The opportunity to participate in the Morim Limmud program as an educator is a privilege. This multi-step journey begins with a faculty exchange between my school, The Adelson Educational Campus in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where I am the Upper School Assistant Principal, and the Lauder Javne school, in Budapest Hungary. In this first year, the faculty from each school will take turns visiting one another to learn about the school, the students, and the community surrounding and supporting each school. This is all in preparation for the second portion of the program, which is the student exchange.
Today, as a first part of the faculty exchange, I had prepared a lesson about our home, Las Vegas to share with the Lauder Javne students. This lesson took place within an “English as a Second Language” course for ninth graders participating in a “Language Year” at the school.
I began the class by sharing my own calling to be not just a teacher, but a teacher who learns from his students, and the expectation that my students be not just students, but students who teach their teacher. The students shared similar feelings about their education so far at the Lauder Javne school and ways in which they too had been invited into this learning community by their teachers noting that this is unique to their school, and not other experiences in Hungarian education.
Stepping into the classroom felt like stepping into my own classroom in Las Vegas. The students were welcoming, engaged in critical thought, and asked challenging questions that were debated during the class meeting. It was different hearing them refer to me by my first name, “Ben,” as is custom at the Lauder Javne school, as opposed to the formal “Mr. Koch” that is used in Las Vegas. As anticipated, there were thoughtful questions about Las Vegas, such as systems of transportation, the economy and jobs, and stereotypes about the city portrayed in media and film.
At the close of the class, I asked the ninth graders in the class to compose a specific question for the ninth grade students about their life in Las Vegas based upon the lesson. Here are some of their questions:
How do you deal with the heat? – Daniel
What activities do you after school? – Peter
What clothes are a part of your uniform? Do you wear them after school? – Mia
What are popular shoe styles at our school? -Sebi
One question that really stood out to me was asked by a student named Nikol. Her question, “Does anyone have Hungarian ancestry?” seeks to expand the connection between the two groups of students not by teenage experience, but by a shared common ancestry. This is thrilling.
I sent these questions to the ninth graders in Las Vegas who will answer them. Tomorrow, my second day with the Morim Limmud program, I will return to the class with responses from the students! For our lesson, our class will discuss responses to the questions in English, and then students will record video responses that will be sent back to the students in Las Vegas.
I am amazed and inspired by the opportunity to connect these students across the world to one another. More to come.
