Teachers as Students: School Observations
The teaching and learning process are interchangeable. It is not the individual who knows the most who will succeed, it is the individual who studies and consistently practices application of the learning process, integrates metacognition, and has the ability to use previously received knowledge in an appropriate situation as a successful solution to future endeavors.
The mission of the Rotary International Teacher Exchange is to provide Panamanian and United States teachers the opportunity to compare and contrast methodology, and to exchange and share ideas of improvement. Tomorrow Barbara and I will give a seminar in front of 60 Panamanian teachers.
Last week we had the opportunity to observe different schools. Some of the teachers we met and observed will be attending our seminar tomorrow. The purpose for observing the schools was to allow us to see the norms of the classroom, provide feedback for future improvements, and implement different strategies from our own training to give to the teachers as tools for their own classroom.
Here are a few differences from Wichita, Kansas to Chiriqui, Panama to put your understanding of our observations and experiences into perspective:
In Panama....
Teachers pay for their own copies in their classroom. (There was one school that collected money from the parents at the beginning of the year for copies). Resources are scarce. Any resources needed are bought by teachers.Schools do not have libraries, unless it is a university. There is a disproportionate distribution of available resources to teachers. (For example: One teacher would have books for every student, whereas another teacher would have one book for the entire class).
The first school we visited is called "La Comarca". This school has a population of students who are native people of Panama. These natives reside the in the mountains. It is common for a student from La Comarca to walk 2 to 3 hours from home to the school. We heard a story of a teacher who travels 5 hours by boat to get to the school. She stays near the Comarca during the school year, due to the long journey. A one to two hour drive is not uncommon for the staff of the Comarca. Throughout the school, there was no electricity, with the exception of the office. Resources are scarce and the most common method of teaching is lecture and the copying of notes within a notebook, due to the lack of materials (i.e. copies).
Tuesday we visited Centro Educativo Lassonde. A big difference between schools in the United States and Panama is that the Panamanian schools divide the school into morning and afternoon rotations. For example: Kindergarten through 3rd grade occurred in the morning. The 4th through 5th graders came in the evening for school. The school day is shorter, but there isn't much (if there are any) exploratories incorporated within the school day. The day is divided by these two shifts and different teachers teach different shifts.
Wednesday was Escuela Republica de Francia. This school had a set of books that the students could write in. This school was the only school we saw that had parents volunteer to pay one dollar at the beginning of the school year so that the teachers could make copies. We were impressed at how engaged and prepared the students were during the lesson. It was apparent that the teacher had been successfully applying strategies such as KWL from a previously taught seminar.
Thursday we went to Escuela San Jose de Las Lomas. This particular school had the same set of books as Escuela Republica de Francia. The teacher not only used attention skills, but used them effectively, and monitored the classroom throughout the lesson. This teacher explained to us the journey she went from having little to no resources, to having a supportive principal who slowly but surely grew the English department. The engagement of the students is evident, and the English teachers have a room with a TV screen and audio to accompany the books given to them.
(The students help clean up the classroom! That seemed to be a common occurrence in the schools we went to.)
Friday we visited Escuela Barriada Victoriana Lorenzo. At the school, we were warmly greeted by the English director and shown different English classrooms. We also had the opportunity to speak to different teachers, a few of their experiences in the United States schools, and their journey in advocating for the importance of English education for their students to maximize their future employment opportunities. For example, a pilot in Panama would gain a competitive edge by scoring a higher score on the English portion of their exam.
The respect, collegiality, and receptiveness from teachers has been enlightening. A responsibility such as this one is an honor. Together, Barbara and I have collaboratively reviewed our observations to better improve our seminar in a way that will be effective and useful to the teachers of Panama.
The mission of the Rotary International Teacher Exchange is to provide Panamanian and United States teachers the opportunity to compare and contrast methodology, and to exchange and share ideas of improvement. Tomorrow Barbara and I will give a seminar in front of 60 Panamanian teachers.
Last week we had the opportunity to observe different schools. Some of the teachers we met and observed will be attending our seminar tomorrow. The purpose for observing the schools was to allow us to see the norms of the classroom, provide feedback for future improvements, and implement different strategies from our own training to give to the teachers as tools for their own classroom.
Here are a few differences from Wichita, Kansas to Chiriqui, Panama to put your understanding of our observations and experiences into perspective:
In Panama....
Teachers pay for their own copies in their classroom. (There was one school that collected money from the parents at the beginning of the year for copies). Resources are scarce. Any resources needed are bought by teachers.Schools do not have libraries, unless it is a university. There is a disproportionate distribution of available resources to teachers. (For example: One teacher would have books for every student, whereas another teacher would have one book for the entire class).
The first school we visited is called "La Comarca". This school has a population of students who are native people of Panama. These natives reside the in the mountains. It is common for a student from La Comarca to walk 2 to 3 hours from home to the school. We heard a story of a teacher who travels 5 hours by boat to get to the school. She stays near the Comarca during the school year, due to the long journey. A one to two hour drive is not uncommon for the staff of the Comarca. Throughout the school, there was no electricity, with the exception of the office. Resources are scarce and the most common method of teaching is lecture and the copying of notes within a notebook, due to the lack of materials (i.e. copies).
Tuesday we visited Centro Educativo Lassonde. A big difference between schools in the United States and Panama is that the Panamanian schools divide the school into morning and afternoon rotations. For example: Kindergarten through 3rd grade occurred in the morning. The 4th through 5th graders came in the evening for school. The school day is shorter, but there isn't much (if there are any) exploratories incorporated within the school day. The day is divided by these two shifts and different teachers teach different shifts.
Wednesday was Escuela Republica de Francia. This school had a set of books that the students could write in. This school was the only school we saw that had parents volunteer to pay one dollar at the beginning of the school year so that the teachers could make copies. We were impressed at how engaged and prepared the students were during the lesson. It was apparent that the teacher had been successfully applying strategies such as KWL from a previously taught seminar.
Thursday we went to Escuela San Jose de Las Lomas. This particular school had the same set of books as Escuela Republica de Francia. The teacher not only used attention skills, but used them effectively, and monitored the classroom throughout the lesson. This teacher explained to us the journey she went from having little to no resources, to having a supportive principal who slowly but surely grew the English department. The engagement of the students is evident, and the English teachers have a room with a TV screen and audio to accompany the books given to them.
(The students help clean up the classroom! That seemed to be a common occurrence in the schools we went to.)
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