What did you learn today?

As an Aussie educator who had the opportunity to work intensively with the CBE and on observation in several schools throughout our 6 day visit I learned so much my head was spinning! The blog will give a detailed version.

The Learning Centre and ‘The Class’ were well established, caring places that gave students who needed extra support a place to call home. They were well resourced and ‘The Learning Strategies’ course is something we would like to implement. Wobbly stools and Living Walls were new, as was the concept of Learning Commons.

I thought our Technology implementation and resourcing was a ‘mish mash’ and difficult tomaintain; no-one appears to have the perfect solution! The visibility and usage of student mobile phones was a contrast to home where currently at Loxton there is a ‘No Mobile Phone’ policy in place. How long will we last?!

The tutorial system, before lessons officially started, was a progressive idea giving students responsibility for their follow up learning.

I would love to see our weekly staff meetings changed to the monthly Canadian style and the staff commitment to extra-curricular activities was impressive.

Other positive ideas were: the extensive use of whiteboard walls / desktops for student collaboration, use of a ‘Scantron’ to mark quizzes, food carts selling student made goods, the notion of ‘Wellness’ being incorporated across the curriculum and the various sporting logos that instil pride in school teams. The Loxton Leopards may soon be in existence!

Thanks for the camaraderie!

Jane Garrard (www.loxton2calgary.blogspot.com) teaches at Loxton High School, South Australia; recipient of $20,000 T&D Lifetime Achievement Award.

At 8:30 AM on March 21st, CBE students from 18 Calgary high schools arrived at the Beijing Experimental High School to participate in the first day of the International Leadership Summit (IYLS) 2014.  The students were tired from traveling and were still used to the rhythms and flow that made up their days 8500 km and 14 time zones away.   The students could feel the warmth of the morning sun that penetrated the cool, hazy Beijing morning air as they gathered in the inner exercise courtyard of this large urban campus wondering what the day and week ahead would hold.  Within minutes, Iris - one of the Assistant Principals at Beijing Experimental High School - was leading us through courtyards and stairwells until we reached our destination.  Then it began - the 4th annual International Youth Leadership Summit in Beijing.

That day and the nine that followed were filled with activities, opportunities and events that merged to become an exciting collage of student engagement, learning, leadership development, adventure, and sightseeing. 

The students who were part of the CBE delegation had all been part of a special system student advisory group and had spent their year participating in leadership and intercultural studies.  As a result, students came with a deep desire to discuss, learn and benefit from their time with their counterparts from the other side of the globe.  What they gained was the experience and knowledge that it is through learning, communicating and collaborating that we are able to truly appreciate the things that make us similar and also celebrate that which makes us culturally unique.  Through this focus on leadership and the immersive cultural experience, that also included traveling to a number of local and regional points of geographic, historical and cultural the CBE students gained deep insights into and an appreciation into the educational, cultural, historical and social aspects of the world’s most populous country.

There is one thing that was clear from this cross-cultural experience.  The CBE students returned home more globally aware, culturally competent, and better equipped to undertake acts of leadership that make our communities, our cities, our countries and our world a better place to be.

To live the richness of this experience more fully, we encourage you to go to:  http://iyls2014.weebly.com

Brant is a Director and advocate for real-world experiences that foster leadership, cultural competence, and success learning & working in the global context. 

Debbie is a passionate #yycbe educator and system Learning Leader who loves working with students to bring voice and self-advocacy to their learning!  #studentvoice