Andi Honegger, Mexico
The class exchange was initiated by Graciela (Chela) Gonzales de Tapia and her husband José (Pépe) de Tapia Bujalance from the Bartolomé School. This was in 1967, when Patricio Redondo Moreno, the second Freinet pioneer in Mexico after Pépe, died. The situation of his school in San Andrés Tuxtla, founded in 1940, seemed uncertain, a new building was planned but had not yet been started and his friends in Mexico City wanted to know what the situation was like. They also wanted to provide moral support for their "sister school". So the class exchange was initiated and, after a successful realisation, was carried out again the following year.
After Pépe's death in 1989, his widow Chela continued the exchange. According to Chela, she had been the official headmistress since the school was founded in 1964, as Pépe, as an emigrated Spaniard, did not have the necessary papers.
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| Chela follows the reception festivities |
Elisa de Tapia, 45 and daughter of Chela and Pépe, has been teaching the sixth graders at Bartolomé School for five years and is mainly responsible for the class exchange.
At 79 years old, Chela still works at the school and never misses the opportunity to take part in the exchange every year.
Minor difficulties such as accidents or problems with the host families have never led to the exchange being jeopardised. Even a major accident involving the children's bus in 1972 did not stop the tradition and thanks to the great solidarity of the parents, classes were able to visit each other again the following year.
Since 1967, the 6th classes from both schools have visited each other for a week at a time without interruption. The order of who visits whom first is alternated and there is a gap of one to two weeks between the two visits. The best time of year for the visits is spring, usually before the Easter holidays.
Chela recalls the first exchange in 1967: "There were around 30 pupils in the two classes. The sixth graders from San Andrés Tuxtla were first invited to Mexico City in August, as it was unclear whether there would be enough host families available in Veracruz. It was mainly boys who came, as many families were reluctant to let their daughters travel so far away. However, the children's enthusiasm was so great that the return visit was able to take place shortly afterwards." The school year lasted from February to November.
As already mentioned, the main aim of the first exchange was to show interest in the continued existence of the school in San Andrés Tuxtla. A large wreath was laid on the grave of Patricio Redondo.
With the continuation of the exchange, further goals were added:
Personal correspondence - for the second year, an exchange of letters was started with the fifth graders. Gradually, this custom was started earlier and earlier and today the children have been in contact by letter for eight years up to the class exchange in Year 6, usually with the same child and about 5 to 6 times a year. This leads to firm friendships and, with the personal acquaintance in Year 6, to a true culmination of the primary school years.
Another point is getting to know a different family, a different school (which also works according to the Freinet pedagogy), a different federal state, a completely different living environment (big city – provincial town), a different climate (high plateau at 2300 metres - tropical lowlands at 300 metres above sea level) and a different culture with a variety of different culture with different food, music, customs and traditions, etc. – Chela explains that for the students from Mexico City, walking alone in the evening with their exchange partners to the city centre park, the Zocaló, is something completely new – unthinkable in the metropolis of Mexico City.
Other skills are practised, such as living together with strangers. These experiences make the young people more independent and mature.
Chela describes the meeting with former pupils in San Andrés Tuxtla as an extraordinary experience in connection with the exchange. I witness as she meets two former sixth graders, and they tell her how important that experience was for them at the age of 12 and what it meant to them – "Like a light in my life".
Jose Luis Anota Arano, 56, a teacher at the Freinet School in San Andrés Tuxtla since 1982 and its headmaster for 10 years, adds to Chela's comments:
For him, too, the human relationships between two social networks, living together in a foreign family and getting to know another culture are the most important aims of the class exchange.
However, Jose Luis also emphasises the level of the teachers. As there is always another teacher taking part in the exchange alongside the two class teachers in Year 6, over time there is also an exchange between teachers from the two schools. He finds it important that this additional teacher integrates into the other school during this week, for example in the same class that he/she teaches at home. He/she can benefit a lot from this week of observation and take home ideas and inspiration for her own lessons.
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| Elisa, Adriana and Chela |
Elisa also mentions the same goals as the focus of the exchange. She also emphasises how important it is for her students from Mexico City to be able to walk around freely in San Andrés Tuxtla and to spend time in the centre in the evenings. They must make their own decisions, which is often new for them.
