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Hospitality,
grace and creativity under fire: A comparative education experience Associate Professor of Teacher Education
Dr.
Vikki Spencer and I recently accompanied pre-service teachers to
Washington, D.C. The city and schools have a rich, culturally diverse
environment that naturally enhances teacher preparation. Yes, we
traveled in the midst of the sniper attacks and yes, we had
apprehensions about going. To hear the media accounts, Washington was
under siege and deserted. Upon arrival, we found people calmly going
about their daily routines. The
students were to observe and teach in the D.C. schools on Thursday and
Friday. We arrived very late Tuesday night, and met our D.C., liaison
the next morning for an orientation tour. Wednesday was a chilly, rainy
day. The atmosphere was a bit surreal as we observed Washingtonians
going about business as usual. Security was tight and all schools were
locked down. Our first school visit was to Stuart-Hobson Middle School.
We were hosted by an eighth grader who explained her school much as a
docent at a museum would share exciting highlights. She confided that
she was busy with high school applications and hoped to get into a top
school. Washington D.C., has an interesting array of magnet school
choices and students compete for placement. The enriched environment of
our nation's capital was evident in Stuart-Hobson's partnership with
museums of the Smithsonian. Our next stop was Brent Elementary School
where we toured the school's "museum site," another
partnership with the Smithsonian. At Binning, we found a unique school
that is literally without walls. Elementary students are in traditional
grades in a large space divided only by low bookshelves and plants. Each
year a different embassy in D. C., adopts the school and children
allowing children to learn firsthand about cultures of the world. We
then headed to the School Without Walls Senior High School located on
the George Washington University campus. The school looks traditional
but it is not. Students utilize resources within the community traveling
to alternative sites for up to 40 percent of their classes. Community
service activities are required and many students have earned the
President's Gold Community Service Award for giving one hundred hours in
a single year. In the shadow of the sniper, students were unable to
leave the building so the community personnel were invited to the
school. Yes,
we saw unusual scenes like multiple police and firetrucks at some
locations, roadblocks and other security measures. We exercised caution
and watched each newscast. What impressed me was the normal atmosphere
of a city locked in a horrific nightmare. People were going to work,
teachers were teaching, students were studying. There was no sense of
panic or even overt fear. We moved freely about the city using the
metro. Our students were warmly received. The teachers were the epitome
of creativity designing alternative experiences to meet the needs of
their students. Grade school personnel were adept at devising indoor
playgrounds and recreation for energetic children. Once again, the American spirit triumphed in the midst of great evil. As I write this, the news from Washington is that arrests have been made. I am hopeful and I am grateful for a comparative education experience that surpassed a goal of exploring diversity to demonstrate the hospitality, creativity and grace of a community under fire. |