El Nido, Philippines: Innovation Beyond Technology

 Innovation beyond technology 

I recently visited the town of El Nido, Philippines. It is a small community on the north tip of the island of Palawan in the Philippines. It is considered the gateway to the Bacuit archipelago, a group of islands with steep karst cliffs. The natural beauty in the area is completely stunning and pictures will never do it justice. Steep cliffs jutting straight out of vibrant blue water, complimented with greenery surrounding the cliffs is absolutely awe-inspiring! 

    The people are friendly, kind and so very generous. Truly a pleasure to talk to the people and learn more about the beautiful place they call home. Aside from the breathtaking views there was something I noticed while I was in El Nido. They are so innovative with how they build and design. And this is evidenced everywhere you go! For example, one of their main modes of transportation is a tricycle. This is essentially a dirt bike fitted with a third wheel, side seat and a roof. They are very efficient and can go almost anywhere. 

    Honestly when I think about innovation the first thing that comes to my mind is technology. Of course when pushing the boundaries in school, innovation seems to be connected to the newest technology and how it is being used in the classroom. What I found being in El Nido was that my students necessarily need to have technology to be innovative. In fact, there are a lot things they can dream up and create only using simple supplies. Why don't I provide more opportunities for them to be truly creative and innovative? Of course there needs to be order and guidelines, but I know an essential part of learning is trying and experimenting. Who knows what they will end up with? So at a future time when I am back in the classroom and doing a project with my students, I hope to remember the people of El Nido and let my students have freedom to be innovative. 

PS- If you have never been to El Nido, I highly recommend it! El Nido and the surrounding islands are just so beautiful, truly paradise.

Singapore

 My first impression of Singapore was how clean and orderly everything was. I was picked up from the airport by my host family. Before we could leave, one of them had to go and tell the information desk that the signage explaining directions around the construction were confusing and poorly marked. My host was not saying this to be unkind, but had noticed an elderly man with luggage struggling to find his way. The fact that the signage was lacking proved to be quite unusual in Singapore. Singapore was a very easy city to navigate. The train system is simple to understand and precise in its timing. Each train stop is displayed and announced. Maps of the different train stops are found displayed in multiple places throughout the train and the station. I found that when I was trying to find a certain place there were always clearly marked signs to help me know where to go, and just when I started to be unsure there would be another sign. Talking to my host family about this observation I learned that the people of Singapore really value respect, and take these clear directions as one way to show respect to others. They respect people's time and do their best to show this by making clear, easy to follow, precise directions.

How can I create this same reliability in my own classroom? Children thrive when they know what is happening. It takes a lot of preparation to get them to this point. I have spent most of my teaching years as a kindergarten teacher. The beginning of the year is truly the exact same day over and over again until they begin to understand their roles at school. I wonder how I can make things easier for my students in transitions; whether the big transition of starting in a new class or the smaller transitions throughout the school day. 

Learning from Singapore my goal is to take the time to set clear expectations and ensure that students know where they are going and what they are doing. I think this will lead to a more organized classroom and children who feel confident in their learning. 

The Question That Starts It All

 I have always been fascinated by different cultures and love learning about traditions from around the world. I know that every person has a story and there is so much to be gained from truly listening. Throughout this blog I would like to explore how I can make multicultural education more accessible for my students and also for other teachers. There are so many positive practices in education that may be location specific, but would have a valuable impact on any student body. I would like to investigate this further. Not only for my own learning and understanding, but I also would like to create a space in some way that allows my colleagues to contribute and join the journey.

My question is: How I can learn about and access positive practices from around the world and then create a way to use them in my own classroom?