just preparing a lesson and then, dictating it. It involves passion and interactions with the students, but also being mentally and emotionally prepared to encounter unknown backgrounds from the learners. When we first went to Don Cecilio, I was paired with three children. We started with an ice breaker to get them to know more about each other. Definitely, I was not expecting anything that happened later.
From stories about immigration to children telling me that they were scared about learning because it made them feel insecure, I immediately made a connection with them. My role as a teacher turned into a role as a mentor - somebody that they could trust and feel comfortable with. Engaging with them felt easy, but teaching them carried new challenges.
After testing their reading skills for some minutes, I realized that education has, indeed, privileges. I had a teacher who helped students to learn how to read in after-class workshops. They did not, because they had other responsibilities at home even at short age. Reading Buddies made me realize that I genuinely cared for education and its impact on people. I rediscovered a passion for reading and teaching at the same time.
Unfortunately, due to covid, we were not allowed to attend to Don Cecilio as much as we had wanted to. However, this year I am proud to say that I will be leading this ExEd - focusing on planning the teaching sessions and introducing new vocabulary. Nevertheless, academic achievements are not my main goal for my “buddies”. What I care about most importantly -and I am sure that new members will also agree- is connecting with the children, inspiring them, and making them fall in love with reading.
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