​This was my guiding question that I used to focus my research for my time in Peru. Observation and interviews gave me the answers I was seeking, but I returned to the U.S. with so much more than this. I added on to my question according to the curiosity of my students and even my IB coordinator. Peru provided inspiration that I didn’t know I needed. 

​“According to Students”
Students accredited their ability to stay motivated to their desire to secure a better future for themselves. They felt that being fluent in English and earning the IB diploma would qualify them for higher paying jobs and enable them to potentially go to college in the United States. Despite their goals, many of the students seemed to lack insight on how to get scholarships or which schools were best for their career ambitions. This lack of awareness made me appreciate school counselors and other educators in the USA that constantly guide students in their next steps. I now want to gather intel on resources and programs designed for students like the ones I met in Peru and feed that information to the schools. I could even get my students involved in that exchange. Other students aimed to please their families with their success, which is still a healthy form of motivation.
“According to Teachers”
Unlike the US, Peru has national standards for learning that do not vary across the different regions. There are standardized tests that match these guidelines and teachers also create their own standard based assessments to track student learning. Similar to how it is done in my state, teachers are expected to keep records of students’ grades and then upload them to a platform that is mandated by their ministry of education. This is the first year that COAR Huancavelica has used this platform. Students receive frequent feedback in class, but their parents are shown their grades at the end of each bimester. A unique aspect of their grading process was that all parents are required to conference with teachers concerning their student’s grades and tutors are assigned to struggling students. While this is not a foreign concept to the US, I feel that we would only benefit from mandating such a thing consistently. Some things just should not become more lax over time for the sake of convenience. Teachers in Peru use minute by minute informal assessments just as we do to check for understanding in the classroom. There are no high school exit exams or SAT equivalent tests. However, they do use the Cambridge English Proficiency Exam to assess their foreign language learning.
“Unique Qualities of COAR Huancavelica”
The IB programme promotes international mindedness in all IB students and teachers. The school I was assigned to use their lessons to show their students the world. It is not feasible for them to help their students travel abroad, so they must bring the world into their classrooms. They use English class to study other cultures the most, but it is enforced that teachers apply global learning to every content area.  The academic program at this school is based on 7 principles:

1. Work from local to global.
2. The student is the center of the learning process.
3. Classes are based on developing higher-order thinking skills.
4. Evaluation is the principle strategy for learning.
5. Research is the base of the teaching & learning process.
6. The use of technology is required in class.
7. There must be interdisciplinary comprehension of complex systems.

I intend to reevaluate my own practice to see how many of these principles I uphold.
“The Concrete Rose”
I have to say that my main lasting impression came from simply glancing up at a poster on the wall of one of the classrooms which had the three moral codes of Quechua culture in three different languages. These codes are: Do Not Lie, Do Not Steal, & Do Not Be Lazy. I plan to make these codes the law of my classroom.

• Do Not Lie- Be transparent about the help you need. Take responsibility for your actions.
• Do Not Steal- No plagiarism or copying work. Learn for yourself.
• Do Not Be Lazy- Work hard and exceed expectations. Do not give up due to difficulty or even past failures.

Besides these principles, a life changing moment occurred in class when a student told me that I had made his dream of meeting someone from abroad come true. I was honored and humbled all at once and we were both overcome with emotion. I told him that meant that it was time for him to get a new dream, but what I didn’t say was that they helped me discover a dream of mine that I didn’t know I had. I seek to travel the world now not only for recreation but to teach and learn. My life and career will never be the same. What a beautiful and unexpected rose. 

​Many of the students in Peru are facing multi-leveled adversity. If they are not poverty stricken, they may be living in remote areas of the Andes that require long treks just to attend class every day. If they are not struggling in their regular studies, they are crossing one if not two language barriers. Most of these challenges are not unfamiliar to the American student, but I noticed a clear difference in how the Peruvian scholars face these issues. The students I encountered see these problems as a source of motivation, not excuses. 

