My experience with international teaching has taught me a lot. One of the take-aways for me is how quickly time flies by, especially when one is busy. This past week was no exception. Minutes turned to hours, hours to days, days to nights, and suddenly another week is gone. It's mid September and while teachers in Canada have been back to school for a week or two, here in India, our staff members have been working since late July, and I have just completed my first six weeks at a job that I am totally enjoying, despite the challenges.
So on Monday I started to create a bulletin board to show appreciation to students, staff, parents, and anyone else that someone would like to demonstrate their thanks. This was a challenge in that there was no large paper to place as a background for the bright coloured letters. What you see here is the flip side of a piece of cotton material that was lying beneath another layer of faded and stained bristol board. Although not completed in this picture, it turned out bright and cheery, just waiting for stars to light up the green background.
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| Monday's bulletin board- Show your appreciation with a star! |
On Tuesday, a new friend sent me a message asking me to drop in for tea, as I had ordered some cloth grocery bags as a fund raiser for one of the organizations with which she is associated. After a lovely cup of tea (with biscuits or cookies as I call them in Canada, she showed me these very beautiful hand made greeting cards. Here is but one of the assortment she had in her possession. At the same time my friends at The Glue in Kuwait have just come out with some nifty greeting cards. I will have to do some fancy calculating to find out which ones are more cost efficient! Shout out to the Glue for the next phase in your business venture!
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Hand made greeting card with real petals and leaves
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Speaking about flowers...I believe that India must have more flowers per capita than any other country in the world. A day does not go by when I don't walk by a new blossom somewhere on my 15 minute stroll to work. As well, one can buy fresh flowers almost on any street corner. The odours are marvellous.
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| Blooms on a bush |
Later in the week we had a guest story teller from London, England come by for a hilarious morning of exaggerated stories, music, drama, and fun. All of the students in the Primary division of the school got a taste of what storytelling can be when creativity plays a role in its design. This young man travels around the world sharing his stories. We were very fortunate to have him come to spend a few hours with our children.
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| Craig Jenkins performs live at our school- delightful |
On Thursday after school I presented my first PD session for the primary school staff. The presentation was about differentiation in the classroom, or meeting individual needs of our learners.
It was a great opportunity for me to share some of the information I have gleaned over my years of teaching, plus some online resources.
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A summary of Carol Ann Tomlinson's theory of differentiated instruction, with thanks to the author
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As I wrote before, I am enjoying the challenges of this non-teaching position. Every day is different, I am meeting many new people, and living a simple lifestyle here in Sahakar Nagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Until next time,
