The Rural Schools in Uruguay- Maldonado-June 11, 2024

Today our group visited two unique schools within Uruguay. These schoolas are called rural schools and they embody the one room schoolhouse concept. There is usually one teacher and maybe a cook. There are 32 of these schools in the Montevideo department, and a dynamic travelling principal oversees and supports these schools. They can have as few as one student or as many as 20. The first school we went to, about an hour out of Maldonado, was School 29. There were 12 students, 3 sibling groups and they were aged 6-11 years old and one teacher. When we walked in there was a crackling fire in the fireplace as children bustled about. The walls were painted in tones of gold and red, with a colorful tile floor. It truly looked like a picture book. Each school in Uruguay has full connectivity and takes advantage of both CEIBAL and ANEP, as well as other online coursework. As a city kid, this model captured my heart. You can imagine the family and love that the teachers and students exuded for us and for each other. The students performed a Candombe dance for us, and we presented our slideshows for them. They loved the presentation on Alaska from Myla, learned about Michigan from Sarah, and did the Wiggle Dance with Kim. After presentations, I led them in a short book making art project. We then settled in for gift giving and visiting.

The second school was an all girls boarding school. This school serves a vulnerable population and draws students from much further away. It's about 20 students with several staff, including a person who stays there with the girls. Again, the love and care showed through. We did all of our presentations again and the girls put on a play, "The History of School N. 15." It was a lovey play and there were Bravo's all around. A word about my Spanish here. I prepared as well as I could for the language, but after many days I feel mentally exhausted and I am finding it more difficult to find the words. It's a bit frustrating, but this is the reality. The last highlight of the visit was a trip to their yard where we tried to befriend their chickens, ducks, bunnies and sweet burro. None of us wanted to leave this place.