My Cultural Objectives

As I begin to prepare myself for my first student teaching placement in Listowel, Ireland, I have begun to think about what I expect to learn and internalize from my experiences abroad.  I want to not only improve my teaching, but come to learn what it means to live in a different culture other than my own.  With this being said I have created the following goals to be attained throughout my time in Ireland:

1.  To increase my knowledge of the Irish Culture as well as share the traditions of American Culture with my students in a Listowel school.

2.  To expand and experience my view of the world and its many diverse cultures.

3.  To reflect upon each individual experience good or bad in Ireland and connect it to my personal teaching philosophy and or personal characteristics in order to become a more multi- cultural educator.

4.  To test my personal limits and comfort in an entirely new atmosphere in order to the skills I will need to be a successful educator in addition to a well rounded American citizen.

5.  To explore new teaching styles and bring back helpful experiences that I can reflect in my teaching philosophy and methods for classroom instruction.

6.  To develop a clear understanding of my strong and weak points as an educator and as an individual as I am abroad.