My time in Sweden was life-changing for me too. What stood out to you as particularly interesting about the Swedish school system? (P.S. - I lived in Snellville too, on Centerville-Rosebud Rd.) - Cynthia
Based on your experience, what do you think are some of the biggest differences between the Swedish education system and Swedish students versus the U.S. education system and American students?
Christine, I had a great English teacher who taught the school newspaper class I was in while in high school, would that be something you might want to do as well?
We have a very similar childhood and home! I developed my imagination in our "woods" as well! Do you think you will want to raise a family in the same type of place or do you think you would like a change of setting? I ask this because it is something I wonder often myself.
you said you had an internship with the GDP. Did you ever use that experience and write for the colonnade down here? if so, how was it? if not, then why not?
I too lived in the woods at my house when I was young. My love of nature is something I picked up from my dad. Is living in 'the woods' and nature something important to your family as a whole or were you the only one interested in it?
The biggest difference to me in the Swedish school system was the trust instilled in the students by the teachers. The students were treated like mini-adults. My class was fifth graders, and there were about 16 of them. They were all extremely well mannered and well behaved. There was no apparent discipline in the classroom (and no need for it), and there is no Ms. Alby or Ms. Davis. The students refer to the teachers by the first name.
The best way I can describe this "trust" in the students is one day, we went on a walk through the small town of Alfta we were in. Now in America, as you can imagine, this would be nearly impossible. If you even were able to leave campus grounds, there would probably be a buddy system, a single file line, multiple head counts, and maybe another chaperone. But my host teacher just let them run around. No single file line, no instructions, nothing. She stayed and talked with me about the town, and the students stayed with us. She even walked us by her house and they played in her yard. I couldn't believe it! I couldn't imagine an American teacher EVER walking a bunch of fifth grade students to her home.
The main experience I will take is that I don't want to work in the corporate world EVER again.. haha.
I work for a for-profit school, and we market our school to the less fortunate people of Macon. So on a daily basis I see people in there 40's, 50's, 60's who are unemployed and without an education. And most of them end up not coming to our school because they just decide to look for a job or whatever. It's hard to change lives from my job now; most of these people are set in their ways and really don't want to make the sacrifice to go back to school.
So I will take that with me. I look forward to being able to help my students understand the importance of education. I want to inspire my students to go to college and get everything they need to have a full and satisfying life. I never want my middle school/high school students to be in a situation like the students I see here at my job now.
I would LOVE to do that. If the opportunity presents itself, I would definitely jump on it.
Abigail,
I think my parents just got lucky with our house. Most houses in our neighborhood don't have much of a woods. If I was like my parents and happened to stumble upon a house with a great backyard, I'd love for my future kids to foster their imagination there! I know I definitely one day want a house with a YARD though. So many houses now are just situated on little patches of grass. That is no fun!
You should DEFINITELY teach abroad. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
A typical day in Sweden started out with a wonderful, over-the-top breakfast from my host family. (I hit the jackpot with host families.) My 9-year-old host "sister" Maja would then walk me and my roommate to the elementary school. Maja was still learning English, so we used our hand motions and a few common English words to communicate with her.
At school I was supposed to tutor my students with whatever they needed. This served to help out my host teacher and get my students to practice their English with me. There were several recesses interspersed throughout the day (Swedish kids get A LOT of breaks) and the teachers would run to the teacher's lounge for coffee. After lunch (which was always amazing.. Swedish food is SO good.. even Swedish cafeteria food.) I'd usually teach about America and our culture. They had a project with me where they were all assigned a state that they had to present on, so we'd work on that as well.
In the afternoons after school, Dr. Mumma usually had something fun planned. We'd go exploring in neighboring towns or go bowling or something like that. If he didn't have anything planned, we'd come home and hang out with our host family. (Maja would usually make us watch Hannah Montana in Swedish.. haha.) If it was a weekend our host "brothers" and my friends' host "sisters" would take us out. Like I said, I lucked out on a host family. My host brother was my age, so he and his friends would take us to their hang outs/parties/whatever. And they were all ridiculously attractive! ;)
I lucked into that internship! And I SHOULD have followed it up with work for the Colonnade, but I never did. I think I thought I was too good for the Colonnade after the "prestigous" GDP, and shortly after that, I switched my major to CW, so I wasn't as interested in print journalism.
I actually don't really love nature. The woods was just a place where my friends and I could play and not be bothered. And I am kind of introverted, so it was a place to be alone and dream up stories. I never really loved it for it's nature though! I'm pretty girly when it comes to the outdoors, people always joke that camping for me is a motel.
