Final Reflection
My driving question for the Teachers for Global Classrooms program was “How do you measure growth and achievement?” I chose this question because I’m at a crossroads of what I believe, how I teach, and what’s important in education. I blame the online class I took for TGC! In it I watched a video by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and she asked the question, “What year are you educating your students for?” I like to think I’m educating them for this year but often times I feel like I’m not. If I measure my achievement against her question, I don’t think I’m educating for 2017.
This marks my 22nd year in education and I’ve struggled with that I teach. Growth and achievement have been very important to schools and that is often how we are measured. I know we need to grow students so they achieve but I struggle with the standardized approach to how we measure. I went to Indonesia hoping to find different ways to measure. When I heard one teacher say, “We teach English in order to pass the test” I realized I would need to find other ways to satisfy my interest in how they measure growth and achievement.
Personally, I measured growth by my participation in the TGC program. It was a phenomenal opportunity to study, learn, and work with teachers from all across the United States. From the online classes that seemed to take up so much time, but that was because I wanted to read and understand everything, to the fear of the unknown Indonesia, it was an incredible experience.
Global education is not how they teach in another country. I think I started the program thinking this way. Another area of growth for me. Now I teach lessons with the four global competencies fresh in my mind. I try to incorporate investigations into lessons daily and looking at issues from multiple perspectives is one of my favorite things to bring up in and out of class. Action and communication are areas I still need to grow in.
Working with teachers from around the United States was great. My favorite uncomfortable conversation was with our host teacher in Indonesia. I’m teach in a public school in Indiana. My partner teacher is in Utah and teaches at a charter school. When we tried to explain how schools were for us, we couldn’t have been more different. And to the teacher from Indonesia, we were absolutely confusing! Indonesian schools across the country are set up to be almost the same. Our host teacher struggled to understand schools across the street from each other could be completely different.
And teaching. What an amazing experience it was to stare out across a room of students, who probably didn’t understand much of what you were saying, and talk with them. Whatever English they knew was treasured. And the 3 or 4 Indonesian words I finally was brave enough to mutter appreciated. Our lessons were very well received even if they connect to their regular lessons. Teachers enjoyed the opportunity for us to share with the students. Maybe the measure of growth was that students now believed they could go beyond their local neighborhoods. The mobile phone had ways to make connections teachers can only dream of. Doors were opened and opportunities were shared. And if nothing else, my Instagram account followers grew by hundreds. Maybe that’s a way to measure achievement?
My driving question for the Teachers for Global Classrooms program was “How do you measure growth and achievement?” I chose this question because I’m at a crossroads of what I believe, how I teach, and what’s important in education. I blame the online class I took for TGC! In it I watched a video by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and she asked the question, “What year are you educating your students for?” I like to think I’m educating them for this year but often times I feel like I’m not. If I measure my achievement against her question, I don’t think I’m educating for 2017.
This marks my 22nd year in education and I’ve struggled with that I teach. Growth and achievement have been very important to schools and that is often how we are measured. I know we need to grow students so they achieve but I struggle with the standardized approach to how we measure. I went to Indonesia hoping to find different ways to measure. When I heard one teacher say, “We teach English in order to pass the test” I realized I would need to find other ways to satisfy my interest in how they measure growth and achievement.
Personally, I measured growth by my participation in the TGC program. It was a phenomenal opportunity to study, learn, and work with teachers from all across the United States. From the online classes that seemed to take up so much time, but that was because I wanted to read and understand everything, to the fear of the unknown Indonesia, it was an incredible experience.
Global education is not how they teach in another country. I think I started the program thinking this way. Another area of growth for me. Now I teach lessons with the four global competencies fresh in my mind. I try to incorporate investigations into lessons daily and looking at issues from multiple perspectives is one of my favorite things to bring up in and out of class. Action and communication are areas I still need to grow in.
Working with teachers from around the United States was great. My favorite uncomfortable conversation was with our host teacher in Indonesia. I’m teach in a public school in Indiana. My partner teacher is in Utah and teaches at a charter school. When we tried to explain how schools were for us, we couldn’t have been more different. And to the teacher from Indonesia, we were absolutely confusing! Indonesian schools across the country are set up to be almost the same. Our host teacher struggled to understand schools across the street from each other could be completely different.
