Upon reading this assignment I thought about the word consequences once again. It's a good thing I remembered that a consequence doesn't always have to be negative. I have thoroughly enjoyed expanding my professional contacts outside my own city and even my own country. It has also been a great time to stay very much in touch with a dear friend.
So what do I take away from this journey?
First, hearing about the unique situations in this country and how they are handled has given me the opportunity to reflect on my experiences as a teacher and how I handle situations I encounter in the classroom. Next, it has given me a new view on certain concepts and thoughts. For example, during one of the assignments we discussed poverty. Hearing the experiences in South America helped me understand Stephanie's definition of poverty, and how this is something that occurs within our country as well. The definition of poverty is lack of necessities. One of the many necessities for our children is love, bonding, and support. Hearing about the children who are wealth in the materialistic aspect but go without these necessities, has opened my eyes to the fact that many of our children also go through this. As an educator it is my job to be a person who can provide those necessities. Finally, it has given me a renewed motivation to being the best educator I can possibly be. I have had the chance to look into the life of another educator and the impacts she has made. It has reminded me of just how important a caring, passionate educator really is for our children.
My goal is to remain in contact with Stephanie and her journey in South America, I would also like to remain in contact with the young teacher who was experiencing the students going through "trances." I would like to stay in up to date on how the administration was handling this situation.
Overall I feel this has been a very insightful learning opportunity. It is important we remain aware of the different experiences of other educators regardless of where they are teaching. All experiences are learning opportunities we can build on within the profession.
Hi Jo, i thought this assignment made a great impact on my life as i learned about other agencies and how other countries deal with factors such as poverty that you touched on. Great blog throughout this course, i hope to hear from you in our next course.
ReplyDeleteJo Ann: I like that fact that your professional development heightened from your interactions with your international contacts. You mentioned that you know consider what goes on in your own educational environment from the discussions that you have from your contacts. What changes have you made in your educational environment that stems from your interactions with your international contacts?
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are able to build such a great relationship with your contact. The lessons we learned during this will effect how all of us look at children and the issue they face. It was great working with you!!
ReplyDeleteJo,
ReplyDeleteAs always I enjoy reading your blog assignment. I am eager to learn more about your reserach topic and your overall opinion of the new course. My topic is stress triggers in children. Sometimes I think that adults forget that children are actually human and they do have feelings. As an adult we always think that it is about us, but most of the time it is not. There are so many factors that contribute to stress in children and if these factors are not dealt with they will lead to greater risk. If you would like more insight on my reserach topic please check out myt blog site at www.myvisionisclear.wordpress.com
ALice Jones