May 19th...
Today in class we met in small groups for a class assignment. Our assignment was to consider our own personal networks of people and how they represent us in our lives. My group consists of myself; Beer, from Thailand; and Ewald, from Austria. I was so amazed and impressed at how we were able to connect with one another in such a short period of time; yet we all have much different cultural backgrounds. Ultimatley, we all develop connections in many ways and on many levels. We choose friendships based on what we have in common. The easiest commonalities to recognize are that which we often see automatically, such as race, ethnicity, or gender; however, it seems as though our greatest connections are based upon what lies beneath the surface; things that may never have been discovered if you didn't take the time to develop. These two people may not have appeared to be individuals that I would have connected with, yet given the time and openmindedness of us all, we learned much about each other and found similarities among personal aspects of life. Now after just 45 minutes of discussion, I have a completely different level of connectedness in the classroom.
Another thing I am noticing is how the classroom environment is growing closer proximically. On the first day people were hesitant in sitting next to each other, and just 1 1/2 days into the program, we have all begun to come closer to one another, side by side, and towards the front of the classroom. I am also realizing even more just how fundamental the role is of a teacher. The characteristics and teaching style of the leader often determines the dynamics of the classroom. We are all very fortunate to have such a compelling teacher.
New words today:
Hyva (good) Mahtavaa (great) Nahdaan (see ya)
Today in class we met in small groups for a class assignment. Our assignment was to consider our own personal networks of people and how they represent us in our lives. My group consists of myself; Beer, from Thailand; and Ewald, from Austria. I was so amazed and impressed at how we were able to connect with one another in such a short period of time; yet we all have much different cultural backgrounds. Ultimatley, we all develop connections in many ways and on many levels. We choose friendships based on what we have in common. The easiest commonalities to recognize are that which we often see automatically, such as race, ethnicity, or gender; however, it seems as though our greatest connections are based upon what lies beneath the surface; things that may never have been discovered if you didn't take the time to develop. These two people may not have appeared to be individuals that I would have connected with, yet given the time and openmindedness of us all, we learned much about each other and found similarities among personal aspects of life. Now after just 45 minutes of discussion, I have a completely different level of connectedness in the classroom.
Another thing I am noticing is how the classroom environment is growing closer proximically. On the first day people were hesitant in sitting next to each other, and just 1 1/2 days into the program, we have all begun to come closer to one another, side by side, and towards the front of the classroom. I am also realizing even more just how fundamental the role is of a teacher. The characteristics and teaching style of the leader often determines the dynamics of the classroom. We are all very fortunate to have such a compelling teacher.
New words today:
Hyva (good) Mahtavaa (great) Nahdaan (see ya)
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