October 23, 2015
Beyond the Classroom: Student Strikes and a Lesson in Education
As a Spanish major with a focus in Latin American Studies, Tessa was excited to test her skills at her summer internship at the University of Alberto Hurtado in Santiago, Chile. Going into her internship, she was determined to make a difference as an educator and working with professors in the English Pedagogy department seemed like the perfect position to learn and influence others. However, she quickly learned how the politics of education complicates even simple day to day tasks for students and educators alike, when many Chilean university students across the country went on strike. In this panel Tessa will discuss the complexities of higher education and how it is greatly affected by the context and situations that surround it, namely Latin America and the Chilean education system. She will also reflect on the unexpected personal and professional growth she experienced while living in Chile. Tessa expected to make a difference in the classroom, only to be met with passionate students who taught her more about education, not in a typical setting, but by being activists for social change.
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