CRFS - Final Reflection: Friendships Without Technology

From what I heard from most of the students on our trip, the partner organization that we enjoyed working with the most was Del Mar Academy. While there were a number of reasons for this, for me, it was the connections that we made with the students who go to a school so much like our own. I heard over and over comments from my peers about how friendly and welcoming the students at Del Mar were, and how much we liked them and their school. I think that it is remarkable that we were able to build these connections in only two days.

It is a fundamental part of human nature to find people with whom you share something in common and connect with them very quickly. However, in our normal environment, I feel that many things get in the way of this, and we do not make these connections with each other as quickly or as easily. One of my guesses as to the reason behind this is technology. At home, we have limitless access to our phones, computers, video games, TV, and more. This helps us in the sense that we can keep ourselves constantly occupied and keep in contact with anyone at any time, but I think that it also limits our abilities to make deep and meaningful connections with the people around us. There is a lot of research being published that says similar things. I don’t think that I need to reference any of this research in this reflection though, because in my opinion, our time at Del Mar academy supported this point. We did not have our phones on this trip, and the students at Del Mar were not allowed to have their phones out at school so we were forced to communicate in person. This lead to a more in-depth connection between us because we were not constantly distracted by notifications on our phones and computers while we were trying to make friends. I believe that this is also the reason that we are not allowed to bring phones on any of our school trips; it forces us to actually get to know each other in person instead of through Instagram or Snapchat.

I think that this knowledge that ignoring our phones for a little while leads to deeper connections can be used in our everyday life at home. It is easier to make friends when you have a person’s full attention and they have yours. Thinking back on things that I know I have often done during conversations, it is probably incredibly distracting and discouraging for a person who is trying to talk to or get to know you if you pull out your phone to check your texts or snapchats. It sends the message that you don’t care what they have to say, closely seconded by you don’t care about them, and since friendship is based on caring for one another, this leads to a pretty rocky start.

For all humans, but high schoolers especially, friendships, both new and old, are important. This is why we should focus more on keeping our computers closed and our phones in our pockets when we are talking to each other, both at school, on trips, when visiting other schools, and just in general. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be allowed to have our phones at school, but we should keep in mind that texting while someone is talking to us sends a bad message. For Post Oak specifically, I think that a good place to start with making deeper connections to the people around us is to try not using our phones or computers at all at school during orientation week at the beginning of the year. This might be difficult for some, but that week is really important for welcoming and making friends with new students to our school, which strengthens our community, and just keeps a happy, friendly cycle going.

I think that this part of our trip relates to Activity and Learning Outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance. I would consider making friends to be an activity, and while technology is good in many ways, it can inhibit this, which is a big issue.

CRFS - Photo Blog Day 6: A Study of Biodiversity

Carly writes her group's questions about biodiversity.

Ilan, Ashwin, and Henry work on their questions.

Jerson, our guide for the day, shows us a centipede that someone spotted.

We got to climb up a tower above the tree line that had amazing views. 

Izzie, Destiny, and Andrew enjoy the hike through the Santa Elena reserve. 

Sydney and Kayley enjoy some delicious gluten-free brownies that one of our guides made for us.

Eleanor enjoys hiking through the gorgeous cloud forest. 

Andrew and Ilan attempt (unsuccessfully) to lighten their hair with lemon juice. 

Henry feeds the goats at Cafe Monteverde. 

Some of the groups present their findings on biodiversity in the Santa Elena reserve versus Cafe de Monteverde. 

Sydney, Izzie, and Destiny had a great day at Cafe de Monteverde. 

Everyone enjoys their ice cream (made with local milk!) after the long day.

     I think that this day relates to Activity and Learning Outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance. Biodiversity or lack thereof is very important in every environment. Our hike and project in the afternoon showed us how hard but how important it is to define and study biodiversity in different communities.

