BRITTANY
Elementary Education Undergraduate |
BRITTANY
Elementary Education Undergraduate |
I am the world’s most powerful force of change. Friday marked the last day spent at the Mariposa DR Foundation and it was more than an emotional fiesta. Different than normal, we arrived in the early morning to the foundation where we found the younger mariposa girls. Upon entering the foundation, all I could see was clusters of pink little shirts and laughter. We were introduced to the mariposcitas by playing a game in a large circle and to say these girls needed to warm up to us college students, would be a complete understatement. Once we were finished playing our games in the circle, we were dispersed into groups along with the mariposcitas and their teachers. Instantly, I had a little girl grab my hand and lead the way into the classroom we would be in first. Our first room was art class! The girls had to draw and then color what they see when they are outside. Of course, most, if not all, drew mariposas (butterflies) in their pictures. After art class we headed to the next classroom which was literature with my Spanish teacher at the foundation, Mary Jane. I was so eager to finally observe her teaching in a classroom setting with mariposas, since I have been her student for majority of the trip. With her holistic approaches to teaching, we all sat in a circle in the middle of the classroom floor and began by playing telephone. Whoever started the telephone, had to speak in their language. So this activity exposed those who do not speak Spanish, English, or Creole, in a fun and engaging way. This allowed us to all build that bond with one another, despite the language barrier, through laughter. After telephone, Mary Jane read Cinderella in Spanish. Would you be surprised if all the girls knew the story word for word? I was not. After the read aloud, Mary Jane instructed us, in Spanish of course, to partner up with a maripocita and do a read aloud together with a bilingual book, then using a dry erase board, draw your favorite character from the book. I waited for a maripocita to come to me, rather myself pick one of them because of how enthusiastic they were to have us there. Moments later I had a little girl grab my hand, looked up and smiled, and pulled me towards the corner of the classroom where there was a large bean bag chair. I sat on the bean bag chair and she excitedly ran to grab a bilingual book for us to share. Eager to learn English, she had me start the book first in English called, “I Love You Through and Through.” After every couple of words I would read, she would read them back to me in English. I was amazed at how well she could pick up on English words and how much courage she had to repeat every sentence I spoke. In this moment, I could not be any more proud of her. After literacy class they had a break to have snack before their next class, which was nutrition and healthy eating. In the Dominican, it is common for families to cook an abundance of fried and starchy foods that are eaten daily. A typical breakfast for a lot of these girls include fried potatoes and a fried meat. The same little girl I taught, Katiana, came running back up to me and grabbed my arm and rested her head on me until class begun. My heart felt so much fuller, I thought it was going to explode. Once we started filing into our next class, Katiana made sure I sat right next to her on the floor cushions before class started. I discovered various aspects of Katiana’s home life due to a research survey I had to help her fill out for one of the girls in my cohort. After the survey was complete, we started class and went around in a circle what everyone ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. During our sharing session, Katiana was playing with my hair and kept reminding me of how long it was. She put my hair behind my ears, and preferred for me to wear it that way. Then she put her hood from her hoodie on her head and tucked it behind her ears to pretend she had long hair just like mine. Both of us found this hilarious and it was a really special moment because no language was used, just laughter. Cuddled up on the cushions, we continue with the rest of class, with her head resting on my shoulder, and looking up to smile from time to time. It was in this moment, that I knew I would think about Katiana, and her wellbeing every single day for the rest of my life. Once class was over, the girls have recess where they can play games and socialize with one another until their bus comes to take them to school. Remember, school days are half days in the Dominican Republic, consisting of a morning shift and an afternoon shift. This means that children only go to school for up to four to five hours a day. Instead of running off with her friends to play games in the courtyard, Katiana stood in the hallway with me, with her head against my chest and her arms wrapped around me; she would not let go. As I rested my head on top of hers, we just stood there like that for what felt like an hour, but was realistically only five minutes. Our eyes were closed, nothing was said, and we just smiled. She then ran off to play with her friends in the courtyard, where I later accompanied her in playing games. Constant laughter was in the air, smiling faces all around. I felt at home. Shortly after, the bus arrived to take the girls to school and as I squeezed onto her, I did not want to let her go because that would mean goodbye. As she kept looking back while walking up to the school bus, the only thing I felt was loved and heartbroken all at once. After our cohort ate another delicious Dominican lunch, we gathered in the courtyard with our Spanish teachers from the foundation and stood in a circle for sharing of reflections about being at the Mariposa DR Foundation. Our Spanish teachers started first and all had very significant things to say to us as their students, and we had very teary eyed things to say to them. When it was my turn to speak about my teacher, Mary Jane, it took a minute or two for me to actually conjure up my words. It is people like Mary Jane, who we need more of in the world. It is people like Mary Jane, who girls of all sorts should look up to as a role model. It is people like Mary Jane, who make a difference in this world. And it is people like Mary Jane who empowers girls to lead greater lives than they ever thought imaginable. I hope as an educator I can live up to par with Mary Jane and her holistic approaches in the classroom. Once the tears were dried, the older mariposas whom have been working alongside us, arrived from school and we were ready to spend our last day there together. Our Spanish teachers created fun activities in Spanish of course, using their in ground pool and courtyard. It was astonishing how much we could all bond although there is a language barrier present. We were dancing to their favorite music, to our favorite music, and creating memories to last a life time. When the end of the day drew near, we hurried to take as many pictures as possible, and get in as many laughs as we could. I wish we had more time to spend at the Mariposa DR Foundation throughout our trip, but I am deeply humbled and grateful for the time I did have there to learn, to be empowered, and to teach. It is a foundation like this one that I would pack up everything I own, and dedicate myself with because I am inspired to help in the fight to end generational poverty. The Mariposa DR Foundation has become a second home to me and has taught me that I can accomplish and become whatever I want because I am strong, and I am capable of anything. The Mariposa DR Foundation, and every single soul within it, has become a part of my story, a story I will share with every human being I know. This is part of my story, what is yours?
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AuthorJunior | 716 | Alpha Epsilon Phi | Music and Traveling Enthusiast | Concert and Movie Goer | Lemon Addict Archives
March 2017
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