Monteverde Friends School

Category: Sharing

  • The Power of Student Organizing

    The Power of Student Organizing

    by Daniel Tyx

    More than 350 people joined the student-organized climate march on September 27. We began the walk from MFS to the public high school in Santa Elena in sunshine, but by the time we were a third of the way up the mountain, we were enshrouded by the typical Monteverde mist. It was a fitting reminder of the imperiled cloud forest we were marching to protect. 

    The march was inspired by the activism of 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. After learning about the Fridays for Future campaign she started, a group of colegio students wanted to join the worldwide action scheduled to coincide with the UN General Assembly. When they discovered that no march had been planned in Monteverde, they decided to organize their own. With the guidance of Social Studies teacher Pam Holschuh, they secured all the necessary permits, coordinated the participation of students from the public high school and the private Centro de Educación Creativa, and planned a native-tree planting on the grounds of the high school–all in a matter of a few weeks.  

    The colegio teachers quickly developed cross-curricular lessons to support the student organizing. In Social Studies, students studied examples of climate activism around the world, as well as how to navigate cumbersome government bureaucracy. In Science, they examined the physical science basis of climate change, read the scientific literature regarding the effects on the cloud forest, and examined possible solutions; students also acted out a play about climate change for the primary students. In Art, they painted colorful signs on recycled plywood. In my 11/12 English class, students designed media projects to help promote the march, ranging from an Instagram campaign, to videos and podcasts, to an op-ed published in the English-language newspaper The Tico Times. Students in my 9/10 class, who were studying poetry, also composed political poems about climate change.     

    The day of the march, the students were anxious about how the event would turn out. Soon, though, the soccer field behind the school was filled with students, parents and grandparents, community members, and visiting tourists. As the march proceeded on the road up the mountain, we held umbrellas and homemade signs and chanted ¿Qué queremos? ¡Justicia climática! ¿Cuándo la queremos? ¡Ahora, ahora!     

    More than four million people participated worldwide in the September climate action. Some 350 of them were here in Monteverde. Although Monteverde is a small town, a journalist who covered the event for a San Jose newspaper told me that it was the largest such action in all of Costa Rica. 

    The impact of the march continued to be felt even after it ended. As a result of the attention generated by the march, MFS received an invitation to send two students to San José to participate in the PreCOP25, an international summit in preparation for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in December in Chile. MFS students Juan Pablo Porras Suarez and Mónica Chinchilla Moreno represented our school during three days of meetings. They met with officials from the UN and many countries, and traded stories and ideas with youth from around the world. Pablo also spoke on a panel about the impact of climate change on adolescents.

    Reflecting in class about the march, a number of students mentioned feeling important. They felt proud that their voices had been heard, and that their activism had brought so many people from different walks of life together. Most of all, they expressed feeling motivated and prepared to continue organizing at MFS and beyond. 

  • Tara’s Dream

    Tara’s Dream

    As Tara Bertrand Hein completes grade 11 and plans for her future, she reflects on our school, our world and her future contributions to it with a bravery and vision that epitomizes the vision and mission of our school.  If you remember her blog post (here) after Tropical Storm Nate, you already know this young woman’s passion and drive, and know that you will enjoy every word of her post today.

    As my fingers fly across the keyboard, my eyes flicker back and forth between the swaying trees outside and one of Gandhi’s most famous quotes scrolled across the classroom wall. An innate sense of peace fills the room, and a cool breeze ruffles through torn out notebook pages on the table. Sweet familiar notes of Manu Chao’s “Bongo Bong” tickle my ears and drift out the open window. My mouth begins to water at the thought of a warm cup of coffee from the local coffee shop just down the road. Although this is only another Monday afternoon to me, I am in awe of this way of life. “Surrounded by nature, supported by love” is how the Monteverde Friends School describes itself, and, to me, this phrase also describes my childhood. I spent my summer vacations horseback-riding along the Tilaran mountain range, I spent warm March afternoons on strangler fig trees with my classmates, reading “Magic Tree House” books, or, my personal favorite at the time, “Because of Winn-Dixie”, I learned how to make recycled paper, and sang songs of peace in preparation for Wednesday meeting. Surrounded by nature, supported by love. I grew up guided by the January winds, sheltered by the tall trees and their epiphytes, taught by capuchin monkeys dancing through the canopy.

