School Life
Unexpected learning, by Michele May
One of the truly wonderful aspects of international education is what I call “unexpected learning”. Not only do our students learn things that neither they nor their teachers could anticipate (some of which we are pleased to witness, other which make us shake our heads and wonder where we went wrong), but we as their teachers learn many unexpected things as well. For me, it is this reciprocal learning that makes my teaching experience worthwhile.
As a teacher on the York trip 2006, I learned that teachers are capable of uttering complete phrases that, if they were to stand alone, would be virtually impossible to imagine what circumstances engendered their necessity. (Names have been changed here in order to respect anonymity.) Examples include, “Now, how exactly do you expect me to climb out onto the roof to get David’s towel?” “Christopher, would you please stop filling your shoe with fake sand?” and “Whose feet are these?!?!”
I also witnessed students learning and practicing good decision making. Although not “officially” part of the York Program, it was a pleasure to see this happening. One evening after dinner as I walked up to my room at the Youth Hostel, I found a group of students congregated in the hallway at the top of the stairs sharing candy, chatting (in English, of course!), and singing. “What are you doing out in the hallway?” I asked. “Well, you said we weren’t allowed in each other’s rooms, so here we are.” What a great idea! Student respect for the rules while still getting what they need and want, time together.
This particular group of students was also extremely competent in the area of imitations. I had no idea of these hidden talents and would never have guessed it based on their classroom behavior. But, here in York, out in the open air, I learned that we have some impressive “Dracula laughs,” “silent monks,” “nightclub act monks,” “sheep noises,” and “curious archeologists.” The students’ capacity to imagine and slip into various roles is a testament to their diverse education and their open spirits.
Finally, as a teacher, this type of learning environment allows me to reflect on my teaching practice and perhaps to tease out certain lessons for myself. I ask myself, is my intended teaching objective coming across? Are the students “getting” all of this? Of course, the answers to these questions are mixed. The answer is “yes,” when, on the York History Test student answers to factual questions are correct and students are able to explain why York was an attractive site for both historic and modern settlements. The answer is “no,” when, on a question about “disabled tourist services” a student replied that the air conditioning didn’t work on the tour bus, there wasn’t an elevator in the hostel, and the bus’ VCR/TV was broken. I think I’ll have to approach this subject a bit differently next year.
