GVI has had a long standing relationship with the HUE (Hanoi University of Education – or University of Hanoi). GVI has made real inroads through the Department of Special Education by bringing in experts in dealing with the issue of Autism, which is very important to the Vietnamese government and Ministry of Education.
As a result, this was a gateway for Bonnie, who has a BA in Mathematics Education and a MA in Education Administration and is currently serving as a Curriculum Resource Instructor for Math and Science – helping math and science teachers to teach better. The Department of Special Education invited all education students to a two day seminar on the subject of Differentiation in Education.
I went along for moral and technical support – which is a good thing, I suppose, since I had to handle a lot of technical issues for her without asking for assistance through a language barrier.
She also loved it when I called her “Professor.”
That’s a joke. She was very nervous and I almost got in trouble because I kept doing it.
The truth is, she is a phenomenal educator and has forgotten more about education theory and practice than most teachers will ever know.
The big upside is the relationships she is building with the students. She passed out business cards to all the students with her email address and asked them all to feel free to communicate with her in the future. Her sense of humor and desire to have fun is contagious, even with the language barriers and the students love her.
Best quote: “I just wish they understood me. They would love me.”
I think they already love us, but that may have something to do with the fact that we bought them all pizza. They had never had it before and most of them really loved it. They wanted to know where to get it – which is fascinating, because it is everywhere in Hanoi.
It also gave me the opportunity to have conversations on America and the west. I have to tell you that it was very revealing to me about how they perceived us. We studied different aspects of America in practicing some teaching styles and I was available to answer questions about America – which is where their perceptions really came out.
Most revealing question: “How do you feel about America since it recently presented a ‘Strong Face’ to the world, but since the economy has fallen, America’s ‘face’ in weaker or diminished.”
Here are my pics. You can see more of them at flickr or my photoblog.
Click on a thumbnail for a bigger picture.
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