Lessons from Vietnam

After hearing the speaker from Vietnam, I was thinking how different Vietnamese culture is from American culture. Clearly familial relationships and educational success are very important to the Vietnamese, but not valued as much here in the U.S. I got to thinking how different classrooms in the U.S. could be if students actually wanted to be there, wanted to succeed, and wanted to be challenged. Would we even have to deal with students who don't bother to turn in their homework or students who goof off the whole class period? Would cheating be an issue?

I've found that many American students are satisfied with doing enough just to get by. They don't have a lot of motivation and don't really care what grades they get. Why is that? How is the American culture fostering this kind of behavior and mindset? One factor may be the lack of strong family relationships and the want to be independent and free. Kids and students want to do what they want to do. They don't want to have to listen to their parents, or teachers for that matter. They may be in the developmental stage where they are trying to figure our their identity and thus think that they need to push the limits placed on them.

I think that it's unrealistic to try to totally change our society into one that has the same values as Vietnam, but I think we should try to improve family relationships and respect so that kids will obey their parents and be open to their advice. As much as we all want to be independent and do our own thing, I think it is very important to listen to people who have more experience and expertise that we don't yet possess.

Building Schools in Sudan

Last night I went to a presentation by a Luther Sudanese student, Christine, who had been awarded a grant to build a primary school in Sudan this past summer. It was quite interesting hearing her story and seeing pictures of the "school" the kids had been going to before an actual building was constructed. There is one picture of the kids just sitting under a tree in a group, looking at a piece of slate that was propped up against the tree. The alphabet was written out on that slate.

I was awed by how those kids could learn in that simple setting. Here in the U.S. we all have our own paper, pencils, desks, and even laptops. We complain when our internet isn't working fast enough, while in Sudan there are students who don't have any of those supplies, who might walk 6 miles to school, and who start attending school as soon as they can walk. What a contrast!

Christine talked about some of the challenges they faced in building the school. First, everything was done by hand so that took time to dig the foundation, dig up rock for the foundation, transport the materials, etc. She said that they had to transport some of the rocks about 16 miles in a truck, and it took 2-3 hours to drive the 16 miles to the construction site due to the poor condition of the unpaved road! While the supplies were being trucked all of the workers made their way to the construction site by foot.

It was really neat to see the pictures of the finished 3-room school building that will be used by over 200 Sudanese students. Check out yariproject.blogspot.com for pictures and more information if you want to make any donations. It definitely makes me thankful for the numerous well-furnished schools I've attended.

Chalk Talk

Well, that was interesting, but it left me hoping that Chalk isn't a totally accurate view of life as a teacher. I hope that as a teacher I'm not depressed, that I have a life outside of school, and that I can actually teach my students useful information. It was comical to see how these teachers and administrators really had no control over their students and didn't garner any respect. I'm sure that many teachers do face that challenge, but I think if teachers conduct themselves in a respectful, professional manner and make known their expectations for the students, then the students learn their role in the classroom.

I think that the movie does hit on some key points for teachers- relationships with colleagues, getting frustrated and losing your cool, time management, and competency. I think it is good for us to think about these aspects and realize how much time, effort, and communication it takes to be an effective teacher. This movie is a good conversation starter for current and future teachers so we can discuss situations and things that we will encounter, but that aren't covered in our Ed. classes.

Never Stop Learning

This past Thursday the biology dept. brought in a speaker who works in a research lab in Texas trying to figure out how to slow down blood growth to cancer cells. People talk about finding the cure for cancer often, but this was really neat to actually see someone with evidence that he was actually trying to find a way to slow down cancer.

A number of Luther students attended the presentation, but along with them there were probably 10 Luther professors (if not more) who came, took notes, and had questions afterward. This made me think how teachers don't just stop learning once they graduate college. Teachers have the responsibility to keep learning about new teaching styles, technology, and new findings in their specific content area.

It was kind of fun seeing the profs put into the role of the students. I wonder if any of the professors felt like they were in over their heads, or if they understood everything the presenter was talking about. I know that I sure didn't understand all of the jargon, but then again, I probably wasn't developmentally ready since I've only taken a few biology classes here at Luther. I think it helps professors reach their students more effectively to step into the role of student once in a while. Especially in a topic in which they are not experts.

Vagina Monologues-developmentally appropriate?

Last weekend Luther students put on a production of the 'Vagina Monologues' sharing real stories about women all over the world and their thoughts on their bodies and sexual violence. How does this relate to Ed. psych? Well it got me thinking about developmentally appropriate material to teach in schools and also how much schools are willing to teach students about their bodies.

I really enjoyed Vagina Monologues but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger than high school. The stories shared ranged from funny and comical to downright scary and unbelievable. I think that it might even be developmentally inappropriate for freshmen and sophomores in high school because they may be too immature. As a college student it really opened my eyes to some awful situations that women in other parts of the world are in solely because they are women.

I was also questioning whether this would be something that males should go to. When I went there were a handful of males in the crowd. I think that it would be appropriate for men to go to, but young men or adolescents- probably not. It would be beneficial for males to understand more about what is appropriate in relationships, but I'm sure they would feel awkward. Does that mean they shouldn't go, no, but if they go they should be mature enough to respond appropriately to what they see and hear.

Learning from a Pro

The experience Monday night listening to seasoned Mr. Chambliss differed a lot from the previous Monday when we talked with a panel of new teachers. Mr. Chambliss seemed very sure of himself and his stance on getting a Master's Degree, NCLB, and what effective teaching is. I have a feeling that the panel of new teachers would not be so sure of themselves because they haven't been in the teaching environment long enough to develop really strong feelings towards these topics.

I really liked how Mr. Chambliss told us that we have the ability and responsibility to create a 21st century model of education. We are the ones who can implement changes and ultimately impact generations of students who come after us. As we enter the schools as teachers we can't just complain about what isn't working. It is important that we come up with some type of curriculum that is effective and valuable for students today. It's our responsibility to be the change that we want.

I loved his closing comments about how rewarding a life of service is. I definitely agree with that, whether the service come through being a teacher, begin involved in a church, or in some other way. Serving others leads to bettering the world.