“Work Ethic”
The students at Colegio de Alto Rendimiento de Huancavelica (COAR Huancavelica) have been selected from public schools all over the country as the top performing students. They were tested academically, psychologically and socially then interviewed before being accepted into a COAR school. These schools are boarding schools that house 3rd-5th grade secondary students, which is equivalent to American 10th through 12th graders.  Many COAR schools offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for 4th and 5th grade students and are therefore using the IB curriculum and assessments that students learn through all over the world in addition to satisfying their nation’s educational requirements. More information about this public-school advanced learning initiative can be found HERE. The students of COAR Huancavelica take around 10 hours of English language learning per week and work between the hours of 7:30 am and 8:30 pm with breaks for meals and recreation. Although the students sleep in residence halls on campus, some are able to visit home on weekends or for the breaks, yet for many of them, a trip home is too expensive or unrealistic. One student would have to take a 6 hour car ride and then walk for 12 days to reach his home. He won’t be leaving until after he graduates. The students I interacted with admitted that this approach to learning was rigorous and at times intimidating. However, they were not only willing to face this challenge, they were grateful for it. By the end of their 5th grade (senior) year, they are fluent in English and equipped to compete academically at a global level.
“Attitude”
Don’t get me wrong, Peruvian students are not flawless machines. They, too, are human teenagers with social, recreational, and pop culture interests, mainly soccer and singers for the ones I talked with. Nevertheless, they surprised and impressed me in many ways:

1. Respect for ancient wisdom paired with a thirst for modern knowledge. It is rare to me that young people would hold the customs of old to such a high standard without allowing this to make them complacent. Many students spoke their native language, Quechua, to me and told me the legends of their mountains with pride. They honored their parents for upholding their customs while also studying tirelessly over articles about distant lands and learning new technologies. Many of their parents could not speak Spanish, let alone English but not one suggested that this was a disadvantage.
2. Respect for educators. They stood up when we entered the room and were patient and attentive as we instructed them. They were careful to seek permission for whatever they were doing. The most surprising part was the pride they took in pleasing us with their progress. I was treated like a celebrity daily! I think that being from the U.S. helped with that, but I did see honor being given to the teachers they see on a daily basis.
3. Blind faith in their futures. I asked students what kept them motivated to meet the school’s expectations, and their futures and well-being of their families served as the main sources of motivation. They saw learning through an advanced curriculum and becoming fluent in English as keys to career and traveling opportunities, yet most of them had no idea how they would attain these things. Some spoke about wanting to be able to solve Peru’s problems and contribute to their local communities, yet they could not identify anyone who was doing these things besides their teachers. Most students in the U.S. want to use education as a mean to a brighter future just like them, but Peruvian students are not being consistently presented with information about next step programs and scholarships. They have faith to work for things they can’t see clearly yet.

“Conclusion”
Peruvian students are either conditioned well to respect education or it is indeed a part of their common cultural identity. No matter which is more true, I was truly inspired by their determination. 

​This was the hardest question for me to answer. Do I answer for the country, for my state, my hometown, my racial subgroup, or…just…my family and I? All have distinctive differences; none of these approaches can cover it all. What would you have said? No matter how I chose to answer, I felt an overwhelming pressure to “get it right”. I wanted to make sure I didn’t play into negative stereotypes or present myself as biased. I didn’t want to come across as negative, but what if the truth isn’t as cheery as we’d like? I realized that I may be the only African American female that many may ever meet in person and this gave me an even greater sense of duty. I had this on my heart in addition to being wary of offending anyone I met. It’s so difficult to be yourself and be open when you’re this burdened. Nevertheless, I managed to tell my truth, various truths, and I learned much about myself in the process. 

