A Discussion with Wendy Montenegro Chávez, Teacher, Fe y Alegría #58, Jicamarca, Lima, Peru

With: Wendy Montenegro Chávez Berkley Center Profile

May 22, 2013

Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in summer 2013 undergraduate student Nick Dirago interviewed Wendy Montenegro Chávez, a teacher at Fe y Alegría #58 in Jicamarca, Lima, Peru. In this interview Chávez discusses her path to the Fe y Alegría schools, the differences between Fe y Alegría schools and other schools in Peru, and the notion of social inclusion.

How long have you been teaching at this school? What was your path to teaching here?

I’ve been teaching here for eight years. I was always looking to work in a different kind of school than the private schools. The objective that they pursued was different than the formation I had grown up with. In the university, I was brought up with certain parameters, but the reality in our country is different. I liked the Fe y Alegría system. When I got here, we only had up to fifth grade. I had a personal interview with Ms. Patricia. She explained to me what they’re looking for in a teacher, and I thought they were the qualities that I had. I’d been in another Fe y Alegría school; I’d been in a private school… I asked for the opportunity to be a part of this institution, and she accepted with one condition: I had to pass a test, which was teaching a class with students, and she wanted to observe how I worked with them. I think she saw in me certain qualities that she was looking for: that I worked with the students with care, allowing them to learn and develop discipline. Much love and much discipline.

You mentioned a difference between the private schools and something like Fe y Alegría. Can you elaborate on those differences?

Fe y Alegría works with a vision that breaks down into three pillars. The first is to give students a quality popular education. The second is to prepare them for life in work, so we have the workshops. The last is education in values, and that’s what I didn’t find in the private schools. I was working in a middle-class school. The families had economic solvency. And I wanted to teach students sometimes that what they were doing wasn’t okay, that a student wasn’t behaving well or respecting others. But they told me not to mess with that stuff [bad behavior], because both parents were paying for the education and they don’t like that the school is calling that stuff to attention. How is the child going to learn that way? I realized that that wasn’t what I wanted. I finished out the year, but I started looking for a Fe y Alegría school. I’ve been here for eight years, and I’m very happy working here.

So in the private schools, education can become something that you buy rather than a tool for self-improvement?

Unfortunately, yes.

Can you talk about this idea of reading reality and how you accomplish it at this school?

I think the proximity of our school to the community helps us understand their reality. We’re very attentive to the circumstances of our students. We have very close contact with them. We understand that they face big challenges. We see that there’s very deep poverty. They don’t have basic needs—running water, electricity. But we also know that they can change their reality. We start from their reality. They see that it’s part of life, but it’s going to be on them whether their family moves forwards or stays here. In their hands and in their minds is the possibility to change all this, to change their lives and change their family and improve their community. This community lives in very precarious circumstances… but that’s the way it is. We teachers are conscious of this and that it all depends on whether these students can improve their lives. The students understand their life project. They know that they’re going to do something to help their families and their communities.

As a teacher, do you think the students have developed their self-esteem and sense of being capable once they arrive to your class [in secondary school]?

Yes, I think that our students are prepared for the challenges that they’ll face in their lives. We teachers are always trying to listen to [students] more and figure out what challenges they’re facing. There is a lot of coordination [among faculty] in the process, and we try to figure out what is best for them. We try to respond to their concerns.

“Social inclusion” is a buzzword here in Peru. Do you think richer and poorer students could be integrated into the same school?

I think it really has to do with opportunity. I think that if the opportunity is presented to a child and it’s got a chance to change their life, to go to a school where they’re going to get a better education, they should take advantage of it. Of course, there’s the likelihood that they’re going to feel somehow less than others, but if they have a lot of support from their family and the family is conscious of what the child is doing, I think it would be unjust to deprive a student of such a great opportunity. Because for me, education is the most important thing. It doesn’t matter what conditions they come from. If that opportunity presents itself, they should take advantage of it. That’s the whole paradigm: you’re poor, you can’t. There’s bullying in every school. It’s going to depend on the formation that the student has had from the family. For me, the most important thing is opportunity.
Opens in a new window