This past Spring, I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic to serve as a Tucker Fellow in the small town of Cabarete on the northern coast. My job was to run a library that had been set up in the town's public grammar school. Prior to my fellowship, two Tucker Fellows had gone to this placement in the Caribbean Islands. My term there completed a full year of Dartmouth students working in the school. The two previous students had told me what an amazing experience it had been for them. I did not really know what to expect, but I hoped that the experience would be as wonderful for me as it had been for them. And it was.
There are two sessions per day in the overcrowded classrooms of La Escuela Puerto Cabarete. In the morning the students range from fourth to eighth grade and in the afternoon there are classes from kindergarten to sixth grade. I was surprised to find that I had my own workspace, a small building located behind the school. The shelves were stocked with all kinds of supplies, including about 275 books. As I settled into my new environment, I struggled to find a way to bring some sort of organization to the chaos that seemed to reign there. I would take small groups of students from their classes and work with them individually on a variety of different activities. Most often we worked on reading and writing, skills that many students really needed to practice. I also tried to give English lessons, however there were too many students and too many needs to concentrate on both.
There were many bumps along the way and the first of them was the language barrier. The Dominican Spanish was a variety very different from what I had learned. My Spanish was very formal and the students and I often miscommunicated. However, after only a few weeks, I found myself picking up their expressions and the students comprehending more clearly what I wanted to do with them. Many times they came to the library looking for a break from their schoolwork and were disappointed when they discovered that the project I planned was a book report. We often compromised by creating a project that involved art as well as reading and writing.
This fellowship would be a wonderful experience for anyone willing to dedicate themselves to the task. It was so fulfilling to see the students' eagerness to do a project, to talk, and even to help me sweep out the room at the end of the day. Each day, when I hopped the barbed wire fence into the school yard, the children came running up asking me if I would come to their class that day. For many, the library was the bright spot in their day.
I feel that the work that has been done in Cabarete by the Tucker Fellows is extraordinary. By setting up this on-going fellowship, we have the opportunity to become a long-lasting positive influence in the lives of Cabarete's youth, to give them the extra attention they need. In a crowded classroom with as many as fifty students to one teacher, there are many who slip through the cracks. There are many who do not realize how valuable their education is. These children are eager to learn. I cannot forget the disappointment on their faces when I told them that I did not know if another Dartmouth student would be coming in the Fall. I know that as soon as the school year starts they will be watching out the classroom windows, waiting for the next volunteer who comes to unlock the library, that in their eyes holds so many treasures.
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