Cuba: Education and Social Justice
Leaders and academic scholars worldwide have consistently confirmed that Cuba has a very successful education system where all students have the opportunity to attend and excel in school. While there are a multitude of cited factors that lead to quality and equitable education in Cuba, one of the most prominent factors is the relationship formed between schools and communities. Participants on this Alternative Spring Break will be able to explore the impact of community-school partnerships in Cuba and the United States. By analyzing these two nations’ education systems through a social justice lens, participants will learn about and question the social, political and economic structures and contradictions that exist in American and Cuban societies, and discuss ways in which they can act against situations that lead to the oppression of students and communities.
Trip participants will investigate how teachers and schools can partner with families and community organizations to further promote students’ academic successes and empower community members to play a role in the schooling system. Before and after the trip, participants will strive to connect students and schools with untapped community and human resources in their local communities in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DC area).
Trip Issues:
Education has been and will continue to be one of the greatest social justice issues of past, current and future generations. Cuba’s education system lies within a developing economy, yet it maintains schools that are said to be equal to or surpass the achievement of those in highly developed countries. Given Cuba’s impressively high literacy rates, participants will be challenged to consider whether literacy alone translates into being well-educated and how access to resources and information impacts learning.
John Dewey once said, “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children.”
A significant body of research indicates that cooperative relationships between the home and school enhance student outcomes. In Cuba, teachers actively participate in their community. These consistent and powerful interactions between the community and school are significant factors in the academic success of Cuban schoolchildren. In the United States, the community is often alienated from the school system and consequently lacks meaningful relationships and power in their children‘s education. Let’s work together to change this!
Service:
Because Cuban regulations prohibit foreigners from engaging in education-related service projects, participants on this trip will engage in service activities in the DC area. Before the trip, participants will partner with a school or organization that strives to connect families and the community with schools. We envision participants getting trained on parental empowerment and community engagement by Teaching for Change and assisting in their Tellin’ Stories Project. Students will also volunteer with parental resource centers and other community-school programs in the DC area. Additionally, we will encourage participants to design and lead a workshop for the DC Parent Academy and to present their findings before pre-service teachers after the trip.
About the Student Leaders…
Monica Shah is pursuing her MA in International Training and Education with a concentration in Global Education. She is also working towards her graduate teaching certificate in secondary Spanish and an endorsement in Social Studies.
Jessica Guttenberg is a graduate student in the School of Education, Teaching, and Health. She is studying International Training and Education (ITEP) with a concentration in Global Education. This past spring she traveled with AU to Yola, Nigeria to research their formal education system.
Sample Itinerary (subject to change):
The Center for Global Education (CGE) at Augsburg College is working with us to develop our itinerary. We will be hosted by El Centro Memorial Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Havana, Cuba. The MLK Center actively promotes progressive change and social responsibility throughout Cuba and provides popular education training programs and workshops to empower Latin Americans as social change agents.
Saturday, March 10
Airport Arrival on Marazul-Havana Airport
Meeting with MLK staff: orientation and introduction
Sunday, March 11
Tour Revolution Plaza and historical sites in Havana
Monday, March 12
Visit to rural school
Return to Havana
Go to US Interest Section for a briefing
Jazz Jam Session at the Gardens of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba
Tuesday, March 13
Meeting with MLK Founder and Congressman Rev. Raúl Suárez
Visit to the Latina American Medical School
Trip to the Literacy Museum/talk with a member of the literacy brigades
Tour of the Malecón (seafront) of Havana
Wednesday, March 14
School Visit: Solidaridad con Panamá
Visit to a Children's Circle: Los Tabitos
Visit to a Beginning Music School Alejandro G. Caturla
Thursday, March 15
Meet with officials of the Ministry of Education
Visit to the University of Havana
Tour Marina Hemingway
Friday, March 16
Visit to teacher-training institute
Visit to the Cuban Pedagogic Association
Meeting at the University for Adults/holistic neighborhood workshop—
a Cuban Project to better underprivileged neighborhoods
Saturday, March 17
Final Reflection
Evaluations, packing, free time
Arrive at airport for departure to Miami