    As it turns out, the Monteverde Friends School did more than teach me to read and write. A while ago a group of students from a Mennonite high school in Canada came to spend the day with us. It just so happened that they were there on a Wednesday, and were able to join us for meeting. On that day, students across the USA were walking out of their classrooms, and having 17 minutes of silence in which they honored and remembered the lives lost in the Parkland Shooting in Florida. In light of this, a student from our school had written a poem, which she chose to share during our gathering. She stood up, with glassy eyes, and shared incredibly powerful words that spoke to the fear of being shot whilst sitting in a classroom. The irony was clear. We could hardly be in a more peaceful place on Earth in that moment, and yet, in the seconds in which she read the poem, I felt a shiver run down my spine. Throughout the 45 minute meeting, several more inspirational messages were shared. A woman visiting us from Honduras spoke about the terror many people in her country were experiencing at the hands of their government. She asked us to hold them in the light, as children, women, and men, were fighting for their lives. The last message was perhaps the most powerful of them all; it spoke of an event that had touched the lives of several people within the room. Telling the story of a bank robbery that had taken place 13 years ago in Monteverde itself, the message showed a new perspective. This event is considered one of the bloodiest in Costa Rica’s history, and this message spoke for the attacker. His brother had been killed, and his own fear and grief drove him mad, and causing him to open fire in the bank atrium. After meeting, most students went out into the sunshine to hold the silence for another 17 minutes, in memory of the deaths that took place due to the Parkland Shooting, joining thousands in the USA in solidarity.

    I was amazed by this morning, and wondered what the students of the Mennonite high school thought of our school. I realized that this what that morning witnessed wasn’t even that abnormal. The Monteverde Friend School is unarguably a small gem shielded from the world by the fog that hangs over the Monteverde Cloud Forest, and the two oceans that kiss Costa Rica on both shores. And yet, this school is in no way ignorant about the realities taking place out of this shelter. Constantly in my education have I been taught about the world beyond this bubble, about the cruelty and sorrow that so many endure. How can I sit here in this classroom, reading the quotes about peace on the wall, watching the trees sway, when I know that around the world children look through garbage to find food? When I know that a mother cries because her child was taken in war? When I know that a girl will never be able to do what her brother does? It is not right. It is not normal.

    The wall in this very classroom is home to another quote, this one was not said by Gandhi, but by Mary Oliver; and, perhaps, none could be more fitting for this piece of writing, it reads, “Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life.”  It is because of my education, and the way I grew up that I want to do more in this world than simply lead my life for me. I believe that every child should have the chance to grow up safely, happily, and loved, the way I did. It is this fundamental belief that is the fuel behind my ambitions.

    When people ask me what I want to study, I answer, “International Law.”  And they? They don’t know what to answer. They vaguely ask, “you want to be a lawyer?”

    No. I do not want to be a lawyer. I want to understand why society works the way it does, I want to understand why it is that some children never set foot in a classroom while their governments pour billions of dollars into weaponry, I want to understand why a woman only earns 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. I want to dedicate my one wild and precious life to working to change these realities.

    There is a program I will attend this summer, Cambridge Immerse Law, in the UK that is a big step to achieving this goal. This program allows students to live at the University of Cambridge for two weeks. During this time students receive law courses from Cambridge tutors in the mornings -these take place in the form of lectures or seminars. In the afternoon, small personalized workshops take place -these include a visit to Cambridge Magistrates’ Court, and a chance to observe barristers presenting legal cases. Additionally, the course offers students a chance to work on their personal statements (admissions essays) as well as their interview skills, and preparation for the National Law Admissions Test. This program is a chance for me to experience undergraduate life at one of the world’s best universities. It would prepare me for my own studies next year by taking university level law courses, and helping me strengthen my application. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me that would take me a big step closer to achieving my goals. Your support will help me enroll in this program. Please check out my GoFundMe campaign, every small donation helps!
    https://www.gofundme.com/lawsummerschool

  • 17 Minutes of Solidarity

    17 Minutes of Solidarity

    I cried today, for the first time since the Florida shooting, thanks to the brave and compassionate students of Monteverde Friends School. They organized a sit-in, during their recess break, for 17 minutes – one for each student and teacher who lost their lives.

