By Masha Fooksman, Israel
It’s just the beginning of the second week, but it feels like I’ve been here for several months. The schedule is busy, and the program is intense but I’m excited to wake up every morning and just enjoy new experiences. So far, we’ve had sessions on the public education system, indigenous people’s heritage, American history and literature, and pedagogy, of course. I’m amazed to realize that even though we, the English teachers from 20 countries, are so different and come from different places and backgrounds, we have so much in common and as teachers, we have very similar issues to deal with. I’m sure this programme will be both professionally and personally enriching for me. I’ll be happy to share professional insights with my colleagues in Israel when I’m back.
I’d like to point out a wonderful lecture by Ms. Madeloni that introduced us to the U.S. educational system. It gave me food for thought regarding the disparities between public and private education and the power teachers’ unions have to bring about changes.
Visiting Easthampton HS is one of the highlights of my visit to America so far and I wish we had more time to spend with my American colleagues, especially administrators and language teachers, to have broader discussions about the curriculum and assessment, and evaluation process. Since I am the head of the English department in my school, I’d be happy to see how the work is organized in the U.S. I exchanged email addresses with a few teachers in this HS and I hope we’ll be able to cooperate in the future.
I would like to thank all the American people who work with us from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, you are kind and patient and always willing to help people. It’s not surprising then, that a big part of the American culture is volunteering and community service. I think love and compassion and a desire to help a less privileged person is what drives this world.
I’m looking forward to being a part of one of these multiple community projects, even though it’s just for one afternoon.
All opinions expressed by the program participants are their own and do not represent nor reflect official views from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, or of the Institute for Training and Development, Inc.
