The person
that I have chosen for this assignment is Emmanuèle. I have known this woman for over seventeen
years. She used to tutor me in French as
a young child. I learned to respect and
appreciate the French Culture through her.
Although, she is from France, she has lived in the USA for the last
thirty years. Currently, she still has family
that are still residing outside the USA.
Recently,
I met her sister, Elisabeth. Elisabeth
is an educator in Belgium near Brussels (25 Km). She has three children. They attended primary school in Baulers (700
m from home). Although, this is not the
same school that she attended as a child, she likes the school for many
reasons. The communication from social
class is good, there are several activities that visitors can participate in.
However, the thing that she did not like is the fact that several of the
teachers did not take into account that it takes some students longer than
others to become well adjusted. She said that her children were punished when
they cried and were sent to a corner to think.
She did not like the fact that the teacher made her feel guilty on days
when she had to pick her children up early or if they had to miss any
days. There were some days where she
just wanted to have lunch with her children, and the principal made her feel as
though she could not. I asked her if she
felt like the school had sufficient supplies to support the educational needs
of the children. She answered yes for
her children, but no for the children
with special needs. Her words were,
"I feel like they are left away."
Finally, when I asked the few questions about poverty, she did not
answer them because she had nothing to compare it to. I am
excitedly looking forward to getting to know Elisabeth better throughout this
semester.
Through
getting to know her I discovered that most, if not all, of the schools in the
area are state funded. There are really
no low income schools around. The
education system seems to be well grounded and the children are learning.
You provide such great information in your post! I am happy that you have become successful in establishing your contact. Do you have any advice for me to be successful in this assignment? I have yet to receive any emails back and none of the links are working for me. I am glad you were able to get to know a little bit about the person you are communicating with. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAshley
Hi Tymeshia
ReplyDeleteAwesome! It's interesting how some teacher miss moments to build good relationships with parents and children. No teacher should ever make a parent fell guilty, nor should a child not be given time to be well adjusted to new environments. I am glad that they are receiving what sounds like excellent education. We as educators have to have a balance classroom and relationship with parents and children.
Brenda