Christine, My grandmother had "woods" that we would play in as kids as well, we'd mostly just tried to find new stuff, sure that one of us would discover a new animal or bug and get rich. I was wondering what was your favorite game to play in these woods? And do you still visit the place to reflect now? ~Rose
My favorite games to play were just stuff we'd dream up. I had two girlfriends that would come over and we would pretend we were trapped in the woods from some evil force (remember, we were probably not even 6 or 7!). I also LOVED to play Jurassic Park pretend games (once again, I was little) in the woods with my boy cousins. I think I thought I was cool because I was hanging with the boys more than anything.
When I was in high school I'd still go sit out there at times because it was quiet and peaceful. But now whenever I come home, quiet time is few and far between. My little sister is at college now, so my mom is a LITTLE needy, and if I tried to go reflect in the woods, she'd probably come with me. Ha!
I think it is fascinating that you decided to stick around after graduation when I know so many people who can't wait to leave Milledgeville. I know you didn't care for the job you had, but would you still continue to live here after you finish the MAT program? Or are you finally ready to leave...
What types of memorabilia do you have at home; are there any pieces you especially like? Did you ever accompany your father on his reenactments, if so, do you plan on using those experiences as classroom aids?
Brittany, I can't believe I stuck around Milledgeville either. I HATED Milledgeville freshman year, but I guess it grew on me. And my other option after graduation was to move back in with the 'rents, so Milledgeville didn't seem so bad..
After I complete the MAT program, where I live depends on where I get a job and where my fiance is working. I am ready to move back to Atlanta, but we'll have to see
We have so much Civil War stuff at my house it's unreal. Uniforms, rifles, canteens, tents, trinkets, etc. etc. My favorite would have to be my Dad's pill box.. which is a historically accurate blah blah blah, but he fills it with ibuprofen and stuff when he goes on reenactments. I like to pick on him about that!
I have been to 2 reenactments, one of those soley because we got to get into the Antebellum plantation at Stone Mountain for free. Reenactments are pretty boring (to me) and some of the men in my dad's "regiment" are kind of dirty old men, so I prefer to stay away!
My time in Sweden was life-changing for me too. What stood out to you as particularly interesting about the Swedish school system? (P.S. - I lived in Snellville too, on Centerville-Rosebud Rd.) - Cynthia
ReplyDeleteBased on your experience, what do you think are some of the biggest differences between the Swedish education system and Swedish students versus the U.S. education system and American students?
ReplyDeleteAs you have had a "real" job, what experiences will you take from said job as an educator?
ReplyDeleteChristine, I had a great English teacher who taught the school newspaper class I was in while in high school, would that be something you might want to do as well?
ReplyDelete- Brent
We have a very similar childhood and home! I developed my imagination in our "woods" as well! Do you think you will want to raise a family in the same type of place or do you think you would like a change of setting? I ask this because it is something I wonder often myself.
ReplyDeleteI too am interested in teaching English abroad. Can you describe a typical day for you while you were in Sweden?
ReplyDeleteyou said you had an internship with the GDP. Did you ever use that experience and write for the colonnade down here? if so, how was it? if not, then why not?
ReplyDeleteHey Christine!
ReplyDeleteI too lived in the woods at my house when I was young. My love of nature is something I picked up from my dad. Is living in 'the woods' and nature something important to your family as a whole or were you the only one interested in it?
Cynthia and Amber,
ReplyDeleteThe biggest difference to me in the Swedish school system was the trust instilled in the students by the teachers. The students were treated like mini-adults. My class was fifth graders, and there were about 16 of them. They were all extremely well mannered and well behaved. There was no apparent discipline in the classroom (and no need for it), and there is no Ms. Alby or Ms. Davis. The students refer to the teachers by the first name.
The best way I can describe this "trust" in the students is one day, we went on a walk through the small town of Alfta we were in. Now in America, as you can imagine, this would be nearly impossible. If you even were able to leave campus grounds, there would probably be a buddy system, a single file line, multiple head counts, and maybe another chaperone. But my host teacher just let them run around. No single file line, no instructions, nothing. She stayed and talked with me about the town, and the students stayed with us. She even walked us by her house and they played in her yard. I couldn't believe it! I couldn't imagine an American teacher EVER walking a bunch of fifth grade students to her home.
Katherine,
ReplyDeleteThe main experience I will take is that I don't want to work in the corporate world EVER again.. haha.
I work for a for-profit school, and we market our school to the less fortunate people of Macon. So on a daily basis I see people in there 40's, 50's, 60's who are unemployed and without an education. And most of them end up not coming to our school because they just decide to look for a job or whatever. It's hard to change lives from my job now; most of these people are set in their ways and really don't want to make the sacrifice to go back to school.
