One of my most memorable moments of the trip was not something I did in Argentina, but is something that was said. During the bicentennial celebration at the birth home of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento the president of the foundation for Sarmiento’s celebration spoke on the legacy that was left behind by Sarmiento and the teachers who followed him to Argentina. The speech wasn’t very long, however there was one quote in particular that really stood out to me during the entire celebration. It stood out because it is powerful, and invokes reflection.
“This was a man who knew it was better to send teachers in time of injustice, not armies.”
We have so much to learn from Sarmiento. So much. This statement could not be anymore true. I have thought this secretly to myself many, many times; that the world’s problems will never be resolved with violence, that the best solution to begin moving forward is education. Sarmiento did this! Instead of creating a civil war between himself and those standing in his way he decided to educate his country. He looked for the answer in the most obvious of places, in the future.
What happens today strongly dictates the future. So why not start at the beginning? With children. The more educated and ready for the world our children are today, the better the world can be tomorrow. I know I’m only a college student in Winona, MN, but I also know that I hold the knowledge and the power to start changing the world one classroom at a time. It sounds cliché, and it probably is, but for me, this is how I can start helping people to become good people. I won’t just teach Spanish or English, I will teach how to be a good person. I will teach how to live in society. I will model the way the world should be.
I am not a soldier of violence; I am a soldier of education. I will fight to the end for the rights of each child to receive an education and for them to be able to use that education for good. This experience has only solidified my dream.
We are the teachers of tomorrow.
-Amanda Glunz