Blog Post 2 - Debriefing an International Experience

     After waiting over a year I was finally able to head out on my international field experience to. Germany! I had completed an online course as part of a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms, and the Field Experience was a chance to put some of the things we learned into action. We spent the majority of our time as a group in the Cold War capital of Bonn in Nordrhein-Westphalia, and then wrapped up our field portion in the present capital of Berlin.  Throughout our experience we got to hear from teachers, professors, administrators, and even policymakers about the state of education in both regions, and got a sense for some of the issues facing education in the country as a whole. We gained insights into the German education system including the changes, challenges,  and successes throughout political and social changes, and the added complications of COVID-19.  

Main city square in Bonn

     Along with the site visits to schools and educational administrations we were able to visit a couple of cultural sites around Western Germany and the Berlin area.  Even though I had been to Germany back in 2017 it was really interesting to see  some new areas, and see some of the ways the country has changed by revisiting some of the same areas I had already been to. One of the great things about Germany is since it is such a dynamic and culturally diverse country the landscape can change rather quickly. This is especially true in the topics being discussed. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic were ever present across Germany. In education the pandemic has affected teachers and students much like it has in most parts of the world. As a leader in the European Union Germany has  been trying to do its part to support the people of Ukraine. This is easily visible around much of the country in the form of Ukrainian flags hung in support. In classrooms the presence of Ukrainian refugees  really brings the war home.

Memorial to Ukrainian victims of Russia's invasion in Berlin

Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Field Experience Guiding Questions

1. How can a global perspective, gained through experience, be used to expand the world views and knowledge of students in my class? 
2. What insights into expanding student's global understandings can be gained through international exchange?
3. What teaching strategies and insights can I gain to expand my own teaching through global exchange?

Although my questions were not answered as directly as I may have wanted coming into this experience, I kind of changed and adapted what I was looking at as I went along. 
   One of my biggest insights that I was able to come up with is  that even though the educational systems differ, students and teachers are very similar in Germany and in the United States. When I went on my study tour with the Transatlantic Outreach Program in 2017  I learned quite a lot about the structure of the German education system, so that really was not new for me this time. What was new, was the information I was able to get by talking   with teachers. One of the funny things is that in the United States we frequently hear about the excellence of the German system, and once we got there we were able to see some of those elements. From talking with teachers though, we were able to see that they deal with a lot of the same complications that we deal with here. Issues like cell phones still create problems, but it was interesting to see  that they do not have to deal with issues like students missing frequently due to sports and activities. The most positive experience in Germany by far was the opportunity to sit in on classes and see students acting like students and teachers working through the day.  Unfortunately, since our site visits were taking place at the end of the year we really were not able to see too much into the teaching strategies. We did talk about what it means to be a teacher, and the work that goes into becoming a teacher, but did not get to see too much of practice. One of the cool things we were able to see at our site visit was the end of year project they were working on. The whole school was doing a study of dance, as a physical education unit. Each class was student led, going through the process of learning a pre-designated dance, and then one that the students came up with. A lot of the instruction the students were doing was in German but it was interesting to see the dynamic and how the students were working together.

Presentation on the UNESCO School Network
https://www.unesco.org/en/education/aspnet​

Students at the Hardtberg Gymnasium performing their end of year project on dance

​     The biggest thing that I can now take away is the practical experience.  Many things that are struggles to fit into education systems in the United States are naturally included in German schools. Things like teaching the benefits of environmentalism, and the effectiveness of actual sexual education  are included in German schools with little to no questioning.  The way that students in Germany focus their awareness on issues beyond Germany is also something I'd like to bring in more. In many of the classrooms there were Ukrainian flags or signs of solidarity. Students were not only aware, but obviously involved in global issues and making themselves part of working towards finding solutions. Of course there are things that the German system can work on as well, but there are a lot of ideas to start incorporating into how I see as my role as a teacher that I will be working in this coming school year and beyond.

A reminder in one of the schools we visited that the school is only part of a larger training and identity

Signs of Solidarity with the Ukrainian people like this were common all around the country

This website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, Fulbright, or the U.S. Department of State.