From Classroom to Classroom
After teaching in various settings while here, my mom (a teacher in the U.S.) has a few reflections…
Grandma Nea Nea...she's not finished with us. We just gave her four more little girls to teach and love!
On teaching middle and high school students:
After being involved in teaching 10 or more classes (mostly English) to students ranging from 6th grade through adults, I found one very common factor. That is, “all the students wanted to learn”. This is a big difference from the United States where, in general, “students just want to get by”. Learning is a privilege and a desire in other countries, but not a big priority in the U.S.
On leading discussions on parenting:
As I facilitated four parenting discussions for a group of ten young mothers, consisting mainly of Ethiopian women, (with a sprinkling of Rwandan, American and Dutch), I found these women to be very hungry for more information concerning the raising and nurturing of their children. As I listened to their explanations of various parenting traditions and techniques, they acknowledged that they didn’t know why they did specific things other than to reply with, “This is what our mothers did and we know no other way”. I also learned that they chose specific practices purely for the safety of their children. One such practice is carrying their children on their backs until the child is 2 years old. The main safety factor involved is so the children do not fall into cooking fires. Knowing this helped me to guide them in understanding the developmental importance of children learning to roll over, sit, crawl, stand and walk beginning at the ages of 6 – 8 months old. When combining their traditions with the importance of the “new techniques” I shared with them, they understood how the lack in development could take place and the delay in other areas of development in children.
Their biggest concerns in the order of importance were: 1) the effects of television and watching movies/DVDs on their children’s lives and intellectual development, 2) eating patterns and habits and 3) sleeping schedules and patterns. Many other topics came up through questions. However, already knowing that there are more ways than one to handle situations, they wanted more ideas and suggestions that would benefit their children. These women had excellent questions and wanted information for the benefit of their children and not the convenience for themselves. This was very refreshing to me.
Through all the experiences I had (even beyond teaching), relationships were created and a common bond established with other Christian brothers and sisters. May God grant the blessing of love and friendship to continue to grow, even across the world. Praise be to God.
