Learning by Teaching

Once again, I'm sorry for the delay in blogging!  I'm a week from the end of the program and haven't blogged since what... March?  Whoops.  Anyway, I'm starting to change dates of previous blogs as well as blogs I'm writing now, so that they at least sort of fit with where they happened chronologically.  So you may have to go back in time to read the blogs that I'll start posting now. 

Anyway,  here goes!

This semester I have been given the opportunity to be in an Education Internship here in Vienna.  I taught at an elementary school (Volksschule Knarlgasse) in the 17th district.  I taught 6 to 10 year olds once a week in each of my four classes.  I had a 1st, two 2nd, and a 4 grade class!  This was one of the most incredible and mind blowing experiences I have ever had in my life, especially as a future educator. 

So four times a week I was able to come teach classes at this school.  The 17th district is about as far away as you can get from my 5th district apartment, so I had lots of time for self-reflection, napping and music listening on the hour Strassenbahn rides there and back!  But it was worth it.  I taught English, but learned everything else.  I became aware of what religion in a public school system can look like.  I discovered that American teachers are very hard on their students when dealing with behavioural issues (in comparison with Austrian teachers).

It was an amazing experience... but I did have one big issue.  I struggled the entire semester to please my main internship teacher.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that nothing in the world would have been good enough for this woman!  Eventually, I realized that culturally, this is actually pretty common in Austria.  They don't give compliments, instead they tell you what you can do better.  FRUSTRATING!  I mean I'm not saying that there wasn't room for improvement, because there was tons, but it took me a really long time to not take this personally. 

There were a few things in this internship that really stood out for me.  One, was how quickly I learned to think on my feet.  I am a 19 year old American with very limited German skills, thrown into a classroom of 6 year old Austrians who can't say more than "My name is..." in English.  You'd be amazed by how much you can actually communicate with each other once those language barriers are overcome!  By my last class, I was able to understand almost every child's rapid jabber in my direction, and kept all of my classes entertained and engaged for the entire class period!  I'd call that a success.  I was able to use a lot of music to teach my lessons, which helped me in connecting with my students. This way I was able to find some common ground between the two cultures that I was balancing.

Another point that is really sticking with me, is just how much I actually got to know the students I was working with!  Especially my main teacher's second grade class.  I not only knew names, but who were the teacher's pets, and the class clowns, and the artists, and the popular girls... I could go on forever but you get my point.  These kids actually connected with me and I was able to be a part of their lives, even if it was only for a little bit! 

This is Frau Mueller's 2nd grade at the Leopold Museum field trip looking at the Klimt exhibit.



I wrote a reflection/research paper on the differences of disciplinary systems in America vs Austria with an emphasis on the role of religion in the classroom as my final project for the class, and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.  It's super long so I wasn't going to post the whole thing, but I feel like the conclusion fits.

Conclusion/Reflection:

This education internship was a one of a kind experience for me.  It was extremely challenging, and pushed me in directions that I never thought existed!  I feel like I gained an appreciation for the education system that I grew up in, but also insight about the other possibilities that exist when teaching.  This was a fabulous way for me to really immerse myself in the culture of Vienna, for what better way to see a society for what it is than through its children?  I was made very aware of my own fears, including speaking in a foreign language, and was able to overcome those fears by learning to communicate in new ways.  In general, I feel like I developed the confidence to know that no matter what is thrown at me in a teaching situation I will be able to handle it.  I acquired skills of flexibility, courage, and patience (both with myself and others).  I learned how to balance an existence in two cultures and use what I know of both worlds to my advantage.  As I am writing this, I can hardly believe just how much that I have learned in such a short amount of time.  The opportunities and experiences I have felt this semester have drastically changed my perspectives of life, and I love the things that I am discovering!