The summer of 2007 saw the rise of a new opportunity for the Education Department. All early childhood and middle level education majors, within a semester of completing their studentteaching requirement, were invited to join Harding’s College of Education on a trip to Falkirk/Larbert, Scotland. These pre-student teachers spent 35 days in Scotland teaching, being taught and taking in the Scottish culture. During their stay, Michael Wood, assistant professor of education, wrote that the students, along with Wood and his family, “were together experiencing the Scottish culture, learning from Scottish educators, studying the history of the Restoration Movement and taking in as much of the sites and sounds that [they] possibly could.” One requirement for the tripwas to spend 40hours observing in a classroom. This task opened the eyes of Harding’s students to other cultures. “Our main purpose was to do our pre-student teaching over there while getting to learn about Scotland and see its beauty,” senior Emily Baines said. “If I had just done my pre-student teaching [in the U.S.], I would not have learned a different culture or seen how schools are different depending on where you live.” Even though Scotland’s culture was much different from the U.S., there were some similarities that helped the group. “There is not a language barrier,” Wood said. “Our students would be able to use English to teach in their classes. In addition, their educational system is similar in many ways to the United States’.” The planning for the trip began more than two years before the students left. Scottish educational officials had to be contacted to ensure a school for the Harding students, then background checks were performed by the FBI to make sure that everything was safe. Once the process was completed, housing arrangements were sought out and educational field trips were scheduled. The goal was to get students into the Scottish classrooms for 40 hours. This only took five weeks, which was why they went the summer. “On a typical day, we would get up and get ready, have breakfast at 8 and then catch a bus or have Mike [Wood] drive us to school by 9,” Baines said. “Then we’d eat lunch there and be home for our classes by 1 or so. We toured Scotland on the weekends.” Wood said that things went as scheduled for the most part and being as it was everyone’s first trip, it was very successful overall. “It is the desire of the Scottish schools, the Falkirk Education Director/ Falkirk Council and the Carronvale House [where they stayed] that we return in the summer of 2008,” Wood said. “The students who participated this summer encourage that the program continue. It is also my desire that the program continue for many years to come.” [Derek McCormick] Cultivating Educating across the ocean 184 [academics]
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==