“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” ~Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
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The Russian New Year celebrations found me in Nicaragua, sharing memorable moments with my families from Providence and Olas de esperanza, and celebrating another year of fruitful collaborations among Providence College students and El Manzano youth. Conversations about connecting communities across borders have been prevalent within the Global Studies program at Providence College and has recently inspired me to expand its outreach in order to get St-Petersburg folks involved in the Waves of Hope venture. We, globalistas, aspire to engage learners in study abroad experiences that have a meaningful impact in local dynamics. The mission of our program understands that students and instructors, working side by side, need to interact in authentic cultural settings locally and internationally in order to gain a global perspective, and expects us all to participate in project-based initiatives that foster a deeper appreciation for cultural diversity.
| Our commitment to service-learning inspired us to fully explore the potential of collaborative learning beyond traditional classroom boundaries and establish partnerships with NGOs working with Hispanic populations in the Providence area and Latin American countries to address educational challenges and promote sustainable practices in connection to art education, reading and writing literacy. Community engagement at the local level and abroad enables us to learn about and practice reciprocal relationships, and to cultivate our linguistic understanding and intercultural awareness. |  "Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy.” ~Shel Siverstein, The Giving Tree |
Involving Russian college students with English and Spanish linguistic backgrounds in the literacy week project we co-developed with Waves of Hope would be incredibly powerful –as it would offer an additional perspective to the kaleidoscope of experiences we are weaving from different angles, and it would enrich the variety of expertise and personal strengths brought into the partnership. My Russian courageous teachers have demonstrated such depth in understanding intercultural relationships and a genuine interest in engaging with youth in international rural settings that are unknown to their mostly urban experiences. Service-learning is still a young practice in the Russian university curriculum, and students could act as facilitators for future conversations around its implementation and serve as agents of change.
 The prospects of such expanded partnership are exhilarating, and gathering around ‘the giving tree’ for conversation and intellectual exploration would gain a new purpose of reimagining educational spaces and enacting connections that would truly foster a more organic approach to education where participants contribute meaningfully to the learning of all involved.  | The cohort of North-American and Russian students participating in the Waves literacy project would foster a deeper sense of cultural awareness, as learners would experience different facets of cultural immersion –within the Nicaraguan local community as well as within the student community to be formed abroad, blending perspectives from the west and the east that will collide in the common objectives of serving, learning and connecting.  LISTEN to the MUSTN'ts, by Shel Siverstein |
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