Getting to know my International
Contact – Nura of Iceland
*I
located Nura through the parent of a former student. The family goes back and forth between
Iceland and the United States because the husband is from Iceland. Nura was the preschool teacher of the
family’s children. I connected with her on Facebook.
*Nura’s school has 90 children. There are three classrooms for 18 month to 3
year olds, once classroom for 4 and 5 year olds and one classroom for 5 and 6
year olds. Nura teaches the 4 and 5 year
olds.
*Nura shared with me that each
school has its own policy of curriculum.
Her school teaches the Living Value curriculum. Each week they focus on a different character
trait such as friendship, empathy and courage.
*Another focus for their school this
year is on Fairy Tales. They are
studying the Fairy Tales of their fellow Scandinavian countries, Finland,
Denmark and Sweden. They use the stories
to teach Math, Science, Art and Drama.
*They go on field trips to museums,
parks and the old folks home on the public bus.
*The school is considered a public
school. It receives Government subsidies
but the parents also pay.
*When I asked Runa what
is her favorite thing about teaching preschool she said:
“The kids! Every day is different!”
(N. Rashid, personal
communication, March 14, 2015)
*When I asked Nura about poverty in
Iceland she did not reply. I looked into
the issue and found out, “Icelanders enjoy a high quality of life, and poverty
is practically nonexistent.” (Nations encyclopedia.com, 2015, p1)
Their health care is subsidized and
there is almost no lavish spending by anyone in Iceland. This is since a giant economic reform took
place in the 1800’s.
*I have not made contact with the
people I found in Haiti and China, but will continue to work on that this week.
References
Encyclopedia
of the Nations (2015). Iceland-poverty
and wealth. Retrieved from www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/Iceland-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html .
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this information with us and I am very happy that you have made contact with someone! I think it is wonderful that they use the living value curriculum. I must admit I do not know much about this, but I am going to look more into it because i sounds wonderful.
It is amazing to me how Iceland barely has poverty! That is something so wonderful and I wish that America and other countries could also be that way. Thank you again for sharing and I wish you luck on getting in touch with your other contacts!
Taina
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteWow, Thank you for sharing it is good to know how things are different in other countries. Good insight and information on Iceland.
Hello Wendy,
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if you have made a great connection with your contact person. One of my contacts have been really good in contacting me; but the other, not so much. I am still reaching out to them though, hopefully they will contact me. Nura seems like a very special person. She seems to really care about the children. Good luck on contacting the other person!