Monday, September 4, 2017

A Journey of 1,000 Miles

You may be familiar with the quote, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." This summer I was very fortunate to journey thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to Japan to visit schools and learn more about their education and culture. It was AMAZING! Now, I am embarking on a new journey as we start a new school year at Dryden and I try to share and apply all the wonderful things I learned. 


Many children at this Japanese school participate in World Friendship classes, as many are from countries other than Japan and are learning a new language and culture. The World Friendship classes are designed to instill confidence and kindness among all students. 

I love how our teachers at Dryden also make an intentional effort to help our students feel proud of who they are,


and how our students welcome and include new friends at tDryden!



Just look at all of the buddies on the Buddy Bench!

The student lunch process in Japan is quite impressive. Students take turns carefully serving one another, making sure everyone has enough to eat. They are also very responsible for working together to clean everything up after everyone has finished eating.



This reminded me of how our students at Dryden help for and care for each other in so many ways as well, such as making sure all of the school supplies are labeled and organized during the first days of school. Many hands truly do make light work!

Perhaps one of the most profound experiences I had in Japan was visiting Peace Park in Hiroshima. My hero, a girl named Sadako, stands at the top of the Children's Peace Monument. You can read about her life in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.  Sadako and her schoolmates have made a powerful positive impact on the world peace movement. People from all over the world send origami paper cranes to show their support for world peace. 

 

At Dryden, I get to observe children and teachers making a positive impact on their communities as well. Even at the beginning of the year, teachers are engaging their students in creating rules for the classroom and designing the systems for arranging their classroom furniture and libraries. It's truly wonderful how our teachers facilitate learning in which students cooperate, collaborate and problem-solve to build a caring classroom community. 




And, there will be countless more opportunities for our students and staff make a positive impact throughout this school year! We are just beginning another "journey of a thousand miles." Oh, what exciting learning adventures await us! 


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