Differences
I have found that the most endearing and important thing that Pt. England emphasizes besides technology is the preservation and celebration of native culture. The students at Pt. England are a mix of Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, and Maori. Their family and culture are a big part of who they are. I really enjoy how much the school and teachers incorporate Polynesian songs and recitations into everyday activities. The students sing every morning; I have already developed favorites. They use Maori bits during their daily newscast as well.
The first week we were here was Samoan Culture week. We learned about different Samoan customs and traditions. We experienced an authentic Samoan dance performance at the Friday assembly with conventional Samoan dress. It is really refreshing to see so many students proud of who they are and where they come from. I think that in order to be self-confident and a leader, students have to comfortable with who they are — a Pt. England is working hard to instill that in its students.
The only thing I have yet to nail down is whether that focus on technology and self-regulation is helping the students in their academic pursuits. It seems that the level at which the students are performing and focusing is well below their counterparts in the United States. My fourth grader is learning the same math concepts that students here three years his senior are struggling with. I think that autonomy is an important skill to develop but the students here are afforded too much, in my opinion, to coincide with their maturation. Some kids are motivated and a majority of them are not. I notice a lot of pupils are playing around and surfing the internet when they are supposed to be working on an assignment. There seems to be limited accountability and as I was looking over a teacher grade book I noticed that less than a third of the students had submitted all/some of their work.
There are a few techniques that I feel like I could implement in my classroom, such as management techniques (1 clap, 2 claps) or talking about self-respect and pride more, but the teaching methods are so different and I am not sure they are super effective. I know that technological literacy is of growing importance but there are so many essentials (history, literature, and science) that aren’t getting their due emphasis here.
The first week we were here was Samoan Culture week. We learned about different Samoan customs and traditions. We experienced an authentic Samoan dance performance at the Friday assembly with conventional Samoan dress. It is really refreshing to see so many students proud of who they are and where they come from. I think that in order to be self-confident and a leader, students have to comfortable with who they are — a Pt. England is working hard to instill that in its students.
The only thing I have yet to nail down is whether that focus on technology and self-regulation is helping the students in their academic pursuits. It seems that the level at which the students are performing and focusing is well below their counterparts in the United States. My fourth grader is learning the same math concepts that students here three years his senior are struggling with. I think that autonomy is an important skill to develop but the students here are afforded too much, in my opinion, to coincide with their maturation. Some kids are motivated and a majority of them are not. I notice a lot of pupils are playing around and surfing the internet when they are supposed to be working on an assignment. There seems to be limited accountability and as I was looking over a teacher grade book I noticed that less than a third of the students had submitted all/some of their work.
There are a few techniques that I feel like I could implement in my classroom, such as management techniques (1 clap, 2 claps) or talking about self-respect and pride more, but the teaching methods are so different and I am not sure they are super effective. I know that technological literacy is of growing importance but there are so many essentials (history, literature, and science) that aren’t getting their due emphasis here.
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