Argentinian educator visits High Country

By Tiffany Allison
Hardin Park School added a new face to its staff, though temporarily, as part of the Fulbright Administrator

exchange program.

Miriram Presti, the second director of the Gregoria Perez de Denis No. 136 from Sante Fe, Argentina, was invited to stay with Principal Mary Smalling and observe the school system for three weeks. Her last day in the states was Saturday, Nov. 8.

The Fulbright exchange program finds two educators from different countries and sends them to each other’s school for a certain period of time to observe and implement positive qualities into their education system. Smalling will be leaving June of next year to stay with Presti and observe the education system of Argentina.
“In a lot of ways, the two systems are similar in the content of what’s taught and in the will to work and what they are doing and the value of humanity,” Presti said. “The main differences are the amount of resources that are available and also the size.”

She explained that Argentinian schools have less faculty and staff than Hardin Park, and they do not have teaching assistants.

“In a way, the teachers in Argentina … are valued because they have to do everything themselves because they don’t have the same level of help,” she said. “One thing I’ve noticed here is that here they have someone to help out with students with disabilities.”

Presti wishes to implement some of Hardin Park’s traits: the use of technology, integration of students with different needs into the classroom, and the integration of parents’ involvement within the classroom. These are qualities Presti feels would help the learning process within her school.

“Parents are really active within our building,” Smalling said. “We have parents come in and do a morning reading program for children who get here early, we have parents who do duty-free lunch, we have very active parents, PTA members, who actively volunteer, and we have parents who work in the classroom helping teachers get materials ready for class.”

The students jumped on board with the idea of exchange. The fourth grade students sent letters home with Presti to give to her students to explain their culture.

“This is something that I have really wanted to do. It is good for the students, language-wise, and to experience in some way a different culture,” Presti said. “It is good for the students to see that in a lot of ways they are not so different that even though they come from a different country they have a lot of common interests.”

She said the same is true with teachers, in that even though they may speak a different language and have limited amount of resources, what they do day to day is the same: teaching and helping students.

“That is one thing that I’ve noticed in both places, that the teachers have passion for teaching and loving what we do,” Presti said. “It’s more than a profession; it’s part of who you are.”

Before arriving in Boone, Presti and Smalling contacted each other through e-mails and chat rooms. During her visit, Presti kept in contact with her family. The Smalling family was able to meet the Presti family via chat room.

They discovered through conversation that they had more similarities than they originally thought. They both have three children near the same age, and they have similar careers. However, when it comes to living situations, they are vastly different. Presti lives in the city and, of course, Smalling lives in the country.

While Presti stayed in Boone, she was able to enjoy the scenery. She made homemade butter and apple cider, hiked along mountain trails and went horseback riding.

“She will try anything,” Smalling said.

The language barrier was one of obstacles that both women had to overcome.

“Even though I don’t understand English very well, there is a lot that you can tell from gestures and human interaction, so you can kind of see what’s going on through body language,” Presti said.

“We wing it between my little bit of Spanish and her little bit of English, and my husband has more Spanish than I do, so we survived,” Smalling said. “You have to have a lot of patience, and both of us had a lot of patience.”

Presti was impressed with the welcome she received from Boone’s community, thanking those who came together to help create a memorable experience for her visit.

“It’s the first and most important thing that I am going to remember,” she said. “It’s almost like a fairy tale. I was eating breakfast this morning, and I saw a deer and a little squirrel. It’s very idealistic.”

Presti not only observed the teachers and students within Hardin Park’s classrooms, but also Bethel and Watauga High schools, as well. Smalling explained that she thought it was important for Presti to see more than just one school building in Boone to grasp the differences between each school.

“I think that this kind of exchange really fulfills the Fulbright mission, which is bringing cultural understanding,” Presti said, “which is what all teachers are working towards, and bringing cultural understanding and … peace, in general, to the world.”

Presti said she was thankful for the hospitality of the community and of the Smalling family for making her stay a wonderful experience. This was the longest she has departed from her family, and Presti said she felt very comfortable.

Smalling is excited to depart for her trip to Argentina and hopes to bring back new perspectives to the states. One of the most important lessons she has learned is the importance of communication.

“I think we need to keep communicating and inviting people and not letting the language barrier be an anxiety for people,” she said. “If you try to communicate in times of peace when things are good, I think it really helps when times get tense or complicated. I would just encourage everyone to open their doors up and think about that when they run across a situation when they cannot understand somebody. It’s important to keep communicating.”