Colombian Singer Shakira Reads To Oyster-Adams Bilingual Elementary School Students

Well, this was pretty cool. I attended an MLK Day/Call to Service at Oyster-Adams Bilingual Elementary School this morning. I can see why so many folks want to send their children here. We probably waited an hour and a half (some folks even longer) for the main attraction to arrive and the children were incredibly well behaved and patient sitting in the auditorium.

There were many songs (of course in English and Spanish) and everybody genuinely seemed to be having a good time. There were also student presentations about what it means to be an American (in English and Spanish) that was also quite nice. And then, try to imagine 100+ elementary school students screaming at Shakira’s arrival. Quite a scene, man. I nearly fainted. Of course that may have more to do with the bars being open until 4am and not eating enough… Anyway, the unbelievably good looking Shakira said a few words and then read a children’s story. The event had another nice touch:

“Shakira, Oyster Principal Monica Liang-Aguirre and the students will also announce a sister-school relationship with a Colombian elementary school, Escuela Gabriel García Márquez, located outside of Bogota. Shakira’s Barefoot Foundation works with the school, which is largely attended by children who have been displaced by Colombian civil war.

For a little background, Shakira founded the Barefoot Foundation in 1995 at age 18 and is devoted to universal education and early childhood development around the world. Shakira is the Chair of the Global Campaign for Education and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.”