And teaching. What an amazing experience it was to stare out across a room of students, who probably didn’t understand much of what you were saying, and talk with them. Whatever English they knew was treasured. And the 3 or 4 Indonesian words I finally was brave enough to mutter appreciated. Our lessons were very well received even if they connect to their regular lessons. Teachers enjoyed the opportunity for us to share with the students. Maybe the measure of growth was that students now believed they could go beyond their local neighborhoods. The mobile phone had ways to make connections teachers can only dream of. Doors were opened and opportunities were shared. And if nothing else, my Instagram account followers grew by hundreds. Maybe that’s a way to measure achievement?
August 2
My time in Indonesia has come to an end. What a truly amazing experience! I am so grateful to so many that I'm scared to list any for fear of missing some! Thank you to the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (link) for offering such a wonderful program! Thank you to IREX (link) for implementing the Teachers for Global Classrooms program! Thank you to Perry Township Schools (link) for supporting my participation! And thank you to my school, Perry Meridian 6th Grade Academy (link), for your support, too!
My time in Indonesia has come to an end. What a truly amazing experience! I am so grateful to so many that I'm scared to list any for fear of missing some! Thank you to the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (link) for offering such a wonderful program! Thank you to IREX (link) for implementing the Teachers for Global Classrooms program! Thank you to Perry Township Schools (link) for supporting my participation! And thank you to my school, Perry Meridian 6th Grade Academy (link), for your support, too!
July 28
Probably the most awesome excursion possible! Today we traveled to Loksado to go bamboo rafting. Yes, bamboo rafting! About 4 hours north of our school in Banjarmarsin is the town of Loksado. It's known for bamboo and the Balai adat Malaris community house.
For about 4 hours we rafted down the Amandit River. What a peaceful and beautiful place it was. Not commercial. Not the easiest to find. But a hidden gem for sure. Along the river we were surrounded by lush trees. Then occasionally we'd pass a farm for either bamboo or palm trees. Locals would go about their daily lives using the river as a needed. What I'd call scary wire bridges would occasionally hang over head and motorcycles would cross them to transport their drivers to who knows where!
This excursion was a great end to my time on Borneo and my work with SMAN 1 Mandastana.
Probably the most awesome excursion possible! Today we traveled to Loksado to go bamboo rafting. Yes, bamboo rafting! About 4 hours north of our school in Banjarmarsin is the town of Loksado. It's known for bamboo and the Balai adat Malaris community house.
For about 4 hours we rafted down the Amandit River. What a peaceful and beautiful place it was. Not commercial. Not the easiest to find. But a hidden gem for sure. Along the river we were surrounded by lush trees. Then occasionally we'd pass a farm for either bamboo or palm trees. Locals would go about their daily lives using the river as a needed. What I'd call scary wire bridges would occasionally hang over head and motorcycles would cross them to transport their drivers to who knows where!
This excursion was a great end to my time on Borneo and my work with SMAN 1 Mandastana.
July 27
Today was my last day at SMAN 1. It was a day for teachers. We presented to the area English teachers about our schools, how they run, and what we do in our typical classroom. David started the presentation talking about his Innovation school in Utah. I was fascinated by what all it offered and how they were challenging students using real world problems. The English teachers were listening intently... or so I thought. Language is a tricky thing. They were pretty quiet until a picture of David's school appeared. He said, "as you can see it snows in Utah" And that created quite a reaction. I'm pretty sure the first 10 minutes of him talking were lost and the only thing they remember was the snow!
My presentation dealt with more basics. School hours. School buses. 5 day a week school. The biggest reaction I got from them was when a composite of my class appeared on the screen. I think they thought my students would all be white. What they saw really was a rainbow!
We followed it up with a building wide technology presentation. I'm happy to say teachers in Indonesia now love Kahoot.it, too!
My presentation dealt with more basics. School hours. School buses. 5 day a week school. The biggest reaction I got from them was when a composite of my class appeared on the screen. I think they thought my students would all be white. What they saw really was a rainbow!
We followed it up with a building wide technology presentation. I'm happy to say teachers in Indonesia now love Kahoot.it, too!
July 26
Another great few days of teaching at SMAN 1 Mandastana! We struggled with the schedule and what classes would be best to teach in. I have to admit I went for fun vs. a challenging lesson. As part of our STEM challenge at my current school we start the year with building spaghetti towers. This helps students think outside of the box, try different approaches, and begin to work as a team. I took that over to Indonesia as well! I applaud my co-teacher David for trying to do a Chemistry lab with a class. It was interesting. Yes, they did have a Chemistry lab. Yes, they did have chemicals and some burners. But no, they had never been used. We couldn't quite figure out that one. He made the best of it for sure. I stuck with how high can you build the tower!
