The countries of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico were the focus of lessons in social studies for sixth-grade students at Hazelwood Central Middle School, and a special guest speaker from Puerto Rico helped bring an aspect of realism to the lessons.
After spending time researching topics such as culture, history, climate, location, physical features and demographics, students in Tonya Jackson’s class spent time listening and asking questions of Cūca Torres-Jeffery.
With a distinct accent, Torres-Jeffery spoke to the students about cultural and social differences, and differences in education between her home country and the United States. She explained that she has lived in the U.S. for 12 years. Her husband served in the military and is now an officer with St. Louis County Police.
The student’s questions were varied, from “What is the capital?” and “What kind of money do they have in Puerto Rico?”
“The capital is San Juan,” said Torres-Jeffery, pointing to it on a map she held in her hands.
“The money is the same as in the U.S. because Puerto Rico is a U.S. Commonwealth,” she explained.
“Our leadership is similar. We have a governor and mayors of towns, boards and councils, but we can’t vote for the U.S. president,” she continued.
She shared personal stories of her upbringing. One story was triggered by a student wearing a pair of Converse.
“Back in my day, when I was younger, Converse shoes were seen as negative and for poor people,” said Torres-Jeffery. “There was nothing wrong with the shoes, but some people would be embarrassed to wear them because they were the shoes you could afford if you were on welfare. Now, it’s not a symbol of negativity.”
She spoke about the importance of family in Latin culture.
“We are very close. We are raised to respect those who are older. That means parents, adult neighbors, siblings and older friends,” she said.
She talked about holidays and family gatherings, and traditional meals that are served on different occasions.
“We have white rice, red beans and fried chicken for regular meals, with a salad of lettuce, tomatoes and homemade dressing. For holidays, there is pork, rice and pigeon beans.”
Torres-Jeffery shared pictures of her family with a slideshow, and passed around personal photos of landmarks in Puerto Rico. Against the whiteboard, she had books, maps and artwork with native imagery of the island’s heritage.
Jackson said the visit from Torres-Jeffery was a “culminating activity.”
“My students benefited from this experience by being able to meet someone from a different country whose culture is different and whose native language isn’t English,” said Jackson.
“Some students may not have the opportunity to travel to a different country. So, as a teacher, I felt that it’s my duty to bring Puerto Rico to them,” she said.
“My students loved the experience of Puerto Rico that Mrs. Jeffery shared with them.”