Yesterday I wanted to talk about the teaching and what was different and what was the same. Today I want to spend a few moments thinking about our host city Budapest (which I will now correctly, and ...
I’m told that many of the English classes in Budapest consist largely of rote, and very still, learning. Students sit at a desk with a grammar book and do grammar exercises. Granted, that certainly ...
Each night after dinner we would have the opportunity to share our thoughts from the day, our viewpoints from the classroom, or our feelings and reactions to the landmarks that we saw on our tours. ...
This morning at 8:15 I taught the same year 7 students that I taught yesterday afternoon for two periods. The difference was night and day. A few minutes before class started, I stood outside the ...
As an arts educator, I am familiar with how the arts can facilitate a connection between human beings, both as individuals and communities.
Here in Budapest, many of the students do not speak the same ...
The young man in my 10th year English class slinks down in his seat at the back of the room and looks out at me from under the lid of his NY Yankees baseball cap. The Yankees? Seriously? Does he not ...
The first day at any new school (job for that matter) is always a little stressful and intimidating; today was no different. Of course none of my previous first days were in front of students who may ...
The first day at a new school is always a bit scary, especially when you don’t speak the language. I certainly do not think I was the only one who was nervous to start teaching today. But I was surprised ...
My first students of the week at the Scheiber Sandor School were a group of sixth graders who seemed as nervous about me, as I was about them. But, as I greeted each student with a hand shake and smile, ...
For my first official blog post of my SOS International’s Morim Project, I could tell you how privileged I felt to be in a school in a foreign country teaching classes about music composition, or ...
Emily, a vivacious 11th year student with flawless English, ushers me up and down hallways, in and out of the classrooms and library and stops in a spacious lobby adorned with a row of lovely stained ...
Should it be a surprise to learn that teens in Hungary are just like teens in America? Should it be a surprise to learn that the same techniques that we know work in a classroom in Baltimore also work ...
Learning. Where does one begin? All primates learn; indeed, one might make the argument that most complex life forms learn. Yet, as educators this topic has incredibly profound and curious hurdles ...
I have not been so nervous walking into a classroom to teach since my first day at Beth Tfiloh. I have taught at Beth Tfiloh for over 20 years and I have taught every grade in the high school and every ...
Our first night in Budapest. Tired and jet-lagged, we are all still so overjoyed to be here. We had expected to learn an immense amount about our partner teachers, our partner school, and Hungary, but ...
Leaving the airport in Budapest what struck me immediately was the impact of globalization. Within minutes of pulling out of the airport parking lot, I saw signs for Burger King, MacDonald’s, the ...
There must be thousands of quotes and clichés about journeys, I found one in particular that spoke directly to me: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” – or in my case 4,528 ...
I’m standing on a narrow street in what was once the Jewish Ghetto in Budapest. One of a team of seven teachers from Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, I have come to Budapest to work with teachers ...