So I will take that with me. I look forward to being able to help my students understand the importance of education. I want to inspire my students to go to college and get everything they need to have a full and satisfying life. I never want my middle school/high school students to be in a situation like the students I see here at my job now.
Brent,
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to do that. If the opportunity presents itself, I would definitely jump on it.
Abigail,
I think my parents just got lucky with our house. Most houses in our neighborhood don't have much of a woods. If I was like my parents and happened to stumble upon a house with a great backyard, I'd love for my future kids to foster their imagination there! I know I definitely one day want a house with a YARD though. So many houses now are just situated on little patches of grass. That is no fun!
Erin,
ReplyDeleteYou should DEFINITELY teach abroad. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
A typical day in Sweden started out with a wonderful, over-the-top breakfast from my host family. (I hit the jackpot with host families.) My 9-year-old host "sister" Maja would then walk me and my roommate to the elementary school. Maja was still learning English, so we used our hand motions and a few common English words to communicate with her.
At school I was supposed to tutor my students with whatever they needed. This served to help out my host teacher and get my students to practice their English with me. There were several recesses interspersed throughout the day (Swedish kids get A LOT of breaks) and the teachers would run to the teacher's lounge for coffee. After lunch (which was always amazing.. Swedish food is SO good.. even Swedish cafeteria food.) I'd usually teach about America and our culture. They had a project with me where they were all assigned a state that they had to present on, so we'd work on that as well.
In the afternoons after school, Dr. Mumma usually had something fun planned. We'd go exploring in neighboring towns or go bowling or something like that. If he didn't have anything planned, we'd come home and hang out with our host family. (Maja would usually make us watch Hannah Montana in Swedish.. haha.) If it was a weekend our host "brothers" and my friends' host "sisters" would take us out. Like I said, I lucked out on a host family. My host brother was my age, so he and his friends would take us to their hang outs/parties/whatever. And they were all ridiculously attractive! ;)
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI lucked into that internship! And I SHOULD have followed it up with work for the Colonnade, but I never did. I think I thought I was too good for the Colonnade after the "prestigous" GDP, and shortly after that, I switched my major to CW, so I wasn't as interested in print journalism.
Marina,
ReplyDeleteI actually don't really love nature. The woods was just a place where my friends and I could play and not be bothered. And I am kind of introverted, so it was a place to be alone and dream up stories. I never really loved it for it's nature though! I'm pretty girly when it comes to the outdoors, people always joke that camping for me is a motel.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had "woods" that we would play in as kids as well, we'd mostly just tried to find new stuff, sure that one of us would discover a new animal or bug and get rich. I was wondering what was your favorite game to play in these woods? And do you still visit the place to reflect now?
~Rose
Rose,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite games to play were just stuff we'd dream up. I had two girlfriends that would come over and we would pretend we were trapped in the woods from some evil force (remember, we were probably not even 6 or 7!). I also LOVED to play Jurassic Park pretend games (once again, I was little) in the woods with my boy cousins. I think I thought I was cool because I was hanging with the boys more than anything.
When I was in high school I'd still go sit out there at times because it was quiet and peaceful. But now whenever I come home, quiet time is few and far between. My little sister is at college now, so my mom is a LITTLE needy, and if I tried to go reflect in the woods, she'd probably come with me. Ha!
I think it is fascinating that you decided to stick around after graduation when I know so many people who can't wait to leave Milledgeville. I know you didn't care for the job you had, but would you still continue to live here after you finish the MAT program? Or are you finally ready to leave...
ReplyDeleteWhat types of memorabilia do you have at home; are there any pieces you especially like? Did you ever accompany your father on his reenactments, if so, do you plan on using those experiences as classroom aids?
ReplyDeleteBrittany, I can't believe I stuck around Milledgeville either. I HATED Milledgeville freshman year, but I guess it grew on me. And my other option after graduation was to move back in with the 'rents, so Milledgeville didn't seem so bad..
ReplyDeleteAfter I complete the MAT program, where I live depends on where I get a job and where my fiance is working. I am ready to move back to Atlanta, but we'll have to see
Lorien,
ReplyDeleteWe have so much Civil War stuff at my house it's unreal. Uniforms, rifles, canteens, tents, trinkets, etc. etc. My favorite would have to be my Dad's pill box.. which is a historically accurate blah blah blah, but he fills it with ibuprofen and stuff when he goes on reenactments. I like to pick on him about that!
I have been to 2 reenactments, one of those soley because we got to get into the Antebellum plantation at Stone Mountain for free. Reenactments are pretty boring (to me) and some of the men in my dad's "regiment" are kind of dirty old men, so I prefer to stay away!