CRFS - Reflection Day 3: Field Day

     We spent most of today at Del Mar Academy, and we had such an amazing time. It was their Field Day, so we were to split up into teams and participate in all the races and games that they did. We also spent a long time talking to the students during the breaks between games, recess, and lunch. This was a really great opportunity to learn more about their school and life in Costa Rica in general. I think that we were all amazed at how friendly everyone was (as well as how many languages they spoke), and they were happy to answer any questions we had about school, stress, surfing, etc. The biggest takeaway I have had from talking to the students is that our school and everyone in it is so similar to Del Mar Academy, but the fact that our school is in a city of more than 4 million people makes an incredible difference.
     One of the big differences is that most of their buildings are partially open, and they are outside a lot of the time during the day. We were also somewhat surprised to learn that a lot of the students go surfing in the morning every day before school. They don't have any sports teams at their school that play against other schools, but only do sports during PF. They also only have one campus (which is pretty big), and all grades PK - 12 use the same buildings. There are many other differences and several similarities, including our size and the fact that we are both Montessori-IB schools, but the overall takeaway is that location really does make a difference.

     I think that today falls under Activity and Learning Outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. Their field day was very active, consisting of a lot of sports and games (which were super fun). At first, I was not very into it since my team consisted of no kids from our school or anyone my age. I kept playing though, and after a few games, I started having a lot of fun, and got to talk to people my age on each of the teams we played against.

CRFS - A Day in the Life 2: A Brand New Partnership

Today was our first full day in Costa Rica! We started off by getting to sleep in a little after our late night yesterday. After breakfast, we went to Del Mar Academy. It has a large, half-outside campus, which was really beautiful. We got a tour and then jumped right into taking classes with the students. 

During the two classes we took with them we all split up into different tables so that we could talk to some of the students. I was surprised to learn that most of them spoke English, Spanish and were learning or already knew another language. This made it pretty easy to communicate, and most of the students were more than happy to talk with us and tell us about their school. It is a Montessori IB school, and we were shocked to learn how similar it is to Post Oak. 

Our first class was art with the 8th through 10th graders. The project was to each paint a small oxcart wheel to be used later for a project the class was making. The students showed us how to do the first part, and then we got to use our own patterns for the details. After this we ate lunch and played basketball with the students. Apparently knockout is a common game everywhere. 

After lunch and recess we went to a 9th grade social studies class. They were working on a project to put pressure on the government to pass a law banning single-use plastic. It reminded me a lot of an IHSS challenge project. The group of girls I worked with was making an informational video about the law that challenged people to reduce their own use of single-use plastic. Destiny also showed them how to use iMovie so that they could teach it to the rest of their class. 

Throughout the day we learned a lot about the school and became more and more convinced that it was so similar to our own. We had a really great time and are very excited to go back tomorrow. 

On our way home we bought coconuts and got to drink the water out of them which was amazing. Once we got back we went swimming in a super fancy pool on top of the mountain next to where we’re staying. After that we ate dinner and went out and got smoothies. Overall, it was a great day. 

      I think that this day connects to Creativity and Learning Outcome 1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth. In the art class especially, we had to be creative with our project. Art is not my strong suit, but I can still come up with a lot of ideas, I just have more difficulty pulling them off. Another challenge is my Spanish skills. I was expecting the students to speak only spanish, and I felt like I would not be able to communicate with them. This trip made me more motivated to get better at Spanish.

Volunteering at The River

       This Saturday, I volunteered at The River again. We are only a few weeks away from this semester's recital, so everyone is working hard. I am still working with the 13-17 age group, and I am having a great time. I feel like I have grown a lot this semester from working with a different age group from usual. There are a lot more kids in this group, so it took me a while to adjust, but I feel like I have really gotten to know these kids, and I now understand how best to motivate them to work hard during their classes, and still get them to have fun.
       I think my work at The River this weekend demonstrate Creativity and Learning Outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. Working with a different age group was difficult at first this semester, but I have had a lot of fun with them, and I feel like I have grown in the process.