    Knowing that some students would still be playing soccer and games during recess, I had suggested using the cemetery for a peaceful, quiet place of reflection. But the students decided that the basketball court would be better – they wanted everyone to witness this act of solidarity. So it was that we sat quietly amidst the screams and laughter of other children playing – a strangely-appropriate way to establish context and balance.

    I cried as our Head of School read the names and ages of each of the 17 students and teachers who lost their lives.
    I cried just thinking how it would feel if any of the young people in our circle experienced this fear or tragedy.
    I cried for all the young people in the US and many places in the world who go to school and live their lives in fear.

    Then I cried for the strength and hope of our Costa Rican and foreign students who organized this sit-in. They care. They get it. They know it could be them, and that it shouldn’t be anyone. They know that their silence, woven together with the silence of students doing the same thing in thousands of other schools, would speak eloquently and powerfully. They believe. And their belief gave me hope.

    Here in Monteverde we have earthquake drills instead of lock-down drills. Puma safety talks instead of stranger-danger talks. Our students come to school not worried about weapons or violence – they come to learn, to play, to enjoy each other. Of course there are conflicts and growing pains, but the natural ones, the ones that are part of learning. Our children are leading the free, open life and school experience that children everywhere deserve.

  • Hilda Chen: 1923-2017

    Hilda Chen: 1923-2017

    Monteverde Friends School celebrates the life and influence of this ground-breaking Costa Rican educator, who taught two of our current staff.  Eugenio Vargas shares this writing “In celebration of a life dedicated to sowing seeds for universal values.”

    “I acquired a commitment to work for respect to all kinds of people and tolerance for the different cultural values and religious creeds: this in order to contribute to peace in the world.”

    Hilda Chen Apuy Espinoza rested in peace last week. She was born in the city of Puntarenas in 1923, the daughter of José Chen, a Chinese immigrant and Rafaela Espinoza, Costa Rican. In its history, Costa Rica has received immigrants arriving from many places in the world; Puntarenas was the entry port for travelers arriving by ships before there was an international airport in the country.

    In a time when young girls had very little opportunities to study away from home, her parents did all they could do so that Hilda and her sister would continue other studies beyond primary school. So her family moved to Heredia and in 1942 Hilda graduated from Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) as Primary School teacher. However, the State Education Ministry did not designate her as a teacher “because there were not vacant positions” although all the men who graduated in her group were appointed[1]. This made Hilda search for a scholarship to follow up with international studies in arts. In 1943 Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts granted her this opportunity, thus becoming the first Latin-American woman admitted by Mount Holyoke.

    “Fate put me on the road to other opportunities, when in Costa Rica I was denied the job of primary school teacher”… “It was my first trip abroad, at a time when very few female Costa Rican students dared to travel abroad for further studies.”[2]

    A few years later, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) granted her other scholarships to continue her specialization in Asian Studies for the mutual understanding between East and West. This new opportunity brought her to universities in Mexico, The Netherlands, and Banaras Hindu University in India during a period of 5 years.[3]

    Hilda Chen’s life was truly a bridge between people from a wide diversity of cultures and the enrichment of each other with the reciprocal knowledge of arts and values. After completing her program as scholarship grantee she came back to Costa Rica and worked for many years teaching at the University of Costa Rica (UCR). Carlos Acuña, current professor of Spanish and Social Studies at MFS, remembers Hilda and her sweet voice as professor on some of the history courses he attended at UCR.

