Twenty-one international teachers presented their culture and their experiences upstairs in the donut at Greeley West High School on Monday as part of an exchange program. Teachers from different countries and backgrounds came in and shared with West’s students about where they come from and what differences there are between American culture and theirs.
West students were impressed with the day and discussed how engaging and cool this opportunity was. Senior Michael McCoy said, “I initially loved the idea of Diversity Day, so this was super great. I love learning about new cultures and hearing from people who actually live in different countries so, I would love to see this be something that happens more often.”
McCoy just couldn’t stop talking about the postiive experience. “Learning new perspectives on teaching from people who we don’t usually hear from was so fascinating and the food, presentations and different experiences were so cool,” he added.
The background of these teachers coming in was also very interesting to hear about. The process was long and stressful but in the end, it was rewarding for both the students and teachers. UNC Director of Education Abroad, Erika Saunders said, “We have been doing this program called “ ‘Full Bright Teachers’ since about 2008. The groups are on an exchange program for six weeks, placed in classes to help co-teach at Greeley West High School, Greeley Central High School, and Brentwood Middle school.”
The program is geared to enhance all teachers in the program and their ability to instruct. “The government sponsors them and while they are here they get to take a class called Pedagogy, which is essentially a class about how to teach,” Saunders explained. “Then, they get to share experiences and gain experience from teachers here in America and interact with students at things like Diversity Day.”
Putting on this event was quite stressful for those in charge, but student attendance was booming. Hundreds of kids got to experience these teachers. CLD teacher, Ms. Jennifer Campbell said, “We typically bring them to Diversity Day, but this year the date changed several times and the teachers could not make it.”
Still, Campbell explaiend, the show went on. “We, of course, didn’t want the students or teachers to miss this very fun and interesting opportunity to learn about the world around them, so, we decided to host a mini diversity day to give students a preview of what they will see on the actual Diversity Day minus the different teachers,” Campbell said.