July 24
Today was the first day of school and it was unlike any other first day of my 22 years of teaching. My day started at SMAN 1 Mandastana (SMAN = public school) at their flag ceremony. All schools in Indonesia have a ceremony every Monday morning and can last 1-2 hours. This one was different. It had two Americans attending and there was certainly excitement in the air. We are the first to visit their school.
For about 25 minutes I did not understand a single word. Students and teachers spoke, sang, chanted and I smiled as the hot sun beat down on us. I kind of felt like one of my newly arrived to the country students sitting in class. I wanted to know what they were saying but didn't have the words or means to ask.
For about 25 minutes I did not understand a single word. Students and teachers spoke, sang, chanted and I smiled as the hot sun beat down on us. I kind of felt like one of my newly arrived to the country students sitting in class. I wanted to know what they were saying but didn't have the words or means to ask.
Finally I heard the word "American" and felt a little excited because they were talking about me. Then again, I had no idea what they were saying!
My day was filled with speeches, hand shakes, and pictures, pictures, pictures. I was prepared with a presentation but unfortunately some technology issues caused me to awkwardly smile at the students while trying to fix one of the only two projectors. They graciously smiled back eager to hear what I was going to say.
My focus for this journey is how do you measure growth and achievement?
I can say I definitely grew from my first speech to my second.
I can say students were overly excited to try their English to ask a question, even though they asked behind a bunch of giggling.
I can say what I thought students would know wasn't really what they did. I thought sports and entertainment. They knew the Statue of Liberty, Obama, Trump, and Michael Jackson.
My day was filled with speeches, hand shakes, and pictures, pictures, pictures. I was prepared with a presentation but unfortunately some technology issues caused me to awkwardly smile at the students while trying to fix one of the only two projectors. They graciously smiled back eager to hear what I was going to say.
My focus for this journey is how do you measure growth and achievement?
I can say I definitely grew from my first speech to my second.
I can say students were overly excited to try their English to ask a question, even though they asked behind a bunch of giggling.
I can say what I thought students would know wasn't really what they did. I thought sports and entertainment. They knew the Statue of Liberty, Obama, Trump, and Michael Jackson.
Our focus for the past few days has been learning and experiencing the Indonesian culture. I think the most entertaining for me has been the transportation. I love how crowded the roads are with buses, cars, and mopeds, mopeds, and more mopeds. Somehow it works, even in impossibly small spaces. Mopeds squeeze between people, cars, and curbs in ways that make me shocked I haven’t seen an accident yet. And on those mopeds? Dad driving, mom sitting on the back of the seat, and squeezed between them is their young child. I’m not sure where the debate falls on whether the car seat should face front or back here.
There is no way I could see myself doing this traffic day to day and certainly not driving it. But it is a work of art.
There is no way I could see myself doing this traffic day to day and certainly not driving it. But it is a work of art.
July 17, 2017
We also got the chance to make Batik prints at the Batik Textile Museum. The talent and skill needed to make these designs is awesome. And to get the chance to try my hand at it was great fun.
“What are you eating?”
“I'm not sure but it’s good.”
I am positive I’m not this adventurous eating at home. In fact, I'm very lazy because I don't like to think about it. But here the food has been always something new and fun. Rice and meat often with a chili spice sauce. Tonight we got the chance to the food Indonesian style… eating with our hands.
“I'm not sure but it’s good.”
I am positive I’m not this adventurous eating at home. In fact, I'm very lazy because I don't like to think about it. But here the food has been always something new and fun. Rice and meat often with a chili spice sauce. Tonight we got the chance to the food Indonesian style… eating with our hands.
July 15, 2017
About 22 years ago I told my family and friends I was going to student teach in Australia. They looked at me like, "huh?" So when I told them I was going to Indonesia this summer as part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program they reacted the same but added, "of course you are." Today begins the first of 21 days in Indonesia. 2 hours to Atlanta, 12 to Tokyo, and 8 more to Jakarta made for a strenuous travel day.
We were able to go visit the National Monument in what is Jakarta's Central Park. There we became oddly popular. When we started taking pictures of the monument strangers joined our group and started taking pictures of us.
More cultural and educational opportunities to come. As for now though my body is telling me to sleep!