TIU Students Teach Abroad
As Division of Education seniors make their impression as
student teachers in local schools, two Trinity students have taken their
knowledge and experiences to different countries, where they have begun student
teaching in foreign lands. Lydia Swanson
and Rachel Osborn have embarked upon this journey, as Swanson is teaching in
Brazil and Osborn has taken her passion to Costa Rica.
For Swanson, an Elementary Education major with Concentration
in Math, she is teaching fifth and sixth grade at the Brasilia International
School in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.
Swanson said the main thing she likes about the school is that is a
Christian-based school with a Christian mission statement and values, but their
student population is very diverse, with students representing over 20 nations
and various religious backgrounds.
“The school and teachers are really intentional about
integrating faith into their learning,” Swanson said. This is another thing that TIU talks about,
but to see real people (in Brazil) actually living this way has been such as
encouragement.”
In her fourth week of teaching now, Swanson has slowly
gained more control of her classroom as she has been able to teach lessons in almost
every subject while getting to know the makeup of the school and student body. Swanson has also been able to share her
passion for soccer by playing with her students at recess.
She also pointed to
her cooperating teacher as being extremely helpful by giving feedback and
offering ideas of how to teach certain subjects. Swanson will gain full control of her
classroom by the end of February and will continue to student teach until May.
Osborn, an Elementary Education major with emphasis on
Middle School Science and Language Arts, is currently teaching second grade at
Miriam Baker School in San Jose, Costa Rica.
While school did not start until Jan. 23, Osborn came to Costa Rica Jan.
2 so she could adjust and see some of the sights before she started
teaching.
Osborn is also slowly being eased into the teaching world as
she has begun teaching Social Studies this week. With each week, she will add on a subject
until March, where she will be in full control for three weeks and then begin a
gradual decrease of control. Additionally,
her cooperating teacher, with over 30 years of experience, has been a blessing
for her and even has already let Osborn help grade papers, decorate the
classroom, and lead an art activity among a variety of other tasks around the
classroom.
While Osborn likes to note this positives of her experiences
so far, things have not been easy and
carefree all of the time.
“God has instilled in me a sense of adventure, risk taking,
and a great love for people and children,” Osborn explained. “However, in coming to Costa Rica I realized
that I was withdrawing from many of these things. God showed me that I was dealing with
“miedo”-the Spanish word for fear.”
Osborn also has to overcome a cultural barrier with her
students. She said she has to put
herself in the shoes of her students to make sure they are on the same
page.
Osborn has stayed in touch with some of her professors from
TIU, asking for advice on how to handle certain situations. Finally, Osborn has started a blog to share
her experiences with her friends and family back in the States.
Swanson and Osborn will continue to gain valuable experience
student teaching in their respective countries before they begin the hunt for
teaching jobs.
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