A couple weeks ago Dr. Fernandez told me to start making a lost of things that I wanted to observe while I was in New Zealand. I have come up with a few things, but I want questions from different perspectives. Dr. Lindsey gave some of her classes our blog links, so I am hoping that they will comment on this blog with some ideas for me. If you were going into New Zealand schools, what would you want to see? Is there anything you want us to look into while we are there? What specifically do you want to know about New Zealand schools? I want to make sure that we find out as much as we can while we are there, so I would really appreciate it if you have any ideas.
We now have two weeks left, so each day I am trying to make sure that I am more prepared. Yesterday, I stopped by the bank and got traveler's checks. Today, I am finally finishing the standards. I am going to try and read at least one NZ article a day from now until the trip. During class today, my math teacher asked me if I would give a little presentation to the class about what I learned when I get back. Also, my English teacher is having me write a paper about my experiences. I am excited to share everything I learn when I get back.
13 days!!
Hello Kelli
ReplyDeleteSome of the things I'd like to know about New Zealand schools are:
*Are they having budget cuts in NZ to where reading classes, PE, and Art classes are taken out?
*Do they have any classes that we don't have in U.S.?
*Do they have organized school events?
and anything else that you observe that are different from U.S. schools or that are similar.
I'm definitely jealous for you all and excited at the same time! Can't wait for you to share a lot of things with us :)
Lisa Stone
Thanks! Those are great questions, and I will definitely try to find out!
ReplyDeleteLisa posted a lot of things that that I want to know also but I am interested in how they structure their school.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if they have a middle school/junior high set up like we do here in America.
And do they collaborate and meet with the other teachers?
And I would like to hear about how they incorporate reading lessons, and whether it is taught in all classes or just English/Reading classes.
They have primary schools (kindergarten to 5th grade), intermediate schools (6th and 7th grade) and colleges (9th to 12th grade.) Their intermediate schools are similar to the ideal middle schools. In most schools, the tecaher definitely collaborate. We have seen a lot of schools have units that the entire grade focuses on and many of the assignments will be the same across different classes.
ReplyDeleteReading is definitely taught across the curriculum. We have seen classes that have written science poems. Also, some schools do not have science or history in term 1, but they would do writing assignments over historical or scientific events. In one school, they were doing inquiry learning to see what would happen when you put a flower into different liquids for a writing lesson.
Lisa:
ReplyDeleteThe schools have tech classes like art, hard/soft materials, and cooking. Thankfully, these classes are not being cut in New Zealand yet.
They do have a lot of classes that we don't have such as metal work, wood work, cooking, ect. (My schools did not have them at least.) Also, almost all schools have a pool and children take swimming twice a week.
There are organized school events. A lot of the events are sports like netball or rugby. We also went to a multicultural festival that a school put together.