Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Entire World in My Classroom

On Thursday, October 31st I went to school with a flutter of excitement twirling around my brain. Not only was it Halloween but I was also aware that at 1:20 in my Social Studies class we would be having a marvelous journey into our classmates culture and customs. As I was walking down the hall, my mind wandered to what the day's activities had in store for me. I myself was expecting my grandparents to come in to help me present to the class information on my Polish heritage and treat them with some Kielbasa, which is a traditional Polish sausage. When I arrived at the classroom I was greeted by an arrangement of colors and smells. Each particular smell belonged to a delicious looking meal, that frankly I mostly had never seen before. The majority of my classmates had brought in some of their cultural delicacies for a better understanding of the country the lead back to, as did I. Each who had prepared a dish also had either artifacts from their culture, traditional apparel, or a prepared and written speech full of information.
                                                               I of which had brought in certain artifacts that I received from a neighbor who had actually come from Poland. I think these items helped overall some up what I had to say. I also had brought in a Polish book my great-grandmother had sent me that was completely written in Polish. It was entitled "Elementarz" and I was thinking to myself how cool it would be to show the class. For it means Primer in English, representing an easy level book or a "first read" as some might call it. But of course It was not an easy book for me because I do not speak Polish, even though I am Polish.
                                                                      When the presenting started I stood up next to my grandparents and told the class about my Polish background. I made sure to specify about the certain Polish traditions my family celebrate's. I also spoke about a boat that my grandparents had once owned named Rodzina, which means family in Polish.
                                                    After I had presented and gave my information it was time for me to listen and enjoy the learning of other people's culture's. The first thing I learned was in the country across the sea, Ukraine. The couple presenter's from that country spoke one at a time about traditional dance outfits and pisanki eggs, a very decorative cultural Easter tradition. Plus, when Ukraine was rapping up, the class enjoyed some homemade cheese perogies, stuffed cabbage, and poppy seed filled pastries. I also experienced the telling of Ireland's household culture and was treated to a delicious Irish Soda bread.
                                                                     It was a very educational day in the case of discovering were everyone in the class came from. I had no idea that the entire world was in my classroom.

35 comments:

  1. What a fantastic job of summing up your learning! You truly have a way with words. It was really awesome to meet your grandparents and learn about your culture and customs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much! The only way i'd be able to sum-up my learning is if I learned something and during that activity I sure did learn a lot.

      Delete
  2. What a great reflection, Ally! Great post sharing your thoughts on this learning experience! Doing so in a blog allows your classroom learning to be shared world-wide as well! I'm proud of your efforts! Thanks for sharing! -- Mr. Murray, Tech Director in #qcsd

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome for sharing! Although I should be the one saying thanks, I really appreciate the positive feedback! I am also wowed that the world can now know what my class was engaging in; technology is amazing and very progressive.

      Delete
  3. Ally, Isn't it wonderful that you can share your experiences and learning with the world? I loved reading about your social studies class, and I was a bit jealous about all of the delightful foods you described. Keep sharing and learning!

    Professor Shields, Flagler College - St. Augustine, FL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is wonderful! I'm so thankful for these extraordinary opportunities to give my insight to people across the globe. Well, as for the food, I’d share that with the world too, if I could.

      Delete
  4. Love blogs! Shame that such a personal job like teaching isolates us by nature. Nice to see people willing to bring their expeiences out for all to see and enjoy. Keep it up, good times and bad...keep sharing.

    Coach V. Tech Guy, Napa CA.
    Callmecoachv.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also let me know if u need help removing captcha thing so it is easier for folks to comment

      Delete
    2. I'm glad you liked my blog, and enjoy blog's in general. I have become particularly fond of them recently because of the way other people are able to read what I write. On another note, I don't even know what the word "Captcha" means, so I would really enjoy if you'd help me out!

      Delete
  5. Hi Ally,
    This was a really good read. I hope you'll keep blogging and sharing your thoughts and observations about the world. Our stories help us learn about one another and most importantly understand there is more that connects than separates us.
    Jena, a writer and illustrator too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was hoping that this post would appeal to the public! So, I am very happy that you have given me such pleased feedback! I just enjoy writing so much that I was excited that my audience had expanded. I will definitely keep writing blog posts. Thank you for commenting!

      Delete
  6. Ally:
    Really enjoyed your posting. You took me right into the room with you. I could smell the food, and even taste the Polish sausage. Love that stuff. Also loved your choice of words - "flutter of excitement" and "cultural delicacies". You've got a good command of the language and express yourself very well. You didn't ramble and each paragraph had its own beginning, middle and ending. And your closing summary statement is proving to be almost prophetic. The entire world IS your classroom - and now comments on your work is coming from all parts of that world. Congrats again. Keep up the writing. You are very good at it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading my post, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I also am glad you like Keilbasa, it's so flavorful. In the future I plan to keep on writing so I really appreciate comments like yours.

