An Opportunity and Experience of a Lifetime
23rd April 2008
ORANGUTANS, SNAKES AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
It is not often that unusual opportunities surface, but this year I was asked by the British Council if I would like to visit Sarawak on the Island of Borneo in Malaysia in March 2008. After about 5 seconds of thinking time the answer was a definite ‘yes’!
The purpose of the visit was to represent a group of Leicestershire Headteachers in an International curriculum project which is being introduced to help students to understand world problems such as ‘global warming’ and ‘global citizenship’. Ten countries are involved including Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam. The purpose of the project is to link students in these countries through a web platform connecting thousands of educators, teachers and students help to create global citizens for tomorrow’s world. A common set of lessons will be taught in all schools involved and students will be able to post their findings, create blogs on the Web and exchange data and evidence. By doing this horizons will be raised and attitudes and values challenged and deepened.
The project was based in Kuching in Sarawak and involved ‘speed dating’ to formulate partnerships with schools! Leicestershire and Burleigh have now made links with the City of Miri in Sarawak (Malaysia) and Chiang Mai province in Northern Thailand.
At the speed dating each school set up its stall and ours included scones and cream, Walkers Crisps, KP nuts and some very smelly Stilton Cheese (A Leicestershire Theme).
This project will be tremendously beneficial to students, both in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 3. Both Garendon High School and Limehurst High School are part of the project and due to this we will be able to link the schools curriculum together. To have an opportunity to study life and to compare it in a completely different part of the world will certainly add value. The project should impact in many curriculum areas but mainly in the Humanities, Personal Development, English and Science areas.
Whilst in Malaysia I had the opportunity also to visit a State School. This visit has left a long lasting impression and brought home to me the absolute necessity to continue to raise standards here in the UK. We all too regularly hear that this country is slipping down the global educational league tables and this visit brought this home clearly to me.
The formal welcome to the School, in which every student was involved and everybody was given an opportunity to meet us, was a very powerful event. Dancers and musicians in traditional costumes brought fantastic colour and drama to the occasion.
Visiting the classrooms showed the thirst that all Malaysian students have for their education. Students do understand the value of their lessons and this was reflected throughout the School in all aspects. The tidiness was fantastic with not a piece of litter in site and the staffroom was an amazing centre for learning in itself. Whilst the teaching was traditional students were focussed, challenged and willing to learn at all times.
Whilst the visit was to write a curriculum project, social opportunities existed as well. Formal dinners with drama, music and dance presentations gave use an opportunity to experience the rich cultural
heritage. Shopping visits to the Bazaars and the opportunity to experience monsoon weather and eat Malaysian food added to the experience.
Finally the fantastic jungle visits and jungle walks were certainly the ‘cherry on the cake’! To see orang-utans and snakes in the wild are memories that will last a lifetime with me.
This project will run for 3 – 4 years. Many people and students will benefit from these links and detailed and challenging learning can take place. I do hope that this is possible because I know I have been given a wonderful educational opportunity and inspired and motivated to think deeper regarding global and international links.