Teaching and Learning Abroad

It's advising week this week which means I get to share in my advisees plans and goals for their lives. I spend 15-20 minutes with each student as they share their excitement about their courses, professional goals and their work with children. Every so often a student is really excited about a program they have experienced and they want other students to know about it. So when Elizabeth Watts shared her excitement about her participation in Projects Abroad this past summer I had to add a link to the Education Department  webpage.

We frequently hear negative things in the news about study or work abroad programs so it is really good to hear about one that really works well. Elizabeth went to Ghana through Projects Abroad and was really impressed with both the educational component of the program as well as its administration. It's a volunteer program but everything is really well organized and coordinated. She says she always felt she was well looked after and knew exactly where she was supposed to be.

Another great overseas program is the Advanced Studies in England program which is a more formal educational experience but with a significant field placement in a public school classroom. One of my advisees, Sara Denton is currently studying with ASE in Bath, England. You can read all about her experiences in her SMC blog.  

Study Abroad

There's nothing quite like studying abroad to broaden the mind. I've spent half my life studying abroad although I'm not sure whether it was the first half or the second half. The 'study' part is, of course, only a part of what you do when you "study abroad". By actually living abroad for six months you do everything else that one normally does in six months living at home or at college. You have a social life, make friends, learn how to use funny money and even, perhaps, drive on the wrong side of the road. You learn how to eat, and enjoy, different foods, wear different clothes (such as pac-a-macs) and how to behave decorously at the local pub.

One of the most popular study abroad programs at St. Mike's is the ASE Program in Bath, England. It's a great program because it is so well organized, you get to live with British students in downtown Bath, and teach little kids with strange accents. Bath, of course, is one of Europe's finest Georgian cities with a host of attractions such as the Roman Baths and the remarkable architecture of the Royal Crescent. It's also less than an hour from London by train and a day trip to Paris.

My dad grew up in bath so I know it really well. When I was a child we used to take a Thomas- the-Tank-Engine-like train ride from my home town of Bristol to Bath (15 miles) to visit my grandmother every Wednesday afternoon. We always had Spam sandwiches for lunch on the train.

Over the years I've been associated with many students who have studied, and lived in England, and watched them make British friends, and attend each other's weddings and vacation with each other with their families. There are also wonderful opportunities to study, and live, in Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia and just about anywhere but I suppose I like the ASE program because of its ties with my childhood roots, whether I was abroad at the time or not!!!!

A Humpphh Week

Sometimes no matter how positive an outlook one tries to keep the world seems to conspire to test every aspect of one's mental resolve. It's been the second week of advising at SMC which is always a great time to meet with students out of class and catch up on what they've been up to. Here's a link to my advising webpage. I also have to clear them to register for courses for next semester, and make sure they are aware of their GPA requirements and the various other Vermont Department of Education teacher licensure requirements they need to follow. I can even advise my study abroad students via email such as Kaytlyn who is studying in Australia. The hmmpphh part is those few students who fail to show up to their advising meetings and the difficulty sometimes of getting all the various graduation and licensure requirements to fit in 4 years and 124 credits. In the end everything always works out with the requirements and I always give the no-shows a second chance.

The math ed and special education meeting I attended at the VT DOE on Monday was interesting. The Special Ed presentation was great but the math ed piece just didn't seem to come together the way I would have done it; perhaps I'm too critical. The hmmppphhh factor here was that some of the math content seemed off the mark and there was no real theory as there was in the Special Ed piece. When two professional fields such as these collaborate it seems to me that there should be a form of synergistic theory development rather than two separate courses of action or thought.

And then finally, my house decided to give me hmmpphh in a big way. This past summer the town of Richmond received stimulus money to completely rebuild the aging Victorian sewer system. Two days ago I noticed water in the basement. Unfortunately is wasn't rain water as I first thought but a leaking sewer line. It turns out the contractors probably did a poor job of connecting the new line to the existing line exiting my house.