For 17 days I spent my time in Michigan, USA. I was placed in Georgetown Elementary for just under 10 days, experiencing a 1st grade and 3rd grade class. Both my teachers, Mrs Bast and Miss Vanderstel were so welcoming and it was amazing to watch how they teach.
The American schooling system in comparison to UK is almost free in that they don't have a National curriculum but their state decides what is taught in schools. The environment that was set in this school was so chilled, friendly and relaxed, mainly because of the American culture but even the lessons themselves were calming and the children were honestly happy to be there. Their lessons mainly focus on Maths and Literacy throughout the grades but with a huge emphasis in 1st grade on reading (D.E.A.R - drop everything and read) as seen from the week I was in that class. Music lessons involved the children playing music knowledge based games and singing camp fire songs. In Art the children were taught about texture, brushes, colours, artists and how to express yourself through Art. In P.E, during the two weeks I was there it was an end of year wind down were the children had earned time thought the year for 'Favourites day', so they could vote and pick a game they wanted to play, mainly Gaga ball and Kick ball. In Social Studies they were taught of Michigan history and how the state became a state, which was very interesting to listen to because it wasn't that long ago! In Government lessons children from the age of 5 are taught about different parties, what they stand for, who is elected now, how their government works, how the state of Michigan's local government operate and are tested of their knowledge at the end of term. This was fascinating to watch really because in the UK we are not taught about our governments, we have to learn and understand it for ourselves, which is strange when you think about it. The school itself was a very very good school academically and provided a MacBook Pro and IPad for every child. Obviously not all American schools compare to this, but from this experience and from the personalities and attitude of the teachers, I have learnt that school for a child needs to be fun, they need to have an environment were they can learn effectively and BE a child and learn necessary topics. The UK schooling system that we live in is so tough on young children and has such strict rules that time to be a child is in play time, everything else is structured in order to show results.
On a Friday afternoon, all the 3rd grade teachers bought 3 huge tubs of vanilla ice cream, sprinkles, sauce, cherries, whipped cream and bananas. The children has been given a set period of time to learn their 2-12 times tables and each time they had successfully learnt one, another topping was added to their chart. This rewards system would never happen in the UK, for healthy eating aspects and the constant time spent in lessons would not allow time to be spared to simply congratulate the children and reward them for their hard work in a way they appreciate, rather than constant certificates we put in a draw. I am not completely in favour of the American schooling system as I do think this country provide children with an excellent education, but I do believe that we need to set time aside for the children to be children and reward them specifically for their hard work.
In my classroom I hope to set a relaxed, creative and fun environment, simply due to the fact that adults would tell us in school that it is the best time of your life and I want to make that happen for my classes. I can't wait to have my first class, to design my own classroom and build a relationship with the children were they will remember that year and we will enjoy learning together.
Thank you for reading, I'll post another blog about other things we did in Michigan soon.
Love J xx
