My international contact Eric Asbury in Dubai always shared techniques that he used
in the classroom. Eric teaches 5th grade boys so I was a little
skeptical about the techniques working for me being that I work with
Kindergarten students. To my surprise, some of his methods actually worked for
me! Yay! I would like to share it with you all…
One of the techniques is meditation. I shared with Eric that
my students usually become unfocused and off task after lunch. Since we cannot
take naps, Eric suggested that I take a 10 minute period with the lights off
and explain to the kids that we are meditating. Unlike schools in the US , students in Dubai have a certain time of day to pray and
meditate. The meditation period has been working well for the students in my
class. Another thing that Eric and I discussed is paperwork. I have never been
a ‘worksheet all day’ type of teacher, but with the demands from standards and
from parents (they want to see what their child is doing in class) I am sort of
forced to use paper more than I’d like to. Eric suggested that I pick one day
out of the week to incorporate hands on learning. My first time encouraging the
hands on day was on December 19, 2013. I arranged centers in that manner for
language arts and reading. I also did a whole group math assignment as we
discussed numbers and sets using counting cubes. The children really enjoyed
the activities. It gave them the opportunity to work together at their own pace
and solve problems together. I emailed Eric to let him know how great it worked
out and he was pleased that his suggestion was beneficial to me. I also shared
with Eric a few strategies that he could use with his students. Since he is in
a class with all males, I suggested that he take the boys outside for science and
math lessons. He was able to build a lesson regarding rocks and soil and the
kids enjoyed being outside searching for rocks, minerals, and so forth.
Education in another
country is not much different from here in the US. We still face common issues
together (salary, learning styles of children, poverty, etc) I have learned by
sharing strategies and techniques with Eric that we can help each other
regardless of where we are in the world. Lastly, we come together for one
common cause-the children. Just as in the US, Dubai had teachers that were
passionate and some not so passionate. The field of education is changing all
over the world, and it is up to educators to embrace the change or leave the
field.
My goal is to stay in touch with Eric and continue sharing
ideas and experiences with him. We have truly bonded over this 8 week period. I
am proud to say that I have made a new friend. I also plan to continue
following the Harlem Children’s Zone, as I value what they stand for and the
impressive work that they are doing for the youth in Bronx, New York.
It is so exciting to see that you were able to form a friendship with your international contact. I have enjoyed reading about your conversations and learning from them. I like the way you very clearly state that change is something that early childhood professionals must embrace if they expect to stay in the field. This is so true! I have seen many local providers burn out and leave the field because the refused to adapt and adjust to meet the changing needs of the children and their families. We need more professionals who embrace the changes and accept them as an exciting part of our field. It is interesting to see how changes in early childhood care and education are happening all over the world.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you and Eric formed a great friendship. I have learned a lot about Dubai through your blogs, so I thank you and hope that I can take some of those techniques and get teachers that I work with to utilize them in their classrooms.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! I will try incorporating some of these techniques in my center. I personally plan on continuing the search for more techniques to implement in my program. Thanks for the great post!
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