I can’t believe that my time in Ireland has finished. I have learned so much about culture and so much about myself.
During my time, I was continually impressed by how well the students in Jr. Infants read. These were four and five year olds who were already reading sight words and starting phonics with the “Letterland” program. During my last week, I was sitting in on a conversation with the Jr. and Sr. Infants teachers. They were discussing some students who were really struggling with reading and saying that they thought that students started reading too early and that they weren’t ready at such a young age. Where I thought that this was an incredible thing to have students at this young age reading, these teachers saw fault in it.
The students I saw in my classes in Ireland seemed to be more advance than students I have come into contact with in the United States. I credit this to the parental involvement at Glenageary-Killiney National School. There are no buses, so parents are there to pick their students up to drive or even walk them home. During my first week in the school, there was an afternoon dedicated to parent-teacher meetings. The parents were quick to sign up. Before I left home, my cooperating teacher sent home note after note reminding parents to sign up for a time to come meet with her. This could also have something to do with the socio-economic status of each school. My school in Raleigh was set in an area with a very low socioeconomic status while my school in Ireland was set in a relatively wealthy area.
Another difference between cultures that I noticed was how much healthier students seemed to be. Obesity did not seem to be a problem in the school I was in. Students had a snack in the morning and had a relatively small lunch. The parents were in charge of bringing their own food. The school did not have a cafeteria and did not provide lunches for students. Many of the students were involved in afterschool sports. They went outside every day for their lunch break. Students in Ireland seemed to be more active and ate less, something that American students could stand to do.
During my last week, I went to Johnnie Fox’s pub, which is the “highest pub in Ireland” (so named for its location on top of a mountain) with two of the teachers. We had dinner and enjoyed traditional Irish music and dancing.
On my last day at the school, I was given a card and a harp Christmas ornament, the national symbol of Ireland. I gave the school the book, T is for Tarheel: A North Carolina Alphabet. I was also thrown into the second class on my last day because one of the teachers was out. I found out on our way to school and had to plan my day in about 15 minutes. I read the North Carolina book and then the students and I together created an Ireland alphabet. This lesson went well. The kids had a fun time!
Also, I had been helping their teacher with her corrections and knew that they were talking about regrouping with subtraction. Because I had been doing their corrections, I knew where many of the students were going wrong and was able to address these with the whole class. In the afternoon, one of the resource teachers came to the second class and I went to the first class where I gave the students letters that my class in Raleigh had written to them. The students read the letters and wrote letters back. They were excited about the idea that students in America were going to read their writing!
My last night was spent at the staff Christmas party. I couldn’t have asked for a better way for me to end my time in Ireland.
Since I have been back, I have been asked many times how my trip was and everyone wants to hear about everything that I did. I have to sum it up by saying that this was an amazing experience that I am so glad that I had. I have learned about myself personally and professionally. I learned that there are differences among cultures and these differences are not a negative thing. Everyone has something to contribute to this world. I know that I will not have many students in my future classes from Ireland, but I can apply what I learned about students and cultural differences to any culture or any race.
I look forward to doing more travelling in the future.
my room
the school
2nd class recorder performance
traditional Irish dancing at Johnnie Fox's pub
Junior Infants
Staff Dinner at the Purple Ocean
(Muriel, my host mother, is sitting on the right side at the far end)
(I am pictured here with the Senior Infants teacher and the first class teacher.)
(I am pictured here with the fifth class teacher and the second class teacher. Both were students at Trinity and graduated during my last week at the school.)