The eight years of correspondence often make the students feel like brothers and sisters. After returning from San Andrés Tuxtla, they also must report their experiences and lessons learnt to the rest of their own school. This is a very important process in which Elisa, as class teacher, has the opportunity to support the young people.
Elisa explains that the class exchange is supported by her whole school, i.e. the management, school administration, teachers and parents.
For Elisa, the real key experience was seeing how the children interact with each other and what the correspondence and meeting each other means for the individuals among them. She herself took part in the exchange as a child and pupil – as Chela's daughter – and as a teacher was very excited about the first exchange later on.
For her, too, it is clear that the children can gain important experience for their future lives.
Her mum Chela is extremely valuable to the whole project, as she has been involved from the very beginning and has a wealth of experience as a result. "When problems arise, my mum is usually able to solve them," says Elisa.
As far as the finances of the pupils from Bartholomé are concerned, Elisa explains that the parents pay for the bus journey to San Andrés Tuxtla plus admission to the museums in Mexico City. The Bartolomé school pays for the bus journey in Mexico City itself. Accommodation and meals in the host families are of course free of charge. Authorisation for the class exchange must be obtained from the state education authority, but this is a mere formality. Parents must officially request permission.
There are verbal rules in Mexico City: for example, pupils are not allowed to leave the house alone and are not allowed to leave the capital.
In San Andrés Tuxtla there are written rules: for example, pupils are only allowed to be out and about in the city until 9pm and are forbidden to go to the seaside.
Programme in San Andrés Tuxtla
Monday 16:00 Arrival of the pupils from Mexico City by bus (8 hour journey)
Reception by pupils and parents from San Andrés Tuxtla with dancing, music, mojigangas, hot air balloons, fireworks and fine dining
Tuesday 08:00-13:00 School lessons
14:00-18:00 Visit to the Nanciyaga Ecopark on the Catemaco Lagoon
Wednesday 08:00-13:00 School lessons; afternoon free
Thursday 08:00-12:00 Visit to the "Te Amo" cigar factory and the Itzpapalotl Nature Park followed by workshops (pottery and oil paper)
17:00-19:00 Fandango in the Chichipilcopark with music and dancing
Friday 08:00-13:00 School lessons
14:00-17:00 Visit to the Eyipantla waterfall
Saturday 11:00-16:00 Visit to the bathing centre
Sunday 07:30 Departure by
Highlights from the programme
Bus journey on Monday: Elisa entertains the children with the game "Simon says" with deposit collection. At the end there are two big piles of pledges, one of the girls and one of the boys. All sorts of fun things must be done to redeem them, such as dancing or role-playing in pairs. The whole thing lasts almost all the way to Veracruz and is well received. – I didn't realise that Elisa has a talent for entertainer.
Reception in San Andrés Tuxtla: The pupils and parents of San Andrés are all standing in the street with big welcome posters when we arrive. There is a big hello and screaming in the bus and on the street as the bus door opens. The hugs from the correspondents are very warm. They met a fortnight ago in Mexico City for a week.
School lessons with Andrés,
the 6th grade teacher in San Andrés Tuxtla
School lessons: 55 pupils in a rather small classroom is no easy matter in terms of room for manoeuvre and discipline. The class diaries of the two classes are read out, with assessment and discussion of spelling. Then there is a geometry problem to solve; interest calculations are on the programme and on Friday the weekly student assembly for the whole school. It takes a little longer than normal because the two 6th grade classes thank each other by name for a long time.
Excursions: They are very exciting and varied. The children enjoy the freedom and take lots of photos and videos.
Elisa is concerned that the class exchange can continue to take place in the future, as sometimes the number of students in the two classes is too different and makes it difficult to accommodate them with the host families. [In 2023, there were only 10 students in San Andrés and 36 in Mexico City, so unfortunately the exchange could not take place].
The week in San Andrés was a great experience and made a big impression on me. It was a unique experience for many of the children. I noticed how well the two classes got on with each other, how they spontaneously hugged each other again and again.
On the implementation in Switzerland: I know of various examples at middle and high school level, e.g. between secondary school classes from Zurich and Ebnat-Kappel. I once spent a night with my 1st - 3rd graders in the correspondence class and it was a great success. I could certainly extend this or perhaps combine it with a class camp – in other words, I would then go to camp with my class near the correspondence class and vice versa.
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