Message in a Bottle

Yesterday, it was 91 degrees plus humidity.  The air was sweet and rich, the blooming trees and flowers sloughing off copious amounts of pollen.  It was so humid that you could literally see the air- everything was muted by a white haze of heat.

Why am I describing the beginning of a long, hot summer in Virginia?  Because it reminded me of being in Ghana.  The smell, the weight of the air, brought me right back to Sefwi Bekwai.  It made me yearn for the ability to bottle up the smells of Ghana to bring back for the students.  Maybe, just maybe, that would help me portray what it was like to be in Ghana a little bit better for my students.

That is what I have been struggling with since my return- how do I convey my experience to my students?   How do I deliver my experience in Ghana to the students so that all of their senses are stimulated, enabling them to truly understand what it was like to be there?

Any teacher who travels struggles with this.  If we didn't, there would not be programs, fellowships, and classes offered to instruct us on how to bring our worldly experiences back to the classroom.

Here are some suggestions to bring your travel experiences to kids:

• "History in a Box"-  Gather "artifacts" from your trip that students.can interact with.  This can vary based on subject and grade level.  My IB Seniors may have very different artifacts from a middle  school humanities course.  One suggestion would be to gather money- kids love that.  Gather dirts samples if you are a science teacher so acidity can be tested.  Bring home clothing or flags.  And always bring home lots of pictures and videos.
• Make connections with other teachers wherever you travel.  This way you can set up a virtual connection between your classrooms.  You can lesson share, Skype, or work on joint projects (the power of the internet!).
• Food!  Gather recipes and samples of food whenever you get the chance.  Kids love to see what other people eat.  Better yet, they love to try it.  Bring home little candies, have a day where you cook some food.  There are all sorts of valuable lessons that can be derived from food.
• Finally, take pictures of toilets.  Kids ALWAYS ask what bathrooms are like, especially when you travel somewhere exotic.

Hopefully some of these suggestions will be helpful!  Please feel free to add comments about what you have done to make your travel more accessible to your students.

Globalization: A New Dawn

I have been back from Ghana for almost three months.  And what I have done with my experience?

Nothing.

Not a thing.

Nada.

Fortunately for me though I have people holding me accountable- namely my students.  Which is awesome.  And annoying.

So, what to do with this experience?  Here are several options:

1.  South Lakes High School (the school I work for) can fund raise for Sefwi Bekwai Secondary High School. They need things- legitimate things- like computers and internet access, books, better pay for teachers, the ability to finish a building that has been standing empty because corrugated metal is protruding from inconvenient places.

2.  I can lesson share with my host teacher- Alex Dadzie- throughout the course of next year and set up some sort of correspondence between his students and my students.  That would be cool for the kids.

3.  I can create a rich sister school partnership in which multiple staff members communicate with one another, thus allowing more students to participate globally with the rest of the world.

4.  I can do nothing (well, not really nothing- this plan would have me sitting by the pool getting tan and not worrying about this responsibility).

Ultimately, I like option 3 best.  It takes a lot of work, time, and patience, but the end result is amazing.  It will involve some of option 1 and 2 if I do it right.  It will culminate in our school culture gearing itself towards a more global awareness and connectivity.  We are talking Nobel Peace Prizes.  Or, maybe just a shout out in the Reston Times.  Either would be good.

Please watch this space for more posts, more links, and more resources.  This blog will fundamentally alter the teaching for anyone who reads it.  We are talking big changes, people!  Or, maybe you will at least get one cool lesson out of it.