Schools of Thought

It may seem a bit ironic, but I feel as though I'll soon be teaching on another planet.  Or, at the very least, in another culture.  Apart from the fact that we DO live in another culture, the school where I now await my students is an American-style school, with English speaking teachers, and curriculum with which I am familiar.  The differences lie in school cultures and philosophies.

In my previous district many teachers arrived from one to two weeks before school started (some even three weeks before) to collect their keys and begin the process of readying their rooms for teaching.   The week prior to school opening the district provided a variety of professional development courses for those interested.  Mandatory teachers' meetings began two days before the start of school.

We, the newbies at BFA, have been in orientation for eight days already, and school starts on August 23.  The rest of the staff came back this week to prepare for students over the next two weeks.

The former school promoted students to a middle school about two miles away, but the schools never interacted except when the 6th graders visited in the spring.  We were an autonomous elementary school, grades k-6.

Yesterday I sat in an auditorium with teachers, administrators, counselors, nurses, and librarians; staff of an interdependent elementary, middle, and high school.

At coffee break

In the US the school staff changed very little, except for the few who retired, and there were at least two, if not more, classes at each grade.

Here, more than one-third of the staff will be new this year.  That holds true most years.  There are only five classes at my new elementary school, one for each grade from first to fifth.

The most interesting difference between the two schools, however, rests in the philosophy of education.  I deeply respect the staff at my old school and feel very thankful for the philosophy of education promoted by that district.  However, our first staff meeting of the year, in fact, most staff meetings, focused on how to achieve higher test scores, improve teaching strategies, and create a better learning atmosphere for the students.  Our interest was in the intellectual growth of our students, first and foremost.

In the elementary library where I will work.
That's me waving.

At BFA the principal set a very different tone in his opening staff meeting.  The spiritual and psychological side of education became the focus.  Quality intellectual education has a huge emphasis here, but who the child/student will become in total has much more value.  Teaching and mentoring blend to produce students who become like their teachers.  Staff integrity and transparency drive the teaching of curriculum.

Neither paradigm is "correct".  Differences are neither right or wrong, but I relish the opportunity to put the past behind and move on to the challenges ahead.