Battle of Evermore
Today was incredible! Again. Today we went to Riverina Primary School and we were all blown away by the fact their ability to successfully teach students to think rather than teaching them how to take tests. It was brilliant (said with NZ/British accent). Imagine--what a concept.
We started the morning with the all you can eat huge buffet (which serves streaky bacon--I have to find out why it's called that. Perhaps in contrast to "Canadian" bacon? It's also a bit undercooked for my liking). The students in my taxi started talking about how quickly the driver from last night drove--going 80-100 mph. I pointed out that was km/hr to which I got the question what is that (??!?!?!?!). I explained and the (Pakistani or Indian) taxi driver made a comment about how they were on the metric system and we were on the "imperial system" and he commented that Americans liked doing their own thing. I had no come back. (Note this same student didn't know who Led Zeppelin is. Obviously my role of educator expands to pop culture as well--esp. when it comes to emergencies).
After breakfast we went to Auckland University's School of Ed and met with a prof there who gave us some background on their teaching methods. I learned a lot...but will have to get my other notes to explain.
We then went to the primary (elementary) school. This school is considered a two on a scale from one to ten, ten being from the most affluent neighborhood. However, the way that tax money is distributed I would never have guessed that. The school was probably nicer than my public elementary school, which wasn't shabby. Unlike public schools in the US, schools in poorer schools in NZ actually get MORE gov't assistance since they know the parents can pick up the extras in the wealthier neighborhoods. This is much fairer than the US model of distribution which several states (including OH off the top of my head) have deemed unconstitutional. In my opinion we wouldn't need to have debates about Affirmative Action if we provided equitable schooling from the beginning (which would have to include parental support).
Schools in NZ, even elementary schools, have special programs (e.g., magnet programs in the U.S.) and so neighborhood kids can go, but extra space is given to those who apply. There aren't any school buses, but most students take public school buses, some of which are designated for school during those peak times. This particular school's emphasis is on Maori culture so they learn the language, folktales, songs, dances, war chants, etc. We were greeted in the same way that we witnessed the greeting at the funeral the day before, i.e., a haka. We were welcomed (="kia ora") in (order by age and sex differs by tribe), sat down and they welcomed us and sang a song and then our one male representative gave a speech which was quite moving. I think we all took their welcome very serious and warmly. It was also great for my students (and me:) to see how this tradition is being revived and reinvented for the modern context. Such rituals help people formulate their identity as preserve a sense of continuity with the past (in this case I would argue that this process is healthy. Arguably there are examples that are not so healthy). Such education in the schools, especially at an early age, is important for socializing a future generation to get a long despite their diversity! They also sang some songs--one of which was done with sign language which is the third official language (in the classrooms with hearing challenged students, teachers wear microphone headsets to help kids hear better but keep the classroom inclusive).
After the ceremony we were invited to join the teachers for morning tea. Because we were guests they went out of their way to provide a very nice buffet of snacks: fresh fruit, sandwiches (including a spaghetti sandwich), pastries/sweets (including the national dessert: pavolova which is a meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit named after the Russian ballerina--yes it is a diabetic coma waiting to happen!). Then we visited several classrooms to see how they actually teach kids to think about learning while also teaching content. They do this by allowing kids to set their own learning initiatives and allowing them (with less and less teacher input) evaluate their own work. And it WORKS--across the country! It's beautiful. The younger classes have about 12 students per room.
That night I went to Whitcoulls Bookstore and shopped a little too much. Some people buy crack; I buy books or food. I thought it interesting to see what's popular at the top 100 display ( http://www.listology.com/list/whitcoulls-top-100-new-zealand ).
Word of the Day: Tummy Warmers aka appetizers
We started the morning with the all you can eat huge buffet (which serves streaky bacon--I have to find out why it's called that. Perhaps in contrast to "Canadian" bacon? It's also a bit undercooked for my liking). The students in my taxi started talking about how quickly the driver from last night drove--going 80-100 mph. I pointed out that was km/hr to which I got the question what is that (??!?!?!?!). I explained and the (Pakistani or Indian) taxi driver made a comment about how they were on the metric system and we were on the "imperial system" and he commented that Americans liked doing their own thing. I had no come back. (Note this same student didn't know who Led Zeppelin is. Obviously my role of educator expands to pop culture as well--esp. when it comes to emergencies).
After breakfast we went to Auckland University's School of Ed and met with a prof there who gave us some background on their teaching methods. I learned a lot...but will have to get my other notes to explain.
We then went to the primary (elementary) school. This school is considered a two on a scale from one to ten, ten being from the most affluent neighborhood. However, the way that tax money is distributed I would never have guessed that. The school was probably nicer than my public elementary school, which wasn't shabby. Unlike public schools in the US, schools in poorer schools in NZ actually get MORE gov't assistance since they know the parents can pick up the extras in the wealthier neighborhoods. This is much fairer than the US model of distribution which several states (including OH off the top of my head) have deemed unconstitutional. In my opinion we wouldn't need to have debates about Affirmative Action if we provided equitable schooling from the beginning (which would have to include parental support).
Schools in NZ, even elementary schools, have special programs (e.g., magnet programs in the U.S.) and so neighborhood kids can go, but extra space is given to those who apply. There aren't any school buses, but most students take public school buses, some of which are designated for school during those peak times. This particular school's emphasis is on Maori culture so they learn the language, folktales, songs, dances, war chants, etc. We were greeted in the same way that we witnessed the greeting at the funeral the day before, i.e., a haka. We were welcomed (="kia ora") in (order by age and sex differs by tribe), sat down and they welcomed us and sang a song and then our one male representative gave a speech which was quite moving. I think we all took their welcome very serious and warmly. It was also great for my students (and me:) to see how this tradition is being revived and reinvented for the modern context. Such rituals help people formulate their identity as preserve a sense of continuity with the past (in this case I would argue that this process is healthy. Arguably there are examples that are not so healthy). Such education in the schools, especially at an early age, is important for socializing a future generation to get a long despite their diversity! They also sang some songs--one of which was done with sign language which is the third official language (in the classrooms with hearing challenged students, teachers wear microphone headsets to help kids hear better but keep the classroom inclusive).
After the ceremony we were invited to join the teachers for morning tea. Because we were guests they went out of their way to provide a very nice buffet of snacks: fresh fruit, sandwiches (including a spaghetti sandwich), pastries/sweets (including the national dessert: pavolova which is a meringue topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit named after the Russian ballerina--yes it is a diabetic coma waiting to happen!). Then we visited several classrooms to see how they actually teach kids to think about learning while also teaching content. They do this by allowing kids to set their own learning initiatives and allowing them (with less and less teacher input) evaluate their own work. And it WORKS--across the country! It's beautiful. The younger classes have about 12 students per room.
That night I went to Whitcoulls Bookstore and shopped a little too much. Some people buy crack; I buy books or food. I thought it interesting to see what's popular at the top 100 display ( http://www.listology.com/list/whitcoulls-top-100-new-zealand ).
Word of the Day: Tummy Warmers aka appetizers
posted by AnthroAnge | 1:48 AM
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