​“Lesson 1”
Your truth is still the truth. Whether it’s the desired narrative or not. I learned to embrace this maybe by the third time I was asked about my culture. My disclaimer was that the USA is a tossed salad of diversity where people have all kinds of beliefs, values, and traditions. I told them about the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas being major American holidays, but that they are celebrated uniquely or not at all by many Americans. I told them about our flag and mascot but explained that each state had their own symbols to represent them. I bragged on how North Carolina is famous for pork BBQ, but I also warned them that they’d get something totally different if they ordered the same thing in the Midwest. I described being raised in a family that practices a culture of respect for elders and authorities. I shocked them with my status as an only child and intrigued them with other personal details including but also beyond my appearance. What they wanted to know about the most was how my experience and views may be different as a black woman. What do you like to be called? Is the “N-word” offensive? Do you ever experience racism? What do you think about Trump? How did you get your hair like that? Their curiosity caught me a little off guard, but I felt honored that they cared to get my American narrative as an individual since my own country at times doesn’t value minority voices. My willingness to open up, in spite of the risk of misunderstanding, gave me the opportunity to teach Peruvian teachers and students about American race relations, the civil rights movement, body art, box braids and more! I gave Greensboro, NC a bigger spot on the map by introducing them to the Greensboro Four. I gave them several stories that they may not get anywhere else, so I hope that it gave them a broader view on the American experience.
“Lesson 2”
Pain and perseverance are universal. Traveling means you get to meet people with no prior knowledge of the struggles you have faced. A fresh unbiased ear and a compassionate listener can validate your experience like no other. The beauty of humanity is that we can find common ground with strangers because of the familiar emotions we connect to when we share our stories. Although the plight of an African American family was an age old story they’d never heard, many students and teachers immediately found parallels in the treatment that the natives of their land faced at the hands of the Spanish conquerors and colonizers.
Common themes in the human experience across cultural lines are an excellent tool for helping students find ways to relate to other students in distant lands. It is important that we don’t attempt to compare or rank our respective suffering but instead just choose to respect each other’s strength and resilience. Representation matters in the curriculum, but as the instructor, we should guide students into a perspective shift that enables them to find the humanity in others that don’t look like them.

“Conclusions on the Teacher” 
​​My students, all students, have something to learn specifically from me. My experiences in Peru helped me to take more pride and interest in the uniqueness of my American experience. Whether the student was born here in the states or elsewhere, my life experiences and paradigms are valuable parts in the quilt of “our culture”. Why not tell parts of my story in my English class? Why not diversify the narratives of my supplemental selections to represent the rainbow that is humanity? Let’s study the biodiversity of a foreign neighborhood, while also teaching students to be problem solvers on their own block. The truth can vary, but it’s all worth knowing.

​One of the English tutoring students at a Lima Binational center was going down the list of the things I must experience in order to enjoy the best of Peru. According to the locals, I only missed one or two essentials during my stay in Peru. This post is dedicated to my love for Peruvian culture. First of all, I’m NOT claiming to be an expert nor do I think I could possibly communicate all that Peruvian culture entails in such an ethnically diverse and large nation. These are merely the reports of the things that stuck with me after spending three weeks in the Miraflores & Comas districts of Lima and Huancayo & Huancavelica of the highlands.

 “Food!”
One of my favorite things to do is to eat, so naturally that’s the aspect of a culture that I’m most interested in. Below I’ve compiled a gallery of some of my favorite meals and snacks from this trip along with a description or name in each caption. Peruvian cuisine is a beautiful mix of native tradition & Spanish influence with modern American updates, and just to be clear, it’s ALL good to me! Changes in ingredients and preparation styles are apparent as you move from the coasts to up into the highlands of the Andes. I’m sure it’s different in the Amazonian jungle regions as well, but I’ll have to save that experience for when I revisit Peru. Double and triple starches are coming in most meals, but the two items you’ll eat the most of are corn and potatoes. However, there are thousands of types of potatoes, and so many different ways that corn is prepared that you’ll never get bored with eating there. Rice and quinoa are the popular grains, and fresh bread and cheese fill you up in between meals. The best bread and cheese are in the highlands being sold in the streets by the farmers. I ate the fanciest in Lima, but I ate the finest in Huancavelica. The cold mountain air called for some hot drinks and comfort food. There were so many pleasant surprises, including my willingness to try some of everything! I had guinea pig or cuy, sheep, llama, and many traditional or ceremonial drinks for the first time. I missed out on eating the highland  famous pachamanca, a meat and vegetable medley that’s cooked underground, but that just gives me something to look forward to when I return. The lunch culture was the most surprising to me. As told by my host teacher, lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the Peruvian day. The portions are huge and many students leave school to meet their families for a big meal at home or in a nearby restaurant. We usually had a 2 ½ hour break from the school for lunch! They seemed so disappointed to hear that lunch is usually a myth for many teachers in the states or else rushed and unhealthy. Most days I didn’t need dinner after such a big lunch, but what I did need was a nap. 

