What’s your ISP?

For the past two months that’s been the question of this program. Everyone wanted to know how we were going to spend our final month…what we were going to study…and where were we going to study.

SIT is unlike many study abroad programs because classes aren’t taken at one specific university, instead we had lots of academic excursions and had seminars with academics, teachers, organizers, and students, and the final month of the program each student is required to complete a research project (or because this program focuses on education you could also do a practicum). So ISP stands for Independent Study Project…and we can choose to do this ISP in any of the place we’ve been on the program (so Valparaiso, Temuco, Buenos Aires or Santiago).

I choose to come back to Santiago and study: what does “progressive” education look like in Santiago and where is popular education taking place. I am sure that the education I saw in Santiago during the first month wasn’t the only education students are receiving (read “They are out of control.”).

So I’m planning to use Freire and others theorists who write about the importance of a tangible meaningful education…as the foundation to my essay…and then for three weeks I’ll visit a bunch of schools or institutions..observe classes and interview lots of people. One public school that is based in a community of resistance and organizing. A semiprivate school that my host mom works at. Another charter-like school who’s mission statement is “educar para la paz” (educate for the peace). A private school that the “elite” liberals sent their kids to. A Montessori or Waldorf school to have a “theory” based school. And some non-traditional forms of education…organizations that implements the ideals of Paulo Freire, an anarchist organization and a community communication station (TV, Radio, Documentary film making) that teaches young people how to use these mediums.

That’s what I’ll be doing for the next month. Sweet way to get college-credit.