Leadership Centre County Education Day

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."                                                                                 Clay P. Bedford

We 3 Humphrey fellows were supposed to get a ride a 7.15 am.  Thanks to the bad weather that causes school delay, Karen picked Rashid, Khyati & I up at 9 a.m. and we gathered with other participants at the Mt. Nittany Middle School.

Yep! Today was the Leadership Centre County Education Day.

Participants were divided into a group of 6. I went to the State College District which included Mt. Nittany Elementary School & Middle School. Debra, the principal of the elementary school was a guide.  Before heading to designated schools, each participant got a question sheet to ponder and wrap-up after school visit. i.e.

-          Identifying the 3 top issues facing the District/Sites that you’re visiting

-          What technologies did you observe teachers/students using?

-          Identify something that surprised you about schools today.

-          What other questions about education has your visit left you with that you would like to understand?

Surprises from the school visit

Mt. Nittany Elementary School

From my observation, school kids are very eager and get involved in class. I get a chance to observe the 2^nd grade class and some of them were studying how to use Ipad. This is my 1^st surprise there. Our group discussed later that kids have plenty of time when they grow up to learn about it while some of them wonder  whether it was suitable for kids to start using this technology since their early childhood. Also, we talked about using computer might have affected kids’ handwriting. They mightn’t write well as they are likely to type rather than write.  One group member mentioned that when she had a written exam, she had problem of hand writing, that is, she couldn’t write well as she’s more familiar with typing so it took time for her to write neatly & readable. In Thailand, many teachers are worried about the hand-writing of students which has increasingly been getting worse because of computer usage. 

The other surprise is digital clocks are seen in every room / hallway.  Debra, our guide told us that somewhat students here had problems of reading time as in their daily lives at school, they were getting used to digital clock so in some classroom ordinary clocks were provided in order that kids could learn how to read. I think this might be one of the reasons that causes them weak at math. Besides, she pointed out that students have rarely worn wristwatch since they have cell phone or Ipad to check time.

This’s another side effect of advanced technology, I guess.  One lady told me that she observed the Amish school and was surprised that without high technology, Amish youth calculated very well and she joked that probably because they tended to exercise their brains more regularly than students in public school.

However, I find that this school was very child-friendly and kind of fun.  The Wacky Wednesday – the day when children & teachers wear pajamas to school, was celebrated. One teacher I met wore big hair rolls to school and one boy wore banana costume!   Personally, I think this event boosts both kids and teachers’ imagination and creativity or even their parents to help think what were they going to wear for the Wacky Wednesday.

Mt. Nittany Middle School

My favorite place in the Mt. Nittany Middle School is the library.  In contrast to classrooms which have four-sided wall, the library has walls of glass so it is very comfortable for kids to relax and be able to take a break from their reading to see scenery outside.  More importantly, it has encouraged students to spend more time there by providing laptops for their convenience and they’re allowed to borrow them home for a week.  What I like most in the library was words of wisdom placed around. These, to me, will inspire young adults to have a reading habit, for example,

-          Knowledge is your power so feed your brain.

-          Read, your brain gets hungry too.

-          Get lost in a book.

-          Reading brings confidence.

In conclusion, this LCC Education Day is very infomative, productiv and enriching to me.  I’ve learned not only from schools, teachers, students, but also other participants. It’s good for networking and sharing experience as people are from different background, for instance, finance, law, and education.

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