Dr. Anna Witte leads the dynamic 聽study abroad program at the UW Leon Center聽in northwestern Spain. The Center is housed in the 16th century tower of El Palacio del Conde Luna, a gothic palace that was formerly the seat of the Kingdom of Leon and today hosts a museum and performance space.聽Its location in and strong connection to the Leon community makes the center an ideal place for Dr. Witte鈥檚 program, which engages UW undergraduates in local culture and life through homestays, school visits and teaching opportunities, as well as live performance.聽 In the classroom, students explore the craft of storytelling through a survey of Spanish children鈥檚 literature course, puppeteering workshop, and several group projects.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like learning about how children grow up, how they relate to adults and other kids, to learn about another culture,鈥� says Dr. Witte.聽 Her program provides many opportunities for cultural exploration through the lenses of child development, teaching, and storytelling.聽 Much of her students鈥� time is spent engaging hands-on in local schools and in the Leon community.聽 Students visit a local public and private school, first observing and then returning several weeks later to give lessons in English and Spanish.聽 The lessons are great opportunities for the UW students to put their new teaching through storytelling skills in action.聽 鈥淪chools in Leon are basically bi-lingual,鈥� explains Dr. Witte, and local educators are excited for American students to participate in their classrooms.
The program culminates with a public storytelling event at the Leon Center, organized and performed by the program students.聽 The free event is publicized by the Leon Mayor鈥檚 office, and tickets sell out on the first day!聽 This spring, UW students performed a 鈥渟tory salad鈥�, mixing together several familiar stories, a song, and a puppet show for the audience of 30 youngsters.聽 Because the event鈥檚 theme was 鈥淭he Wolf鈥�, one group even made wolf ears for every child in the audience!
鈥淭his was the best experience of my 30-year teaching career,鈥� says Dr. Witte. 鈥淭he program showed students that being in the classroom is a lot of work, but they ended up wanting more interaction with the children!聽 I look forward to building even closer relationships with schools in Leon.鈥澛� These partnerships will no doubt benefit children in Leon as well as UW study abroad students.