      Delete
  7. What a lovely reflection on your special presentation! I'm sure your grandparents were proud of you and happy to share your family's traditions with your classmates. Keep blogging!

    Ms. Stevens, Education Journalist, Baltimore, MD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will always be writing, blogging, and sharing my idea's. Thanks for the motivation! I really liked presenting to my class because I got to spread knowledge and that it always cool to do. It's sort of what blogging is about, sharing what you know with other people and getting a response that might also teach you something.

      Delete
  8. Hi Ally,

    Thank you so much for sharing your voice with all of us. I LOVED reading about the world being in your classroom. It is fun to imagine what your day was like....I love learning from experiences like that. And it is so meaningful and special to connect to others so personally....It gives all of us such an appreciation of where we came from.

    I love your blog and am happy you are sharing stories and yourself.

    Shannon McClintock Miller, District Teacher Librarian at Van Meter, Iowa

    I blog at Van Meter Library Voice, Twitter @shannonmmiller too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so happy you enjoyed the post! I completely agree with you on the learning from physical experiences like that. It's a great, and interesting way to learn something new.

      Delete
  9. Ally, I loved your post. I felt like I was right there learning alongside you. I am sure you will continue to share your learning with us as you continue to grow. Keep honing your voice and sharing your thoughts with the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, and I will. I love to write, and as long as there is a positive effect on people I will keep on writing. This is what I was trying to get at, others feeling like they're learning it with me.

      Delete
  10. Hi, Ally,
    I really enjoyed reading your post, and I'm encouraged that children are engaged in such meaningful learning opportunities! Your writing is beautifully descriptive. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!
    Lyn Hilt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your welcome. I am always glad to share my insight on things that I learn. Thank you for reading!

      Delete
  11. Hi Ally,
    You had my interest with your opening sentence. I am glad that you decided to share your learning experience and look forward to seeing more from you.

    ~ Charlotte Stevenson, Project Manager-YUHSD, Yuma, Arizona

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You were hooked on my opening sentence? That's great! I'm frequently looking for new ways to words thinks and such. Thanks for commenting!

      Delete
  12. This was a terrific blog post! You are so fortunate to have teachers who know how important it is for students to connect with the world outside of their classroom. You have a real genius, and the world needs you to contribute it. Thank you for taking the first steps towards doing so!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I do feel lucky to have family, teachers, friends, and other people who read what I write to motivate me. I plan on continuing to march toward my goal and keep up my writing. I really appreciate you reading this!

      Delete
  13. Ally, I really have to compliment you on your descriptive writing. I could actually kind of see the classroom sights and smell all the good foods. So great that you are being encouraged to blog! I hope that you stick with it and find it enjoyable to share more of your experiences with the world! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I try my best to discribe what is going on so readers will learn about new things like I did, I'm really glad you liked it!

      Delete
  14. Ally,
    This is a great blog post. I have always known that you were a great author. I always enjoy reading your creative writing pieces. I love when you throw your great ideas on a piece of paper. And I think your title is so unique and creative. I could replay the video in my head when I read it. Awesome job Ally!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Heather! I enjoyed writing it, did you enjoy reading? Anyway, I'm glad you read it!

      Delete
    2. Yes, I did enjoy reading it.

      Delete
  15. What an incredible event. Your description made me feel like I was there. I applaud your school for doing this. Not enough times do we celebrate where we came from and our heritage then we can take this for granted. Our grandparents and families have important stories to share with us. They talk about how they got here and why we get to enjoy the sacrifices they made for us to have our freedoms. We have the responsibility to not only carry those stories but pass them on to others and our future children. Thank you for sharing and passing it along. It ensures their story lives and your culture doesn't die because no one shared the story. I'm Latina. My parents couldn't speak Spanish in school or they were hit with rulers and sent home and so we were forbidden from speaking Spanish at home so we wouldn't use it in schools. My grandparents, though, taught me Spanish and talked about my culture with me. So many of my friends now have lost their culture and don't practice their traditions and their children don't either. The beauty of America is we are different and to lose traditions is sad but today your school and you carried them on. Thank you again for doing this.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I completely agree with you. We shouldn't let our families culture's fade away and to teach other people you must first know the tradition yourself. I am so thankful for my family to teach me about our culture and I think celebrating traditions is a wonderful thing. Thank you for commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ally,
    What I love about this blog is that you share your thinking with us. Not only are you sharing what you learned, you are sharing how you learned it.
    You are making your thinking visible. When we learn how we learn our learning increasing ten fold. For you, your learning comes from self-reflection and writing. Therefore, the more you do that...the more you will learn and at a greater depth. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the motivation, I will definitely keep writing. I'm also glad you felt that I was sharing how I learned it in a well visualized manor, that was my goal!

      Delete