I really enjoyed going to visit two different rural schools in USA: Bridgeport and Brewster. It was amazing to know more about American rural school and its educational system. There were many new things to know and contrast between Chilean and American rural education. For example, American schools have a bigger budget and better facilities, however, I think Chilean teachers and principals work hard every day to teach without enough materials and budget, so I really value people who work in rural schools.
On the other hand, I think that these schools are very different. The first school is one of the best rural schools in the country. I watched two different classes (6th and 9 th grade) there. The history 6th grade class was so motivated when we entered that they asked so many questions that the teacher had to stop the round of questions. While the English 9th grade class showed its motivation when the teacher was telling them a story and they had to performance it.
The second school also has wonderful facilities, but something that draw my attention was that a para- professional did not act as a teacher when she used a violent disciplinary technique to get a student quiet. Since, I think that both school make a good work including family to school and giving students the opportunity to study English as their second language because the 80 % of their students are Mexican.
Finally, I think that it was excellent to know this reality. Now I can critically talk about American educational system.
