It’s a Tuesday afternoon during Hispanic Heritage month and Ivymount School Associate Teacher Ady Perez Rodriguez is leading a discussion with students about the people, food, music and dance of Puerto Rico. Senora Perez encourages them to try out bomba, a type of dance accompanied by drums.
It’s the latest in a series of gatherings this month where students have discussed famous icons such as artist Frida Kahlo, civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, and singer Selena. They’ve also had fun learning other dances like the bachata from the Dominican Republic and salsa, originating in Cuba. This is Culture Club.
It’s one of a variety of clubs that students in Ivymount School’s Aspire High School and Middle School program can choose from, including music, coding, boardgames, movies, nature, and more. The clubs started in summer 2024 after staff and students were surveyed about their hobbies and interests. “Culture club started off as language club, but on the first day, students decided they wanted to learn about cultures, not just languages, and thus Culture Club was born!” says Program Coordinator Valeria Cogliani, who co-leads the club with Perez and Senior Teaching Assistant Angel Ngatchou. They’re all multilingual and bring unique cultural backgrounds and perspectives to the conversation.
Students in Culture Club identified their interests for this semester in learning about languages, how to become a U.S. Citizen, how citizenship works in other countries, recipes from around the world, and customs/holidays from different places. During the summer Olympics, students learned about Paris and how to say basic greetings in French.
Student-Led Topics Encourage Engagement
The overall aim of Aspire Applied clubs is to provide a space that allows students to identify their interests and for teachers to support them to learn more through research and discussion, which then teaches important executive functioning and social skills. Clubs will run throughout the year and each semester, students can decide which clubs they want to participate in. “We wanted to ensure that students had the opportunity to engage with peers in a less structured environment. Having student-led groups opens up a lot of great conversations and lets student personalities and interests shine,” says Cogliani.
Club leaders have been pleased by how involved students are, including some doing research outside of club time and students who are typically more quiet feeling confident enough to share their interests. Plus, in Culture Club, it’s an opportunity to recognize what makes people both unique and the same. “Having conversations about different cultures offers new perspectives and insights into other customs, beliefs and traditions,” says Cogliani. “Students can note that differences are a thing to celebrate, and how cool it is to embrace differences. It also helps students find things they may have in common.”
Read about IvyShares Fellowships such as the Culturally Responsive Education Workgroup
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