Today I'm preparing for a debate that I'm having in one of my classes this afternoon. The class is called Globalization and the University and so far I really enjoy it. There are about 10-15 students in the class so it's very intimate and discussion driven. Our professor is extremely knowledgeable in the field as he has worked for a number of universities in
For this particular assignment my group has to take the position of a higher education institution and decide whether or not we are going to "join the global market" and then defend our position when our classmates and professor try to find holes in our argument. For me, this seems like a very practical (if not a little bit stressful) exercise because we truly have to think about our own positions on these kinds of issues as opposed to just memorizing what we feel the professor wants us to learn. There are no wrong answers, but at the same time this is not an easy assignment.
I believe that students who study abroad gain a very valuable experience by doing so. In addition, I feel that international students add to the diversity of
As an undergrad I studied abroad for a year in
I'm heading to
Wish me luck on my debate!!
2 comments:
I am thinking about applying to PENNGSE. I, too, have had international experience studying abroad for over 2 years in high school, and college. I also have a MA in anthropology. I teach Kindergarten now and am curious about adding some international teaching experince to my resume (South Africa is ideal)--please keep me updated as to your experince there this summer. Could you tell me, did you always know you wanted to teach while an undergrad. or did you find this out later? Also, how does the Penn GSE program distinguish itself? How did you pick South Africa as you focuses on methodology of international education as well as domestic education? Is studying abroad a common choice with the PennGSE students? Ultimately, do you think you will work in administration, teach, or both?
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! You have some great questions. I can't say that I always knew that I wanted to teach as an undergrad or that I'm sure that I would want to do that full-time, even now. What I did know though, especially after my experiences abroad, was that I wanted to work in education and that I wanted to work with international students (no particular level) or that I wanted to work with American students and help them have fulfilling international experiences, much like my own.
The South Africa trip is focused mostly on higher education institutions, which is one of my main interests and I will not be teaching while I'm there. I do think that ultimately I would like to work in administration, but I also have an interest in teaching English at some point too. For one of my classes this semester I will be observing ESL classes and I hope to have my own classroom this summer.
I hope this helped! If you have further questions, please feel free to email me at lmccabe@dolphin.upenn.edu.
~Lezlie
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