“Faith”
The temple ruins from the Incan and Pre-Incan civilizations remain for our admiration, but the religion that permeates much of Peruvian society is Catholicism, directly credited to Spanish colonization.  The beautifully, ornate 15th century colonial cathedrals stand tall against the elements, most of which still house active parishioners. On the day I left Huancavelica, they were celebrating the Pope and other leaders of the Catholic church with parades of floats and dancing and plenty of ceremonial acts. Despite the dominance of one monotheistic religion, the customs and legends of the native faiths live on through the individuals who pass down the stories or even still pay homage to the gods of the Incas and those before them. I learned the legends or certain mountains and islands, how they came into existence. I learned the names of some of the key deities in Quechua culture such as Pachamama, which translates to Mother Earth, as well as Viracocha, the creator, and Inti, the sun god. One of the English teachers assigned to help translate for me gave a pained testimony of the complex clashing of faiths in Peru. He pointed around us at the mountains and explained that the natives believed each mountain to be a sacred protector of the people, each having their own respected name and legend attached to it, but now each peak bares a cross or for some even a small chapel planted there by the Spanish to “christen” their new territory. I could tell by the look on his face that even as a Catholic, he had mixed emotions about such a forceful cultural conquest.  In spite of it all, the customs of old are either memorialized in museums and ruins or resurrected through the people who haven’t forgotten.

“Fun”
First of all, soccer is life! Futbol or whatever name you prefer is definitely the most popular sport in Peru. I had the privilege of being there during two of Peru’s matches in the World Cup. School shuts down when Peru in playing! Everybody stops and gets to the nearest TV. The stores and cafes with TVs are full but motionless as everyone’s eyes are locked into that screen. I was in Lima for the first match. We went downtown for lunch and saw a sea of people gathered in front of the president’s palace for the game. I hate that they lost that day. I can only imagine what kind of celebration that would have been with the thousands filling up that square. Even in their disappointment, their solidarity was so impressive to me. In Huancavelica, I watched the second match at a café and then finished it at the home of one of the teachers, enjoying the hospitality of his mother. The excitement was contagious; they made a soccer fan out of me, and not just because they won that day!
Aside from soccer, they also play quite a bit of volleyball, tennis, and basketball from what I observed at schools and sports complexes. I was questioned by one boy on how he should go about getting into the NBA which was a bit of a surprise to me, disrupting the soccer only stereotype I had in mind.  There are garden and play parks, just like the States. Peruvians enjoy a diverse collection of music and entertainment. I was surprised to see a dance company perform spoof routines designed to make fun of the Spanish colonizers and then perform Spanish influenced choreography in the very next set. Just another instance of the complex culture clash this land withstands. 

“Foundation”
The Incas governed their four regions with three distinct moral codes which are displayed in every classroom in COAR Huancavelica in Spanish, Quechua, and English: Do Not Steal, Do Not Lie, and Do Not Be Lazy. Even though the Peruvian government has long since expanded on these laws, I believe that they remain to be the three pillars that secure their society. There is without question a culture of hard work and diligence in Peru from the small child to the 90 year old farmer still harvesting in the fields with her husband. There is a resourceful, entrepreneur spirit that fuels the local businesses. As a foreigner in the remote highlands, I stood out for sure! I’m an English speaking woman with African-American features, strange hair and fashion/self-expression choices, yet I felt welcomed and respected by all. Questions about my culture or appearance all seemed genuine. I will elaborate more on this in my personal reflections. Kindness is engrained into their culture, regardless of anyone’s ethnic background or lingual limitations. 

