On this three-week program, I spent time learning about the educational systems, culture, and history of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France. 

By far my favorite parts of this program were our scheduled school visits. In each city that we went to, we visited various different schools of all types such as public primary schools, international schools, refugee schools, and vocational schools. Through these amazing experiences inside the classroom, I feel more prepared to be a more global-minded teacher in the future. Teachers have a classroom full of students from all walks of life and from all over the world; thus, this program helped me learn valuable teaching tools to ensure all my students are learning and thriving inside the classroom. For instance, at the schools, we would often observe the English lessons. I learned some useful teaching techniques on how to help non-English speaking students learn English as well as how to use pictures, symbols, and hand gestures to make sure students are not getting lost. One particular memory I have was working in a small group with four German students who were particularly struggling in math. Even though we didn’t share a common language, I was still able to help them practice their subtraction skills and make a real connection with these students. This taught me that language barriers are not necessarily barriers, but rather an opportunity to be creative. I’ll never forget the one girl asking her teacher if I could come to the next lesson with her because she enjoyed working with me so much. 

Another large take away I had from this study abroad opportunity was to learn about the history and culture of European countries, especially around the topic of WWII. For instance, we started our travels in Amsterdam followed by time in Rotterdam. During a lecture we attended, I learned that Rotterdam is so new and modern because 80% of the city center was bombed and destroyed by the Germans during WWII. This was something I had never thought about before. Rotterdam, despite its modern, fun buildings, could have looked just like Amsterdam (full of beautiful, historic buildings) if the war wouldn’t have happened. This idea stuck with me. That war doesn’t just hurt people of the time, it hurts architecture, culture, history, and ideas. Additionally, while in Amsterdam we had the privilege to visit the Anne Frank House. This was an overwhelming experience for me. It was so powerful to see her story in real life as well as seeing her journal. I remember tearing up at one particular part of the museum where they have a list of all the Jews who died with the book flipped open to Anne’s name. There were so many names in that book and each of those people have a story just like Anne, but we will never get the chance to know those stories. They were deemed unworthy of living because of their religion and because of prejudice and violence we will never know their story. I will never forget the feeling of sadness I felt mourning all those lost lives. 

Overall, these past few weeks have been such a wonderful learning experience. I’ve learned so much about other cultures, but also learned about myself and who I am as a global citizen. I will bring these ideas into my future classroom as well as cherish these memories and friendships for a lifetime.

Name: Sarah Farnsworth
Status: Senior
Major: Elementary Education
Hometown: Marysville, Michigan
Program: Learning, Technology and Culture in Europe