Education decentralization, and a school with a zoo

Today started off with two guest speakers at the Universidad del Pacifico.  The first speaker, Karen Ulloa, had talked about the decentralization of the Peruvian school system and it’s major issues and barriers.  While we have learned over the past couple of days of the many challenges and issues in the Peruvian school system; today we got to know more about the levels of government that play a part in the way schools are ran.  Much like America, Peru has a national, regional, and local government that all have different contributions to the way a school is ran. 

             The second speaker, Ms. Marita Palacios, had talked about teacher education and the issues teacher’s face.  In America, we as teachers feel like we are underpaid but after finding out the salary of a public educator in Peru there is not much to complain about in comparison.  Peru bases their salary by month and starting salary for a teacher is the equivalent of $488 a month!  Many teachers are forced to work a second job to support their families.  This is just one of many issued that Peruvian teachers face and is a result in low enrollment for teacher educators in the universities and institutions here in Peru.

             After lunch, we met up with the comparative education group of students at Colegio de la Inmaculada.   This school had a GORGEOUS campus that spanned 29 hectares, which is approximately 72 acres.  On this campus they hold kindergarten up to secondary classes and teach in both English and Spanish.  But this was no ordinary school, when you drive into the school you notice a collection of endangered species and other animals that have been donated to the school.  I am not talking your typical rabbit and fish in the classroom like you may see in American schools.  There were pumas, pygmy goats, jaguars, tortoises, black bears, deer, native birds, vincuna, monkeys, and many more!

                The principal, Rev. Oscar Morelli, SJ, teachers and staff were so welcoming and open to answer all of our questions.   We were gifted with olive oil and marmalade produced by the school staff and Jesuit priests who live on the campus.  They invited us into their classrooms to see the work their students are doing as well as the work they do such as Professional Learning Communities when they collaborate on lessons.  IT was a very interesting experience to compare and contrast American schools to Peruvian schools.  I am excited to visit more schools in the days to come and make more connections.  

--Cathryn Taylor

A school with its own zoo of endangered animals!

Watching tiger