Experiencing Europe!

So I obviously went to Paris this last weekend! It was unbelievable... I'm still in disbelief that I was there - so much to take in! Trips in Europe are extremely inexpensive.

Today, I had the incredible opportunity to visit a German elementary school; Heiligenbergschule Heidelberg! My friend, Stefanie, was teaching a lesson (in English class) - so she invited me along! She was 1 of 4 "student teachers" that I observed. The first 2 girls taught a lesson concerning squirrels and their body parts, etc... in a 4th grade class. FYI: Squirrel is a difficult word to say! There is no 'qu' or 'w' sound in the German language. These students could easily read the English language, but answering questions in English was a bit more challenging.

I then observed Stefanie and another girl teach a lesson regarding the names of certain school supplies. To get the students engaged, Stefanie used the "Cookie Monster" hand puppet - which they loved. The girls did a great job of communicating the lesson to these youngsters. Very little German was used during instruction - 95% English.

My favorite part of this experience was when I went to the gym with the 1st graders, and during our downtime, I tried conversing with these students by saying, "ich spreche kein Deutsch" (I don't speak German). At this, their little eyes and mouths widened with disbelief! haha It was adorable. As we sat down on the gym floor awaiting our turn to engage in some fun activity, I used hand motions to guide them with my English words (i.e. I had a thumbs up and said "English..... GOOD" and a thumbs down and said "bad..... Deutsch?") Several students then caught on and started helping me with words and then started to point to articles of clothing and parts of my face by stating the German name and waited for my English response --- it was AMAZING!

I have been really blessed with the people I'm with and the opportunities I have had! Future student teachers MUST get out here, get out of their comfort zone, and experience this culture and DoDDS!

Well, as always, if there are any questions, concerns, or comments - leave one!

Signing Off From Germany...

Brandon

First off... you can click the photos to enlarge them! Hey guys! So, this last week has been very busy. I started teaching classes this week (math and social studies). It has been lots of fun! As you'll see through the pictures I post, our school had a "Book Character Day Parade" and almost every student got involved! I was Fagin from Oliver Twist by the way.

This past weekend I visited Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle) which was amazing. My German friend, Stefanie, gave me a tour, complete with myths concerning aspects of the castle!

On a side note, the student teacher that was in my class right before me, is a German student named Stefanie. Her university, the University of Heidelberg, requires their students to do part of their experience abroad. She is a superb teacher, student, and desires so much to help these little learners succeed. She wants to come to the United States and I informed her about Lubbock as a choice. -*-If anyone reading this knows what steps she would need to take so that perhaps Texas Tech could serve as a courtesy supervising university, please let me know.-*-

Today, we had a school-wide mock election. It was a BIG deal! The voting room was very well decorated with a secret voting booth, flags, patriotic music, etc... The results came around 1:30pm- Barack Obama with 50%, John McCain with 48%, & other 2%. The students were very excited about voting - it looked so legitimate. I have also been (and still am) teaching about elections and voting this week in social studies.

This thursday and friday are parent teacher conferences all day. Our 9 week quarter ended last week, and we are letting the parents know how their child is progressing while addressing any questions or concerns students OR parents might have.

Pictures: school-wide mock election (x2), University of Heidelberg's College of Education, German Elementary School, "thick tower" from the castle, me on castle balcony (x2), my 3rd grade class dressed up, Book Character Day Parade, Stefanie and I (student teachers).

Well, I hope you all are doing fantastic! I'm actually going to Paris and Dachau this weekend!! I am going with the USO - which costs a grand total of $100... how can you pass that?!? Tschüß (bye) & GO TECH!