Once a teacher, always a teacher:
Interview with Rita DeBrito
By Melissa Lawrence and Kirby Feagan June 13, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Science Camp San Miguel
July 14–August 1
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
500 pesos/week

Emiliano Jimenez, Luis Antonio Perales Campos and Nahui Jimenez enjoy the view from their bird nest made without the use of hands.

Rita DeBrito has accomplished many things in her life. She has been a bilingual teacher for over 30 years. She was a mentor for the New York City Board of Education and an adjunct professor in most of New York City’s teaching colleges, including Columbia University Teacher's College. Before moving to San Miguel, she raised Dutch Belted rabbits on her farm in Vermont, she took flying lessons, was a beekeeper and learned how to hang glide and skeet shoot. Currently, she is the co-founder and co-director of Science Camp San Miguel with Alicia Wilson Rivero, which offers summer science camps to kids ages 8–12.

We first met Rita when she taught science for our home-schooling cooperative here in San Miguel two years ago. Before Rita entered our lives, we thought science was boring. Now we know it can be fun and interesting. She is a great teacher with a gift to inspire and motivate her students with ease. It didn’t take long for us to admire and adore her. That’s why we chose to interview Rita.

Melissa Lawrence and Kirby Feagan (M&K): What got you inspired to learn about science?

Rita DeBrito: My students. When I started teaching in 1972 in New York, I noticed that the kids didn’t care. Learning and teaching were boring so I stepped back and I took my kids’ lead. I noticed that all the boys were playing with batteries and cars and I said to myself, “Hey, that’s science.” When I realized that what they were interested in was science, I went back to school and took courses on physics, chemistry, aerodynamics and biology to become a better teacher.

Biba Mancini, Max Grause, Luis Antonio Perales Campos collecting specimens from El Charco del Ingenio.

M&K: What is your favorite topic within science to teach? 

RD: I love teaching physics, biology, experimenting. I love teaching and everything in life is science. Everything!

M&K: Did science always interest you as a kid? 

RD: I was always a naturalist. I was always looking for snails and squirrels. I’ve always been fascinated by everything.

M&K: How many years have you been a teacher? 

RD: More than 30 if you count my tutoring and science camp. Once a teacher, always a teacher. It’s not just a job, it’s my life.

M&K: What is your favorite memory of teaching? 

RD: I have a million, so that’s tough. I once was teaching a kid how to add and subtract using Cuisenrods and all of a sudden he says, “I get it!” but he had a pencil in his hand and he jabbed my eye. I think I had to wear an eye patch for three months but it was great because he understood. But this was the best one: I never used to teach from the text book so I had my students working with ramps and balls to determine which balls travel the farthest and they had to graph their findings. I was checking on their work and one kid looked at me and said, “We haven’t done math in a very long time.” She didn’t think we were doing math because we never opened the textbook. I said, “Shhh…don’t tell anybody.”

M&K: What is your favorite age of students to teach? 

RD: I really like them around 12 and up. I also like teaching graduate students because they are focused and they know what they want to learn.

M&K: What are the best and worst things about working with teenagers? 

RD: The best thing is that even though they want you to think they’re not listening, they really are. The worst thing is getting past all the nonsense teens go through.

M&K: Tell me about the science camp. Where did you get the idea to start the summer science camps? How many years have you been doing it? When does it start this summer? 

RD: I got the idea to do it because I still want to share with kids my love of science and that’s what I do best and a lot of these kids here don’t get the opportunity to learn about this stuff. We’re going into our third year. This year Cesar Arias, director of El Charco del Ingenio, is closing off the bóveda at the botanical garden for the camp, but it won’t be ready until the summer of 2009, so this year we are doing a science club in the Biblioteca.

M&K: Where do you hope the summer science program will be in five years from now?

RD: My hopes are that it will be institutionalized, that I’ll have young people prepared to carry on what they’ve learned and be interested in learning more about science.

M&K: What career did you want to have when you were younger?

RD: I wanted to be a surgeon. It didn’t occur to me to become a teacher until I was almost married to my husband.

M&K: Who is your greatest influence in life?

RD: I think my dad. He taught me that there isn’t anything I couldn’t do. 

M&K: What has been your greatest achievement in life? 

RD: There have been a lot but I was invited to go to the White House to talk to Al Gore and Richard Riley about urban education. That was a pretty good accomplishment. 

M&K: Do you have any regrets in life? 

RD: No. Having regrets is a waste of time.

M&K: What is your favorite word and why? 

RD: I love words. I love to play with words…a favorite word? I love to talk…. My favorite word? I don’t have one. Onomatopoeia, that’s a good word. Kerplop, bang, smash, kablooey! 

M&K: What words or phrases do you most overuse? 

RD: I catch myself before I say anything too much. I say, “That’ll do,” to my dog a lot. I say, guacala, a lot.

M&K: What is your motto? 

RD: Have fun!

M&K: What is your greatest fear? 

RD: I don’t have any. What’s there to be afraid of? Does a woman who drives alone from New York to San Miguel in a Miata sound like she has any fears?

M&K: What brought you to San Miguel and what do you enjoy most about living here? 

RD: 9/11 was basically in my backyard; Bush stole the election; the economics of living in New York was overwhelming and I turned 55 and was able to retire, so all of that pointed south. I love the outdoors, the weather, the people, the pace and I love the small town.

M&K: How does your life in San Miguel compare to your life in New York?

RD: My life here is a lot easier, of course. I’m not working…that helps. It’s so hard to park in New York. I had a good life there and I have a great life here. But now it’s just easier and I have the outdoors, which I adore.

