Yesterday we spent the day at the International School of Hamburg. I was dreading the early wake up call (we had to catch a train at 6:50AM), but wow... it was completely worth it. What an amazing experience! I would encourage any teacher to observe an international school if you get a chance.
As soon as I walked into the school, I felt welcomed by my own name tag (Taylor Moore, from the USA) and an invitation to breakfast. There were pastries, yogurt, fresh fruit, coffees, teas, juices, and waters to choose from! The school administration quickly gave us a tour of the school before we went to our assigned classrooms for the day.
As soon as I walked into my assigned classroom (3rd grade), I felt like I was back in America. I even recognized "The Daily Five" on the bulletin board. From my understanding all classrooms in the school were not set up in "typical American" fashion; instead the classrooms usually reflect the teacher's own background. I found this classroom to be especially fun and welcoming. I particularly loved the rug area with cozy pillows and a couch! Students sat here at several points throughout the day.
As soon as I walked into my assigned classroom (3rd grade), I felt like I was back in America. I even recognized "The Daily Five" on the bulletin board. From my understanding all classrooms in the school were not set up in "typical American" fashion; instead the classrooms usually reflect the teacher's own background. I found this classroom to be especially fun and welcoming. I particularly loved the rug area with cozy pillows and a couch! Students sat here at several points throughout the day.
Gabrielle and I were placed in the same classroom for the day, and the teacher was so welcoming! She let us start working with students who were editing their essays right away, and we felt right at home. It was refreshing to be in a school where everyone spoke English for a day. One interesting thing about this classroom was that there was a current unit, chocolate, which was incorporated to all of the subjects during the day. For example, students read an article about the process of making chocolate then wrote step-by-step instructions of how to make chocolate from cocoa beans. In science they did an experiment that included taste-testing chocolate. Students blind-folded themselves and tasted milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Their objective was to guess the correct type of chocolate. Afterwards, the class made a bar graph that represented their favorite kinds of chocolate. Last week, the students even took a field trip to the chocolate museum in Hamburg (which I now am on a mission to go to while I am here)! This unit set-up seems to be a great way to incorporate interdisciplinary teaching into instruction, and I would love to try it out myself!
Another thing that stuck out to me about this school is the emphasis on technology. Students had two classes in the computer lab during the day: typing class and a computer class. In typing class they worked on a program that is meant to develop their typing skills, and in computer class they worked on making animations. I had to chuckle when I saw Scratch in the folder of programs that the school uses (shout out to UNC School of Education's Social Justice class). The animations were, of course, focused on the steps of chocolate production!
When it was time for lunch, we were eager to see what the cafeteria would be like, since most German schools do not even have school cafeterias. One word: amazing. The school has its own chef, who really seems to take a lot of pride in his cooking. There were two meal options as well as a salad bar and bakery items for sale. The school "invited us" for breakfast, snacks, and lunch, meaning we did not have to pay. I had the salad bar, with salad, pasta salad, hard-boiled eggs, and tuna - delicious! Unfortunately, I gobbled it all up before I could take a picture.
When it was time for lunch, we were eager to see what the cafeteria would be like, since most German schools do not even have school cafeterias. One word: amazing. The school has its own chef, who really seems to take a lot of pride in his cooking. There were two meal options as well as a salad bar and bakery items for sale. The school "invited us" for breakfast, snacks, and lunch, meaning we did not have to pay. I had the salad bar, with salad, pasta salad, hard-boiled eggs, and tuna - delicious! Unfortunately, I gobbled it all up before I could take a picture.
My FAVORITE part of the day, however, occurred after lunch. After lunch there were 10 minutes of "chill out time." During this time students literally just chilled out. Some laid on mats and took a nap. Some sat in meditation poses in chairs. Others lounged on the couch. The class was completely quiet, and this break seemed to really get them focused for their afternoon lessons. I sat on the floor and lounged against some pillows, and I truly think that this time helped me to re-focus my own energy as well. :) There is an emphasis on mindfulness in the classroom, and I think it really shows in the classroom community. The teacher speaks in a quiet, calm voice, and the students listen. There was no formal behavior management system, but there were also little to no behavior disruptions in the classroom. Like I have observed in all three schools that I have been this semester, there is an emphasis on holding students accountable. It was easy to observe students taking responsibility of their learning in this classroom. They worked, but if they needed a break, they took one. It truly was a classroom community unlike anything I have ever seen before.
On Tuesday afternoons, the school counselor normally teaches a lesson on mindfulness. However, this week the entire 4th grade is on a camping trip in northern Germany, and the counselor accompanied them there. Gabrielle and I offered to teach a short lesson on classrooms in America, and the teacher took us up on this! It was a lot of fun, and the students offered so many insightful comments. Many of these students have attended international schools all over the world and thus, have experienced many interesting classrooms!
After school our group met up to make our way to Miniatur Wunderland. After all the chocolate talk during the school day, I naturally had to stop for some chocolate ice cream along the way.
Miniatur Wunderland was beyond awesome. It is a huge exhibition that lets you "travel" to miniature representations of places around the world. The lights even changed to represent night and day. The detail of these representations was amazingly intricate. While the exhibit is divided into different sections, one huge railroad system connects all of the sections. The amount of transportation shown in this exhibition was also seriously impressive; there was even a miniature airport, in which planes actually took off and landed. The main purpose of the exhibition is to portray the different countries, but when you look closely, you can see that the builders of the wonderland had a sense of humor and had some fun with it too! In this case, I think "a picture is worth a thousand words," although my pictures don't really do it justice. Keep in mind these are only a select few of the many exhibits!
Miniatur Wunderland was beyond awesome. It is a huge exhibition that lets you "travel" to miniature representations of places around the world. The lights even changed to represent night and day. The detail of these representations was amazingly intricate. While the exhibit is divided into different sections, one huge railroad system connects all of the sections. The amount of transportation shown in this exhibition was also seriously impressive; there was even a miniature airport, in which planes actually took off and landed. The main purpose of the exhibition is to portray the different countries, but when you look closely, you can see that the builders of the wonderland had a sense of humor and had some fun with it too! In this case, I think "a picture is worth a thousand words," although my pictures don't really do it justice. Keep in mind these are only a select few of the many exhibits!
We ended the night getting Auflaf, a traditional German dish, at a restaurant called Laufaf!
Unfortunately, I seem to have come down with a cold over the past few days. Fortunately, I am living with an amazing host family that offers to make me tea all the time. It's kind of funny moving back in with a family and being taken care of so much after 4 years of living on your own - so thankful though! Hoping this cold will be gone for good after one more good night's rest.