    In 2006 Mount Holyoke College conferred Hilda with the degree of doctor of humane letters honoris causa. In her address Hilda said:

    “Every educational institution in which I studied, beginning with the University of Costa Rica, added something very valuable in my preparation, not only in academic training, but also in personal enrichment, thus, contributing to my philosophy of life and to place values for being useful during the following years. Hence, I acquired a compromise to work for respect to all kinds of people and tolerance for the different cultural values and religious creeds: this in order to contribute to peace in the world.”[4]

     

    “Discrimination is fear of the unknown. I am a pacifist since I was young. At ninght grade in High School I wrote an essay asking parents not to buy toy firearms for their children because they would teach them to kill. I am worried for peace, the more so when I see again other wars based upon the ignorance about the other cultures.”[5]

    Her book “De la vida, el amor y la Amistad, un Puente entre culturas” (On Life, Love and Friendship: a bridge between cultures), is a compilation of her reflections and articles sharing her hopes, views, experiences and hopes for all humankind. A few words from the final article in this book:

    Like the farmer, we throw the seed in the hope that it will germinate, grow and bear fruit; but unlike the farmer who patiently waits to pick up the harvest, the teacher knows that the fruits of his action do not belong to him. Just as children must learn to fly with their own wings, the disciple will have to follow his own path…

     

    Someday, when we reach the end of the path, we will say with joy: the hands are not empty; the task has been fulfilled; the seeds have been sown and the fruits are for everyone: we are at peace.[6]

    [1] “ De la vida, del amor y de la Amistad: Un puente entre culturas”, Editorial UCR, 2008

    [2]  https://www.mtholyoke.edu/media/2006-commencement-3. Honorary Degree Address by Hilda Chen Apuy ’44. May 28, 2006

    [3] “De la vida, del amor y la amistad: un puente entre culturas”, Editorial UCR, 2008.

    [4] https://www.mtholyoke.edu/media/2006-commencement-3. Honorary Degree Address by Hilda Chen Apuy ’44. May 28, 2006

    [5] La Nacion 11/12/2017 : http://www.nacion.com/viva/cultura/fallecio-hilda-chen-apuy-ganadora-del-premio/VLYRN24P7BC4FLNGEHXOM5W57Y/story/

    [6]  “De la vida, del amor y de la Amistad: Un puente entre culturas”, Editorial UCR, 2008

  • Alternative Worship

    Alternative Worship

    “Can anyone guess why we’re doing bird-watching instead of Meeting for Worship?” Katy VanDusen asks her group.
    — “Ya – bird watching is quiet and peaceful.”

    Teaching Quaker process and values is an important part of our school’s education, but we also want to support the various spiritual journeys our students will take.  So instead of our normal “pre-meeting” and silent meeting for worship, last week we let students select from a menu of alternative worship options.  Community members and teachers shared their various practices (see below), giving students the chance to learn ways other than silent worship to connect to the divine and their inner selves.

    In addition to birdwatching (above), Tai Chi, Meditation, Walking in the Rain, and Yoga (too intrusive to take photos, sorry), students enjoyed:

    Exploring Movement with Marisela.
    AlternativeWorship3

    Harry Potter: Recent grad Grace explored the spirituality of our favorite magicians. “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” (Dumbledore)
    AlternativeWorship6

    Poetry: Professor Joe Heithaus and teacher Carlos Acuña supported our budding poets.
    AlternativeWorship2

    Pizza!: Aaron and Joni came at 6am to stoke up the fires in our new wood-burning oven so that students could experience the culinary divine, and the gift of giving as they shared pizza with the other groups.AlternativeWorship9

    Gospel singing with Melanie and Carol is always a moving experience.  Click here to enjoy a brief video.AlternativeWorship5

    And of course, art: Zen Doodling with Amy, Finger painting with Chrissy, Meditative Art with Carla, and Outdoor Painting with Evan.
    AlternativeWorship10

    AlternativeWorship7

    AlternativeWorship4

    AlternativeWorship1

    Students and community members were also welcome to choose to attend the normal Silent Worship practice, which we all re-joined at the end to complete our experience in community.
    AlternativeWorship14

    Thank you to all our volunteers who shared their practices and passions, and to our Quaker Life coordinators Monty and Pam for the vision and energy to make this happen.  Based on positive feedback from students and leaders, we hope to repeat this next semester.  Our hope is that students graduate from Monteverde Friends School with a deeper understanding of their own beliefs and a vision of how to manifest those values in the world.  A spiritual practice that resonates for each student could be the greatest graduation gift we can give.