The video conference format was structured like a daisy chain in which a painting was held up to the camera and the artist’s name called. The artist answered questions about the artwork and everyday life, and in turn held up a painting from the partner school for that side to answer questions, and so the conversation continued back and forth in this manner.

Miguel Barreto facilitated the conference through Creative Connections, a non-profit cultural exchange organization. The project, Rainforest ArtLink: “How does the environment affect one’s culture? This innovative Artlink program features the formation of unique classroom partnerships between students from the United States and countries in the rainforest regions of Latin-America. Partner classes exchange art on an environmental theme and are given the opportunity to question their partners in a live video- or tele-conference. Given the unique location of the international partner classes the dialogue focuses on the impact of environment on culture.” (from website)

The usual hurdles of scheduling and bandwidth issues proved no match for either school. Guatemala’s side was undaunted by scheduling and location changes. The students with teachers,

Verónica Caraveo and Jorge Rodriguez, traveled two hours to a new location with hardwire Internet access in order to make this happen. We are so appreciative of their effort and gracious manners. Suffern was dealing with end of year exams and shortened days, but our students showed tremendous enthusiasm and made sure their teachers knew they had an important event to attend.

Shyness disappeared as Miguel put both sides at ease with gentle humor and skillful translation.

These conversations among young people around the world are imperative. The knowledge gained about other cultures, our similarities and differences, the importance and impact of the physical environment, basic geography and an awareness that although there are many different ways of life, we all share the same smiles and feelings, this is vital for deep understanding and respect throughout the world.

From Barbara Biddy: Our students learned that communication doesn’t always have to be verbal. It can be done through art, body language, or just big smiles, which were exchanged by all the children. It was so much fun to watch how the children listened intently to Miguel translate.  In the words of one of our students, “It was a cool experience.”

For more pictures go to Flickr

Cordialmente,

Miguel Barreto, Coordinador Proyecto ArtLink

El Caoba, Flores, Peten, Guatemala

Verónica Caraveo and Jorge Rodríguez

Miguel Barreto from Creative Connections surprised us by showing up in person. I had thought he was joining us virtually, but this was even better. We were all set to connect but the Internet did not cooperate and so we rescheduled for next Tuesday, June  21 at 10:00 EST. The students in Guatemala will have to travel one hour to a location with a hard wire connection. We appreciate the efforts of all parties involved, especially the previous test calls with teachers Verónica Caraveo and Jorge Rodríguez . It takes tremendous teamwork, time, and careful planning to make these events happen. The rewards are worth all the work if our younger generation can experience talking to one another.

We are teaching our children how to solve problems, how to persevere, and how to turn every situation into a teachable moment. Looking forward to Tuesday.

Test Call previous Day with Miguel, Verónica Caraveo, Jorge Rodríguez, Donna Lappetito, Barbara Biddy and me,  Eleanor Schuster.