Below you will find a selection of the most recent entries from bloggers in our Education section.
To view the entries from individual bloggers, click on the links below:
- Local Teacher Bloggers
Instead of asking teachers or staff from one particular school in the area, we've decided to host all of them under one heading. We expect great things to happen on this page, so make sure to check often to read their stories, insights, explanations, and thoughts on education for children, adults, special needs, or extra-curricular.
- Philippa Dobree-Carey is an adept project manager for an international organization in Geneva. Author of the award-winning student guide "From High School to Uni", Philippa successfully steers students step-by-step through the process of packing, preparing for and thriving in the university environment. This firsthand perspective has driven her to create a library of well-defined, pragmatic resources aimed at facilitating the transition to university life. Discover a treasure trove of invaluable resources by visiting her website www.fromhighschooltouni.com.
- Trudi Hayes
She is the Director of Swiss Language Group in Geneva, which comprises of three schools. Wall Street English, Swiss French School and Ecole Suisse d’Allemand. Trudi has a background in client relationship and service management and is a qualified English teacher. She and her team of language consultants help students find the best language courses for them, according to their individual objectives and requirements.
- Sandra Steiger
TutorsPlus Academic support manager, Sandra and has over 10 years’ experience teaching English at various schools in Switzerland. During her 6 years at the International School of Geneva, she was also the Service Learning programme Coordinator, Homeroom Mentor and Head of Year 8. Now she helps parents and students get the academic support they need.
- Sarah Frei
Head of Marketing and Communication at Brillantmont International School, Sarah is excited by the opportunities created by technology not only to communicate with the multicultural, far-flung school community but also to share knowledge and experiences about educational practice.
- Sabine Hutcheson
Sabine Hutcheson is a British-trained school teacher, with over a decade’s teaching experience in Switzerland, UK and neighbouring France. She has taught a variety of subjects to children from 5 to 18 years old, as well as to adults. After working as an Educational Consultant at TutorsPlus, Sabine is now Head of Sixth Form at the British School of Geneva.
By Marianne Salem, Lake Leman International School, www.llis.ch
By focusing on academic testing and grading, are we threatening our children’s love of learning? Leading thinkers in education believe so, citing widespread problems at the heart of mainstream and state-led schooling across the world.
What do the experts say?
Sir Anthony Seldon, vice-chancellor of Buckingham University in the UK and former Master of Wellington College, a leading independent school, said that too many schools worldwide had adopted an “exams-factory” approach thereby neglecting students’ wellbeing and character development.
“Anybody who says you can reduce the purpose of education to the passing of tests is guilty of adopting that approach… exams and tests matter but they’re not all that matters and the problem is they are seen by many to be all-embracing,” said Sir Anthony in an Independent.co.uk report.
By Julie Tompkins-Wagner, www.Julie-music.com
As a performing arts educator, I am often putting my students on stage in all kinds of settings. I believe that this is a crucial part of their overall education and preparation for life. From the earliest years, encouraging your child to step up, prepare and deliver a performance is something that cannot be learned in any other way than by doing. As soon as children are old enough to speak clearly, sing a little song or move to some music, having them perform in front of an audience of any kind, be it large or small, family and friends, at school in a group or on stage in a recital, on their own or with a group, at school or summer camp, teaches your child how to face an audience and present themselves.
Just think about how many times in life those skills come in to play. Whether presenting a project at school, interviewing for university entrance, an internship or a job, or on the job—presenting your product, your marketing or organizational plan, or an idea of any sort, the presentation skills are all a part of life.
by Sara Dubler, www.haut-lac.ch
There are many ways to give your children and grandchildren a head start in life - from applying to the best nursery schools to helping them with their International Baccalaureate preparation. But for many parents and grandparents, the best thing they can do is provide a bilingual education for the young people in the family.
We live in a multilingual world, and that is likely to be true for decades to come. If your children are not equipped with the language skills they need, they will be limited in terms of educational opportunities, career options and even personal relationships. Giving your children the bilingual education they need will help them enormously - not only now but for the rest of their lives.
Bilingual education has a number of important benefits for people of all ages, but learning a new language is especially valuable for young children. While men and women certainly can learn a new language no matter what age they are, the growing brains of young children are better able to absorb those new words, sounds and grammar rules. Study after study has shown that young children learn new languages more readily and retain the information far better than adults.
Over the years, international schools have come under harsh criticism as not providing the best learning experience. These schools have been seen as a place where students who struggle with education are sent, or as isolated bubbles outside the community where non-native families become an insular micro-community. However, a new kind of international school is changing that view by taking a new approach to teaching. From community engagement to non-standardised teaching, at Lake Leman International School (LLIS) our students get the opportunity to develop their individual skills and create a personal leaning experience for themselves.
One of the traditional barriers faced at international schools is that of community integration and student-community engagement. The schools are fantastic centres of learning for students of all cultures and nationalities, but typically, these learning environments have been very self-centric. Services used by the students and their parents are often available on the school site, and with lots of young people to mix with at the school too, this has often led to international schools becoming quite isolated. Students often only mix with staff, other students and their families, and parents tend to socialise with each other. While this is a supportive and safe environment, it also presents issues with the wider community. Are these schools doing enough to integrate with local people?
