By Bridget Suvansri As this school year comes to a close, I can’t help but be filled with joy at the positive experiences my students and I shared. Yes, they improved their writing skills, read wonderful books, conducted research, delivered presentations, took standardized tests, and all of the rest. And yes, all of that is worth celebrating. But what stands out the most, by far, are the moments that happened during our second Global Conversations literature course with The Anderson School in Gweru, Zimbabwe. After reading Lois Lowry’s The Giver , students explored the concept of Utopia, the impact of rules on a society, and how societies grapple with the issues. The power in the course lies in the research and sharing of real-world issues that the students face in their local communities such as racism, gender roles, unemployment, pollution, and crime. Ultimately, students are challenged to think about the solutions to these issues and how improvements ...
Yesterday started out as a typical school day at Eastern Middle School. Students intently staring at iPhone screens before the bell; lots of wonderful books in hands throughout the day; kids tapping away on chromebooks in well-lit and air conditioned classrooms. But then something extra special and different happened during the last period of the day. We were fortunate to have two visitors from Kenya Connect come to talk with a group of 32 students who are participating in their second Level Up Village global collaboration course this year, this time with students in Africa. We shared lots of laughs and listened to eye-opening descriptions of life for students in Kenya. Sharon Runge, Executive Director, and James Musyoka, Field Operations Manager, from Kenya Connect visited my 6th grade classroom as part of their two-week United States tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the organization. Sharon started out by sharing the work of Kenya Connec...
We'd love your help so that we can help other teachers! We will be working in rural Kenyan schools for two weeks this summer to train Kenyan teachers how to encourage reading, creative writing, and science projects, and to promote critical thinking. The students we will be working with live in extreme poverty, and the teachers receive little to no staff development, so it is our mission to use our teaching talents and experiences to improve their educational lives. We hope to raise money to help defray the cost of the trip which will be about $3,800 for each of us. The cost of rooming, meals, and transportation while in Kenya is approximately $1,000 for each of us. Airfare round trip from New York to Nairobi will be approximately $1,370 for each of us depending on pricing at the time of booking. Then there are visas, airport transfers, medical kits, teaching supplies...The costs add up! We've had a relationship with Ken...
Comments
Post a Comment