Connecting Teachers with Latino Students

In light of the growing presence of Latinos in the Durham community, teachers from two Durham County public schools, Lakewood and Burton Elementary Schools traveled to Guanajuato, Mexico this past summer to help understand the cultural background of their Hispanic students. The trip is part of a "Connecting Stories" program, sponsored by the Office of Durham and Regional Affairs at Duke and with the assistance of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

The program collaborates with educators and administrators from local and regional communities to plan opportunities for hands-on learning about Latin America and the Caribbean. Through teacher travel tours, ultimately designed as teacher research initiatives, educators strive to develop an understanding of the issues within the country that they are visiting.

At the weeklong Teacher Study Tour in Mexico, the teachers stayed with families in Guanajuato, visited schools and students from the region, and completed assignments to help them develop curriculum to use in their own classrooms. The tours also helped teachers incorporate aspects of Mexican culture into their curriculums.

In addition to organizing the tour, the "Connecting Stories" Outreach and Engagement Office conducted a series of preliminary workshops, which introduced the historical, political, social and cultural aspects of Mexico and the interconnections to the United States.

These workshops included panel and group discussions with Mexican immigrant students and parents who are currently living in North Carolina.

More information on Teacher Travel Tours can be found at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies website.