My colleague Wendy and I have been visiting many different Social Studies classes this week at Colegio Jose Joaquin Castro Martinez. In some classes we taught and in others we just answered questions from students. I cannot tell you how amazing the questions and how satisfying the dialogue has been. Of course we have been asked the typical questions by students "are you married?" and "do you have children?" It's just the student's way of getting to know us.
But we have also been asked incredibly thoughtful questions about education and life in the US. "Is there racism in the US?", "what is US foreign policy on Cuba and Venezuela?", "what is health care like?" and "what do you think of Obama?" Can most Americans name the president of Colombia? Probably not. Poignantly, after the end of one discussion a group of about five students came up to Wendy and I and asked us about gay and lesbians students in the US, how they are treated in schools and society. I am just really blown away by the thoughtful and smart students we have worked with this week! The questions were great!