Week 1
Although I have only been here at Eastern Washington for 7 days, I feel that I have already seen and done soo much! On our first day we had a city tour of Spokane where we got to see some of the historical sights, downtown and the city park. I really enjoyed walking around the city and getting the feel for a 'real' American town. A highlight of the day was going to the fireworks festival where we heard live music, saw local dancers perform and ended the evening with a fantastic fireworks display! It was a great atmosphere in the park and it was nice to experience something unique to Spokane.
During our first week we also visited the one room school house on the university campus. We learnt that this used to be a real school house and had been transported across the state and refurbished to recreate an authentic early 1900s school. I found it a really interesting and fun way to experience history first hand and learn more about the history of American schools.
A real highlight of this week for me was the trip to the national forest park, it was the most beautiful part of the area that we have visited. The views of the river and surrounding forest were amazing! We had a picnic, paddled in the river and then walked through the forest before climbing to the top of a hill to take in the fantastic views.
On Friday we visited the Great Northern School District, a rural elementary school which caters for only 50 students. It was great to take a look inside a real American classroom, and to my surprise I did not find it dissimilar to a British classroom. It was interesting to hear about the different problems that the school face and the strategies and solutions they use to overcome them. One of the most interesting issues which the teacher, Eileen Nave, brought up was how the school supports a child with SEN, disciplinary issues and the effects on the other pupils. I am very much looking forward to visiting more schools over the next few weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment