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“Schools that have embraced internationalisation soon see their pupils reap the rewards”

Today I have learnt so much from my colleagues here in the course. Most of them have had a long relationship with Erasmus + program and are currently working in an international level with several European partners. Our school is so young on this respect that all new ideas are welcome. Our European path has just started and the way is long but very appealing.

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Session 5

Today I learned what the class divisions are like in other schools and how tightly controlled in other countries is by school leaders and even the municipality with regard to internationalization.  I feel lucky that we have carte blanche from the school principal.  In the Netherlands, the municipality certainly has no interference or say in how we shape internationalisation.  I have learned that it is precisely through trust and without interference that you can deliver beautiful, valuable and good work.  Freedom ❤️

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The plant you can see in the picture is called "the traveller's tree". I saw it in a garden near the marché nocturne. In these days it is more than ever important that our children/pupils improve their social skills, are keen on understanding the world and get a more open attitude towards different cultures and an increased language proficiency. The same goes for us adults/teachers! I so much appreciate the new contacts to colleagues from other EU countries, and I would like to offer a jobshadowing at my school to everyone of you, you are very welcome to Königin-Katharina-Stift-Gymnasium (our pupils are aged 10-18) in Stuttgart/Germany!

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Today I learned how to write the school audit for international work - rich and extensive range of skills and experiences amongst staff and students that already exist in our school. I realised that there are some strenghts in infernational work, for example, visits and exchanges for educators. Also I realised that we have some week points like assemblies. Thanks to presentations from other participants I got a lot of new ideas. Thanks to Netherland colleges, I learned about citygame. Thanks to colleges from Finland I got an idea how to popularise etwinning projects in my school.

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When we entered today, I knew there is something to share as I am experienced. But thanks to my Dutch colleagues reminding there are also good things I have done, but not doing lately: school, city and region presentation in the beginning in every meeting in every project. Danke! And I want to emphasize that in KA1 trainings we are doing here, there is a good chance to find future partners. Here we have many. Anybody interested? Anyone?

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Thank you for sharing. Today we shared the patterns of our school’s interenational activities. It was really interesting to hear what kind of international work everyone were already doing in their own schools and part of national curriculums. Many similar problems but new approaches and ways to act. I really appreciated this.

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“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” - Jim Rohn. It’s generally well understood that a school trip abroad can provide students with endless opportunities to improve their personal development such as confidence, self-esteem, leadership, independent and critical thinking. Furthermore, not only can trips create stronger bonds between students and teachers, but they can also help to engage demotivated students into the learning activities more. A school exchange trip abroad is often a fun experience providing both students and teachers with exposure to new cultures, languages and international awareness. During our lesson today, all the teachers from different countries have overviewed their school’s international activities they are involved in. The teachers shared their ideas by evaluating the strong points of their school international work and what things can be improved in the near future. I do really hope that we will continue our international collaboration with the teachers and schools who participate in the course.

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The key words of the day: overviewing and valuable overthinking.
We have assessed ourselves where we are, what we look like in an international context rethinking what needs to be improved so we can move forward by sharing the experience we gained when we return to our school. When you share, you get more. It was a good time for overthinking which made us feel more positive and stronger.

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Today I learned that we, as a school, are not doing so badly when it comes to internationalization. It appears that we have developed and implemented activities in all areas mentioned in the audit template. Of course we can always do better and/or organise different activities. After listening to the other teachers, I think it would be very nice to be able to visit them at their schools. That way we can learn even more from each other and include our students in the experience.

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No matter how much we think we know about some topic, it’s only after we have put that knowledge into use that we get confirmation of the actual level of understanding that we possess. Sure, we could read about painting, learn all the techniques and brush types, colour palettes, etc. but only when we get in front of a canvas and start painting we put our knowledge to the test. The same goes for everything else in life.