Tucker's Tidbits: Week 2--Blog Response to Katie Hirt

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Week 2 Blog 2 - Living in a New Culture

I was inspired my friends who traveled and studied abroad during college so I moved to Honduras for my first teaching position. The job itself was more than ideal. I was teaching 3 sections of general biology and 1 section of AP Biology. The school was and international school that catered to families that were well known in the community. When I moved to Honduras I did not speak any Spanish. Well actually I knew the words for thank you, please, and bathroom.

I would be lying if I didn't say that moving to a foreign country was not scary. On the plane ride from the US I cried (a lot) and wondered if this "adventure" should be called off. I knew that eventually I would figure out how to speak Spanish, teaching, my new address, transportation, where to find food, how to call home, how to set up internet, where to go if there was a hurricane, how to call for help, and my list went on. The fears I had and the anxiety about moving to a new culture was overwhelming. Yet I still moved and stayed for a year.

For almost anyone put in a new and unfamiliar situation anxiety and fear arise. Why do some people push forward while others revert back to something known and familiar?

My thoughts now turn to our current educational world. There seems to be a divide in teachers - Those that want to integrate new technologies and those that do not. Obviously with anything new, there are proponents and opposition, but why wouldn't all teachers want to use new tools that can make students more engaged? Is this uncharted territory for some teachers? I know that some teachers are scared of technology and too anxious to even try. If something goes wrong, there are 20 students in the class to help you figure out what went wrong! Use their knowledge to help you teach.

It is my hope that many, many, many more teachers in the next few years will realize that living in and participating in the “educational technology” culture is a wonderful thing!

Sources
"Class with Frog" taken by K. Hirt at EIS 2007

2 COMMENTS:

jbb said...: excellent way to frame the technology divide in education. I have a brother-in-law who teaches middle school science, love astronomy, is dedicated to listening to NPR, but for years resisted the intrusion of technology into his classroom. It came creeping in through email from administration and coworkers and he insisted that if they can be bothered to come to his room or call than he can't be bothered to respond to their messages. To his benefit, he was quick to notice that technology was most often coming into play not to make the job easier or better, but for some administrative reason to get him to do more with less. He's turned the corner a bit and has been harassing and embarrassing his teenage daughters by texting them on their phones and making up his own abbreviations. He still has a bit of a technology black thumb (he's the only adult I've know who's been able to kill a perfectly good Mac). It amazes me that someone who loves science and is quite intelligent is still pretty much anti-tech in the classroom.; October 11, 2009 2:08 AM
jojoteach1109 said...: Katie, I completely understand your experience of moving to a foreign country to teach. I also chose to move to a foreign country for a teaching assignment. It was approximately five years ago and I had been teaching a few years, but was stuck in a rut. I needed something new, so I took a year long assignment to teach in Shanghai, China. I was to be teaching English to kindergartners. It started out alright, but quickly moved into a negative experience. After being there for a couple months and teaching 15 month olds to 2 year olds (babies essentially), I realized the assignment was not what was promised and the anxiety became almost unbearable. I decided about three months in to return home and find a job back in the Florida public school system. To answer your question about pushing forward or reverting back, I felt like a total failure when I returned home. I felt defeated and was actually embarrassed because I felt as if people would think I was weak in coming home. In that sense, I reverted to the known. In another sense as I look back, I don't dispute that I was weak, but I took that experience as a life lesson and an opportunity for growth. I learned a lot from the experience and the experience has paved the way for me. I am a much stronger individual than I ever was before I went to China and I can now use this experience to push forward in life and enjoy the days ahead with a stronger sense of self.; October 11, 2009 1:01 PM