Reflection on a Symposium
This weekend has been incredible. As my "Principal Designee" partner, Stephanie, said "I have never been treated this well as a teacher, ever!" The hotel was incredible, the food was amazing, the respect that we were given from everyone involved was more than I've ever experienced. We weren't "just teachers," we were education professionals who had important things to say. But this weekend was much more than just a nice weekend. I learned so much from the sessions that I attended and met so many fascinating people. | |
Several of the sessions that I attended dealt with the practicalities of travelling to Russia.What I should expect of my host teacher, what our agenda will be while we're in Moscow, health insurance, packing, etc. Another session I attended was focused around examining work samples that other fellows had brought that their students had completed. It was fascinating to see the projects that other teachers were doing, how they incorporated the Global Competencies, and the quality of the student work. I really felt that there was a consensus that through doing these projects, our students were more involved in the lessons, took more ownership, and really became more vested in their own learning.
The session that resonated with me the most was about developing an Essential Question for travel. Why am I traveling and what do I hope to learn? This is not unlike an objective that we set for our students when we plan lessons. The obvious question was first to pop into my mind. "What is Russia like and what is the difference between Russian Schools and American ones?" Which is all well and good, but our Essential Question must be a question that we could apply to ANY country or any cultural context and should be based around a theme such as "faith," "success," "power," or "love."
The session that resonated with me the most was about developing an Essential Question for travel. Why am I traveling and what do I hope to learn? This is not unlike an objective that we set for our students when we plan lessons. The obvious question was first to pop into my mind. "What is Russia like and what is the difference between Russian Schools and American ones?" Which is all well and good, but our Essential Question must be a question that we could apply to ANY country or any cultural context and should be based around a theme such as "faith," "success," "power," or "love."
I really struggled with picking a theme. I want whatever theme I choose to reflect no only my interests, but the interests of my students, because ultimately, they are the reason I'm going to Russia. The instructors assured me that these essential questions will change by nature as I develop pre-, during, and post-travel. After "trying on" several different ideas such as immigration (many of my students are immigrants or their parents are), faith (I'm very strong in my faith), and education (because, well, I'm a teacher), I settled on the theme of Language. You can see a chart that I made that's essentially a copy of the one I scrawled out on the scratch paper they passed out. |
I think I've come up with a workable essential question for now.
"Is language diversity considered to be valuable with regards to immigrants or with bilingualism?"
With this essential question, I still have to think about the assumptions that I'm carrying with me as I go to Russia. What am I assuming? Do I think that because in Illinois, we have such a push for bilingual education that Russia will have one too? Or do I assume that Russia is still totalitarian and Soviet in their thinking that only one language, Russian, is acceptable? Am I assuming that Russian schools will have any programs to help immigrant students succeed in the classroom while they are simultaneously learning Russian?
Of all of the sessions that I attended, this one, on the essential question has really made me stop and think. I don't want to just go to Russia aimlessly. What value will I get from just wandering around willy-nilly and letting the winds take me where ever they go?
Again, I will put in the plug for signing up for this program. It is incredible and has really taught me a lot about myself and about