Jacqueline Diener-Gutierrez and Natalia Garcia dissecting owl pellets in the library/classroom at El Charco del Ingenio.

For more information, go to www.sciencecampsanmiguel.com, email sciencecampsma@gmail.com, or call Rita at 185-2142. Science Camp San Miguel is committed to making camp available to local San Miguel children, for whom the cost is prohibitive. Please contact if you are interested in sponsoring a child for 1–3 weeks.

A transformation in Palma de Landeta
By Sylvia Jessop

An arid landscape of dry sand and jagged boulders in a section of colonia Palma de Landeta is undergoing a metamorphosis. A partial structure for a church sits forlornly in this grim setting, as if waiting for a miracle…and a miracle happened.

The Garden Club of San Miguel undertook the task of turning the grounds surrounding the church into a shady, leafy haven for the neighborhood.

It all started with a wistful remark by Carolyn de Dea’s gardener Hilario Rivera, who lives on a street facing the church. “What a difference a few trees would make to this community,” he said.

Carolyn, who is chairman of the club’s Tree Fund committee, wasted no time. A dynamo of energy and enthusiasm, Carolyn rounded up the experts and representatives of the community and a plan was formulated that included planting 30 trees embracing the church and its grounds. The plan was approved and work started.

The excitement in the community was palpable. Offers of help poured in. Families with small children all wanted to be part of the project, promising to keep their eyes on the trees, see to the watering, etc. Fortunately there is water at the site.

One of the residents, who works on a “bobcat,” volunteered his time for leveling the terrain. Louis Franke, the owner of Los Magueyes Vivero, made suitable trees available at a greatly reduced price. He was also invaluable in giving advice on planting, fertilizing and maintenance, and also donated the fertilizer and insect repellent. 

On Sunday, May 11, the entire neighborhood turned out and planted 30 trees. What a sight! Mothers, fathers, some with toddlers straining to help, tenderly patted the dirt with grubby hands.

After the planting, the trees were blessed and the ladies served a feast to all those present. The club was thanked for giving them a place to share the pleasure of community gatherings.

“This project has given me such joy,” commented a visibly moved Carolyn. “These good people deserve an improvement in their everyday lives and I am so proud to have taken a small part in that improvement.”

The San Miguel Garden Club has a history of striving to beautify many parts of San Miguel, particularly in poorer colonias. The planting in Palma de Landeta is the most recent of the club’s projects. Another accomplishment included the greening of the streets in colonia Santa Cruz de la Paz, under the direction of Sarah Clancy.

The club’s mission is to plant as many trees as possible in barren environments, working together with local communities to create a sense of pride and ownership.

Sylvia Jessop is a journalist, copywriter and freelance magazine contributor in Australia and England. She has been the editor of the San Miguel Garden Club newsletter for seven years.

Loma de Cocinas opens as 32nd kitchen
By Catherine Cooper Long

Feed the Hungry (FTH), San Miguel’s well-known children’s charity, has opened its 32nd fully operational kitchen.

The new kitchen, which officially began operations on Monday, June 2, is called Loma de Cocinas and is located at the primary school Cuauhtémoc in San Andres, Loma de Cocinas.

The new kitchen will serve hot, nutritious meals to more than 110 kindergarten and primary students every school day. In addition, the kitchen provides paying jobs to two community women. Cooks Maribel Moya Godinez and Juana Frias Gomez, both mothers of children who attend the school, will manage the kitchen and prepare the meals.

Loma de Cocinas is one of three new kitchens planned to open in 2008. It is generously sponsored by Robert and Dana Ornsteen, who reside part-time in San Miguel. Many of the mothers and several FTH board members and staff joined the principal, teachers and children for the first meal of pasta with fresh vegetables, ham, tortillas and juice.

“This is very important to our children and their families,” said Principal Antonio Mora Palacios. “We hope attendance and performance will improve, but we must wait and see. The children are not used to fresh produce!” 

This new kitchen brings to just under 4,000 the number of kids fed every school day by Feed the Hungry. Like all the other FTH kitchens in San Miguel and the surrounding areas, it is supported completely by donors and donations.

For more information, or to donate or volunteer, contact Feed the Hungry at 152-2402, US line (505) 349-3700, or visit our website at www.FeedTheHungrySMA.org. 

Top education system to open secundaria/prepa in San Miguel
By Daniel Seymour

Discussion
Secundaria/Prepa presentation
Mon, June 16, 12–2pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Free

A top education program acclaimed internationally for its academic excellence and its contribution to the remarkable development of its students will start bilingual secundaria, bachillerato and university classes in San Miguel de Allende this September.

This is about results-oriented education. Students in participating high schools regularly rank in the top one percent of academic excellence in the US. Parents and prospective students are invited to the introductory meeting at the Biblioteca Pública.

The new school will also give students the opportunity to opt for electives between music, physics and arts to further engage their creativity and fulfill their deep quest for knowledge.

If your children are already registered with a Secundaria or Preparatoria, a registration fee waiver is available so they can join quickly.

All parents are invited, as the school may also start classes for primary school children as well. If you can’t make it to the meeting, visit www.escuelasinestres.org  or email sma@escuelasinestres.org  or call (415) 154-4579 for more information.

Rotary Club of San Miguel-Midday

Gordon Logan (r), the outgoing President of the Rotary Club of San Miguel-Midday, presents an official Municipal Proclamation to Gregory Diamant (l), President of the Biblioteca Pública.

The proclamation is now hung in the library (near the paperbacks) and announces that April will henceforth be Diabetes Awareness Month in San Miguel.