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Musings From My Travels

1/17/2017

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I am writing this from the airport in Ho Chi Minh. I have had the most amazing holiday travelling with my family for the last month around Vietnam and Cambodia. Hence, the silence over here at the blog! There is a couple of thoughts and stories I have had in relation to education while travelling that I wish to share with you.
 
The first takes place in ‘The Temple of Literature’ in Hanoi in Vietnam. This is the site of Vietnam's first university (established 1076) and is dedicated to Confucius. The beautiful setting would make any teacher jealous of this learning space. Open buildings, incredible gardens…. if only our modern day schools could harness such peaceful and reflective learning environments. 
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One school in Vietnam has the right idea. ​As my family were walking through the gardens a group of four young students around the age of twelve approached us. They inquired whether we had a tour guide or not. When we replied that we didn’t they asked if we would like them to show us around. It was actually their school assignment for the morning! The teachers stood at a distance watching their students explain the workings of the buildings and history of this special place to us.  We learnt so much more then the paragraph I had read on google before visiting and our experience here was enriched greatly. Meanwhile, the students were applying their understanding of the history of the temple, cultural nuances and English language skills. At the end of the tour they asked if we could provide them with written feedback to take to their teacher. We gave a glowing report. These students were engaged, actively thinking, processing, and developing their social skills and confidence. I am now trying to think how I can use the same teaching strategy at home. 
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The other point worth noting about the ‘Temple of Literature’ is the stone turtle tablets. There are 86 of these tablets adorning the right hand side of the courtyard. Each tablet contains the stories of the graduating students from each year. The tablets are written by the teacher noting their achievements and qualities so that all who visit can read about those who once studied at this place (that is if you can read the ancient script!). Imagine if your students could read the many accomplishments of the students before them as they passed by each day. I guess we have year books, but they aren’t quite the same! I found this practice joy-fueled and affirming…. a reminder of the type of teacher I aspire to be. 
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​In fact there were many reminders throughout this trip, particularly reminders of gratitude. Have you ever seen a Cambodian school bus?  
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Visited a floating school?
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​I can say I have and both experiences remind me what we have to be grateful for as teachers in a first-world country. At the end of 2016 we were discussing space and environment as a staff. The usual and quite valid comments about lack of space, resources and money was audible in our beautifully furnished, warm and colourful library. Don’t get me wrong, I am the first to ask for more resources when I am given the chance, but maybe when the answer is no we need to remind ourselves that we really have everything we need.

​My daughters brought presents with them to hand out to children we met along the way. At the Cambodian Landmine Museum and School for the Orphaned we had the privilege of meeting two young boys. My daughter Penny gave the youngest boy a Mr Men book and the eldest some textas and notepads. The eldest just held his, not wanting to unwrap it and hopefully got the biggest surprise when he finally did. The youngest opened his present, saw the book, squealed and kissed it and then walked around with it safely tucked under his t-shirt and a big smile on his face until we left. Books and pens are something we take for granted, but for these children it was like they had won the lottery. 
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​Despite the poverty, particularly in Cambodia, the people seemed in a way happier. When we visited the floating school classes had just ended for the day. It was only midday. The children were laughing and playing as their parents picked them up to take them back home or further afield to keep fishing for the day. They seemed so very joyful. Just take a look at the smiles on the school bus too? Maybe I am jumping to conclusions but my guess is anxiety is not an issue at these schools and teachers aren’t anywhere near as exhausted. Should we take a leaf out of their book? Simplify? Cut back? Do we ask too much? Do too much? Try to be too much?
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​Lastly, travel is the greatest teacher. Over the last month I have watched my own two children make new friends from all around the world, try new foods, practice three different languages, experience other religious practices, develop their independence, immerse themselves in cultures, play with sun bears, snorkel for the first time, practice chess and even more. What they have learnt from this trip is priceless. If you can travel with your own children, you should. If you can travel yourself, you should.
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I hope all of you have had an amazing holiday and are refreshed and ready to tackle the new year. I know I am.... and will come at it with a renewed perspective. 
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Teaching From The Trenches

11/12/2016

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I stood a little distance away. I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the experience and I needed my own space for a moment. As I scanned the field my eyes fell on the history teacher and the girls that trailed behind. The history teacher, a passionate and knowledgable colleague of mine, was profoundly rooted in the moment. As she stood in the trenches 50 metres away from the German Front Line she was giving the best history lesson of her life. The students that were travelling with us hung off every word she said. She leaned in against the grassy mound showing them how the soldiers would position themselves for battle. Young men not much older then them preparing to die.

The Battle of Fromelles took place in 1916. On the first day of battle there was over 60,000 casualties. If you read this in a text book you might say ‘Gee that is a lot’, but as you drive past cemetery after cemetery you realise what 60,000 actually means. We stopped at the Australian Mass Grave at Phesant Wood where we located the grave of the Great Uncle of one of our students. We prayed in this cemetery holding a small ceremony for those that gave their lives for our country. Each student and teacher found a gravestone to place a poppy and an Australian flag. We will all remember those soldiers names for as long as we lived.

Fast forward a few days…

The language school was in Rouen just past the dungeon where Joan of Arc was held captive. We stopped for some eclairs. The girls ordered in French as we gaped at the vibrant colours filling the glass cabinet before us.  They were crunchy, creamy and delicious. I walked the girls to the language school waving goodbye as they entered the large red doors to begin their lessons. I had some time before I had to meet the art students so I wandered down to the Joan of Arc Cathedral and stood in the place she was said to have been burnt at the stake. The enormity of the history within this medieval town left me breathless. Realising I had lost track of time I power-walked to the Rouen Cathedral entering the building directly opposite. The art students were just finishing their life drawings and were ready to show the history students and teachers their art from the last two days. I looked out the window of the studio at the cathedral. This is where Monet stood and painted and here my students were having the same experience. After admiring their works, I returned to the language school to check on the others during their lunch break. They were cooking crepes with students from Belgium as they conversed in French. The smile on their faces said it all.

The clouds drifted over a blue sky creating the perfect backdrop for the small little cottage in our view. The garden was pulsing with life. Sunflowers rose above my head, bumble bees buzzed between the many blossoms and the stream gently trickled by. We sat on wooden benches and took out our watercolours and visual arts diaries. This was my first ever watercolour and I was going to get it right! The art students gave me advice noting techniques and brush strokes. The joy in that moment was palpable. Painting in Monet’s Garden is an experience I will never forget.

We travelled from Sydney to France with fifteen art, language and history students from year 10 and 11 and three teachers. Over 14 days we travelled to the Somme, the Western Front of Ypres in Belgium, Rouen, to the site of the D-Day landings in Normandy, Bayeux, and finished off in Paris. As I took in the twinkling lights of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower I was struck by all I had learnt over the previous two weeks. I know the girls we had travelled with had learnt a great deal too. For many of them it was their first time overseas or even away from their parents for such a long time. 

We as educators need to create as many of these opportunities for our students as we can. 
We need to advocate for these types of experiences because they are invaluable. 
You cannot learn what we learnt about Australian History from a textbook. 
You cannot learn what we learnt about art from a the internet. 
You cannot master a language like our students did in a classroom.
​I know overseas trips are not always possible, but sometimes it is as simple as walking out the school gate. Don’t let the walls of your classroom define the space in which your teach. Define your own space and create your own experiences… because experience is the most powerful pedagogy there is. 

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    Amy GIll 
    - The Joy-Fueled Teacher

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