Culture and Education

Let's talk about Culture and Education. The two subjects are very important to me because I love my culture and learning about someone else's culture and I love Education and learning more about how education can open many doors to many people.  

I am a Latina woman. Dominican-American. I was born in Providence, Rhode Island but grew up speaking Spanish at home. Everything I did was in Spanish or Dominican slang or Dominican. I ate rice and beans, platano, mangu. Listened to Merengue, Salsa and Bachata. With only one television at home, night time was for watching telenovelas. Thalia was my favorite actress at that time. Juan Luis Guerra, Los Toro Band, Las Chicas del Can was a few of my merengue favorites. Anthony Santos was the Bachata king at that time. I can go on with my list because for the first five years before attending kindergarten, I was Dominican while living in the United States. We also had the privilege to travel to the Dominican Republic to visit our grandparents and the beautiful country. I remember the chickens, chicks, roaming our grandparents backyard. The rooster waking us up early in the morning, The cows and horses, the beautiful vegetable garden. The trees with mangos, pears, the platanos trees. The hammock to relax. Taking showers outside while a frog was waiting to jump and I’m running with my towel on because I was scared of the frog. Sleeping in mosquito nets every night. Driving through beautiful green mountains. Going to Santiago (second biggest city in DR) and walking around and shopping, if not for clothes for delicious foods. Going to the beaches in Puerto Plata. Visiting more cousins and family in Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is the site of the first university, cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress in the New World. “Racially, the population of the island (more than 7 million) is a mixture of black, white, and mestizo. The African and African-Cuban influence is deeply present in the song and dance of the island, with merengue the dominant beat, typically played by a three-person group”. http://www.dominicanrepublic.com/dominican-people/

All of this because my Parents and family gave us the opportunity to experience our culture at an early age. After attending Kindergarten, I was confused, I had to learn a new language, this was a new experience for me, I was scared because I did not know what to expect. All I knew is that we had the privilege to have a great and kind Kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Gusti was her name and until this day, she has impacted my life tremendously. Staying after school a few extra minutes to help me read was beneficial and important. Not only did she do this with me but also my brothers when they attended school. I have always said it, One person can make a difference and change someone's’ life forever.  Years later, after I was at C.C.R.I. while doing community service at an elementary school, I saw my favorite K teacher being a substitute teacher and then we spoke about our goals and ideas. She inspired me to try acting and move to New York City, which I was happy that I did. I then attended R.I.C and studied Theater and the Arts. After graduating from R.I.C, I then traveled to Italy for three weeks and then came back to RI and decided to move to New York because of the impact that Mrs. Gusti inspired me to do. For those three years, I had the best experience of my lifetime. I learned, grew, and explored the artist in me. I substitute taught, waitress, audition here and there, meet new new people that helped me with my dreams and goals.

After almost 4 years, I decided to move back home to be closer to my family, friends and now husband. Worked as a Caseworker and that opened my eyes to social injustice between communities, homes, etc. The psychology of nature vs. nurture came into perspective. I then reflected and knew that my real passion was working with children within the classroom. Until one day, one of my friends mentioned about a program at UMASS Boston to receive a Master’s degree in Education. I applied and got accepted. That one and a half year was intense, commuting to and from Boston each day was draining but the experience of working with one of the best mentor teachers was another great experience that I ever had. She was and is a passionate, creative, loving and  great teacher. I learned that the way we speak to others has plenty of impact. Education is not only academics. Education is about building relationships, being kind, compassionate, loving the kids like if they were our own. Getting to know the kids and their families, being creative, being fun, talking about life, about respecting each other, about social skills, about dreaming big, about setting goals while teaching academics.

Being a teacher, a parent, a Mom is a lot more than hoping for the best. It is communicating with the kids, it is about getting to know who they are, what they want in life. It is about showing and modeling respect. It is about the small picture while looking at the big picture as well. My job doesn’t stop in the summer, it continues because my most important job is at home. At home with my children and loving my time with them. It is about creating memories, about giving them one-on-one time. About hugs, kisses, about compassion. Summer is not a time where I sit on the couch and eat potato chips. It’s about going outside, about enjoying the sun, about taking care of the garden, about looking at the vegetables grow, the flowers grow, the butterflies, the birds, the desire to see your home being loved.

While summer is almost ending, I am here, taking some time to reflect on life. I still have time to enjoy my days off with my little ones, with my husband, with our family. This day, I took some few hours to decompose myself and have a vision of what is coming up next. Planning for my future students while also planning that my kids also receive love, inclusion and academics skills that they deserve. I am excited to enter a new position in my teaching career as a Dual Language educator but at the same time reflecting the importance of how I need to continue to speak to my children in my own native language. Even with all this hate or message that some people might be spreading throughout America. I believe that if we continue to celebrate each other, then more LOVE, INCLUSION, DIVERSITY will be celebrated.

-Deidania Peña-DaRosa

August 18, 2017