Wait what?! It was casually mentioned by our in-country consultant. Later it came up again, this time with dates: from the 80s to the early 2000s. Excuse me?! Uhhh, that’s mad recent for me to have never heard about this! These are my thoughts as I struggle to make sense of what I’m hearing. Surely they must be talking about some small scale organization that delivered more threats than attacks over those two decades. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
We had to make a stop at the US Embassy for a security briefing and another preparatory workshop. One of the security officials tells us more about the locations affected by the terrorism, but without much more detail, he moves on to discuss drug trade issues as the only current concern. It wasn’t until we met Dr. Laura Balbuena of Fulbright that we had the weight of the ugly truth dropped on us.
“A Darkened Path”
Dr. Balbuena used her presentation entitled “FROM BUREAUCRAT TO PROPHET: THE EVOLUTION OF THE SHINING PATH’S DISCOURSE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF ABIMAEL GUZMAN’S IMAGE” to explain how the terrorist organization “The Shining Path” or “Sendero Luminoso” was born and how it became a relentless infection in bloodstream of the public-school system. Some of the pictures below are from Balbuena’s presentation. Abimael Guzman was a professor of philosophy at the National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga and became the father of a Maoism endorsing, guerilla tactic using, communist extremist sect along with his wife. The teacher assembled a group of young “intellectuals” in Ayochucho, using public universities as recruitment centers through students and faculty. They then began to gain followers in the highland rural villages due to the lack of governmental representation outside of Lima. These villagers craved order in their communities, and The Shining Path offered that along with leadership opportunities for the natives in the shadows of a Spanish speaking Eurocentric elite class. Many fell for this false sense of empowerment. Other villages resisted infiltration and saw the grim consequences of refusal. One of our colleagues’ host teachers told the account of his sister being snatched from school along with other children from the community in retaliation of the village people poisoning the terrorists. These children were never seen again. The group funded their exploits through the cocaine drug trade and strengthened their reign through anonymity. The group is responsible for at least 70, 000 deaths, but the exact number of victims is unclear due to the lack of supervision in the remote rural areas of the Andes. 

“The Fatal Flaw of Education in Peru”
The more Eurocentric this nation became, the more disenfranchised the natives and Afro-Peruvians became. The education system was and still is controlled by the central government out of Lima. Back then, all instruction and materials were delivered in Spanish which alienated the Quechua and Aymara native language speakers. Despite these being terrible challenges, the greatest weakness that gave place to extremism was the crippling pedagogy. Students were taught according to the basic cognition of memorization. Thinking for themselves was not supported and critical thinking in schools didn’t exist. This made it easy for students and teachers who had been educated in the same manner to be indoctrinated with the ideology of The Shining Path. Dr. Balbuena explained that when people would debate with members of the terrorist group, they would merely repeat quotes from their text, never a thought of their own or any supported argument to defend their claims. Due to how vulnerable public universities and secondary schools were, it was assumed that if you attended schools such as these that you were somehow affiliated with The Shining Path. Some canceled or delayed their plans of higher educated or fled to less affected areas to study. The lack of access to education or adequate education was another point of vulnerability that helped the terrorists victimize the native people of the highland regions. According to Dr. Balbuena’s research, here are the breakdowns of the victim demographics: “73% Quechua speakers, 51% from Ayacucho, 34% illiterate, 48% between the ages of 10-30 years old, and 80% lived in rural areas.
“Still Healing”
Although Guzman was captured and imprisoned in 1992 and the identified, top leadership was taken out by an elite task force, attacks accredited to the Shining Path have been carried out as recently as 2017. Traces of this infection remain, and corruption within the government is still being uncovered. The schools have become vigilant about cultivating the independent minds of their students as I will reflect on soon in my posts about my time spent at an accelerated learning school in Huancavelica. The students that I encountered were not easy targets for extreme ideology. However, the access to quality instruction is not equal across the nation and the threat has not been entirely neutralized. You can read more about the history here and more about the latest relevant resurfacing here. Peru has made obvious changes to heal, but the pain of the past can be heard in the hushed tones and strained faces of survivors and researchers of Peru’s fight against terrorism.

If a cure is ever used to vanquish every trace of this disorder, I could bet that the ingredients would include: respect and inclusion for all racial/ethnic backgrounds, equal education opportunities with  an emphasis on higher order thinking, and the love of humanity that desires for all to succeed in addition to having life and liberty. 

​Now that I’ve been in Peru for 10 days, I’ve been asked all kinds of questions. Many that I didn’t expect, but none that I couldn’t answer except this one. All that came to mind in my ignorance was Machu Picchu, the Incas, and Lima as the capital of the country. For many Americans, this is the extent of our knowledge. Our textbooks and teachers did not seem to take much interest in Peru. While my prior knowledge was all true, I had much to learn that a tourism visit would have never taught me. I had come to this country for a purpose: to teach but more importantly, to learn. Allow me share some of the most impacting things I’ve learned.

