Comments on: New York City Rocks Spark Cultural Exchange http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/08/18/new-york-city-rocks-spark-cultural-exchange/ Tapping experts in climate, geology, oceanography, ecology, sustainable development, global health, energy, food and water, State of the Planet captures stories of how the Earth works and how we can sustainably make our lives better. Mon, 20 May 2013 11:16:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Natasha http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/08/18/new-york-city-rocks-spark-cultural-exchange/comment-page-1/#comment-2002 Natasha Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:35:24 +0000 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=5756#comment-2002 It was very enlightening to hear from the teachers their views and cultural norms of education as compared to a typical American classroom. For example, there are 25 unofficial languages in South Africa and 11 official languages. So, you never know how many different languages your 50-80 students (yes, I said 50-80 children in one room!) are able to speak and understand. In addition, religion is a huge overarching cultural norm in South African society and it tends to also come up in questions/comments during classroom discussions with their “learners”, as they are referred to in SA- a topic American teacehrs tend to shy away from.
On our next trip (smile), I would love to visit one of their classrooms to see the diversity of learners and how they have integrated inquiry-based activities using rock and mineral samples in their lessons.

]]> By: Marian http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/08/18/new-york-city-rocks-spark-cultural-exchange/comment-page-1/#comment-1245 Marian Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:30:18 +0000 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=5756#comment-1245 There are some brilliant geology departments in South Africa The geological strata of SA is well documented – did these guys go to USA for another reason?

Curious?

Marian

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