“Before the Incas”
Many of us have heard of the great Inca Empire who ruled the Peruvian lands and other nearby territories. The civilization that is responsible for the amazing 15th century Machu Picchu ruins and possessed an abundance of gold. What I didn’t know was that there were MANY native tribes that inhabited these lands before being conquered by the Incas. The oldest known tribe was the Caral people who reigned from 1,600-3,000 B.C.E. Read more about the Pre-Inca tribes here. The Incas divided the land into four regions: Antisuyo, Contisuyo, Chinchaysuyo, & Collasuyo, known as El Tahuantinsuyo, making their empire the most extensive domain in the history of pre-Columbian America. The fame of the Incas tends to overshadow the previous tribes, but some of the art and the ruins we enjoy are the works of those before them.

​“200 Spaniards vs Millions= Colonization?”
It’s obvious which European nations got the upper hand around the world based on what the official language is, so it was no mystery to me that Spain colonized the land of Peru before it became its own nation. What I hadn’t considered was HOW the arrival of around 200 Spaniards could dismantle an empire of Millions of Incas. The fall of the Incan Empire was due to a family feud between brothers for kingship! Spain was motivated by gold greed, but the lack of unity among the Incan leadership lead to their demise. The story of this take over is full of dramatics and worth the research!

​“Africans in Peru?!”
Any new information on the African Diaspora is of great value to me as an African American. I grieve over the lives lost during the transatlantic slave trade, admire the strength of the survivors who endured and even overcame slavery, and reverence the accomplishments of the free descendants of slaves who made such a life as mine possible. The Peruvian teacher who educated the American teachers on Peruvian history when we arrived, showed us images of the many faces of Peru, and much to my surprise, I saw myself and my family in some of those faces. The Spanish brought Africans over to Peru as early as 1527 as slaves that they used to help them conquer the natives. Another phase of Peruvian slavery served to supply plantation workers in Latin America and miners when the natives began to flee deeper into the jungle to escape their own enslavement. Slaves in Peru typically came from Angola, Senegambia, and Sierra Leone. As disease and harsh work claimed the lives of many natives, Africans were used to fill their roles as slaves for the Spanish until they were freed in 1854 under President Ramón Castilla. The complicated relations between the natives, the Africans, and the Spanish can be explored further HERE. Today, many Afro-Peruvians live along the coast and maintain many of the customs of their African heritage. They celebrate their history in June. 

“Post-Colonial Peru”
Peru’s Independence Day is July 28th, 1821. They have a population of about 32 million with around a third of them living in Lima, the busy capital. The results of colonization, slavery, and immigration can be seen in the diverse faces of Peru. The remnants of the native empires are memorialized in the ruins, but live on through their descendants, many of whom still speak the native languages of Quechu and Aymara and uphold their customs. The Catholic cathedrals still stand where they were placed by the Spanish. Such a complex and intriguing past makes Peru worthy of investigation. 

I find connections and contrasts that make me glad that I did not enter their classrooms with the narrow perspective of the average tourist. 

For my very first international teaching/PD experience, Teachers for Global Classrooms has assigned me to the beautiful South American country of Peru!!! I arrived just two days ago, but I am amazed at how much I have learned in such a short amount of time. Under this section of the site, I will be sharing what I learn, what I see, and what I teach while I'm here. Follow this blog for a free ticket to my Peruvian Professional Development whether you are an educator like me or a cultural enthusiast like me. The TGC program challenges us to select a research question that can guide us through our experience even if we don't come to a clear conclusion in the end. Here's mine:

Okay, so I cheated a little and my question is two-fold. I just feel that it's important to look at both sides of topic of academic motivation: that of the student and the teacher. Sometimes what works for one means nothing to the other. In spite of this question, I plan to investigate much more about this country from the perspective of a tourist and a teacher.

If you were here on a three week culture binge like me, what would be your top question? Comment below and share your thoughts. I may be able to get answers for us all!

Right now, I'm in Lima, learning about the nation's history and education system. My next post will cover some of the highlights with some pics and videos to go with it, so stick with me! This weekend, I will travel to Huancavelica for my school assignment. I'm excited and a bit overwhelmed with the responsibility of representing myself, my school, and my nation well. Visit my general ed. blog to understand my concerns about delivering the proper narrative. As I kick off this journey, I wear this bi-national unity pin proudly and set my intention to return to the states having sown as many seeds as possible and picked as many roses as I could from Peru's concrete.