[ad_1]
Several Fulbright TEA experiences focus on the benefits of natural mental health. Scholars enjoyed a nature walk at Lake Atalanta in Rogers.
High school teachers from around the world recently traveled to the U of A as part of the U.S. Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Success Program.
They returned home after six weeks of an immersive experience that went beyond academic insights to help their students thrive.
The 19 teachers – from Tunisia, Venezuela, Chile, India, Nepal, Costa Rica, Panama, Jordan, Latvia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Ecuador, Vietnam, Armenia, Mongolia, Russia and Burkina Faso – also found new ways to communicate with their students. “Mental health needs.
Faculty in various College of Education and Health Professions Programs have developed courses for teachers teaching English as a second language in their respective schools. The goal of the Fulbright exchange is to develop the practice of teachers so that they can bring global knowledge, skills, and perspectives back to their classrooms. In the host universities, teachers take academic seminars for professional development. They alternately observe classrooms and share their knowledge with teachers and students at the university and local high schools.
Faculty from the college’s mentoring program were integral to the program, sharing mental health lessons with international faculty so they could be better prepared to help their students.
A teacher from Vietnam was grateful for new ideas. He said mental health issues are a heartbreaking problem for Vietnamese students.
“A 15-year-old boy in Hanoi committed suicide by jumping from his family’s home last week,” he said. “This was the second suicide of a student in a month, which shocked the public and sparked a great debate on how teenagers cope with stress, as well as on the issues of communication and relationships between parents and children, teachers and students.”
He said Vietnamese schools do not have professional psychological counselors. Instead, they rely on homeroom teachers to act as mentors.
Associate Professor of Counseling David Christian was particularly moved by the sessions he taught on mental health in schools, while Cindy Ruth taught about using storytelling and creative arts to improve students’ mental health.
“I’ll never forget what David said about the importance of listening,” the Fulbright professor said. “Although I am not a psychologist, I can help my children by listening to their stories honestly and in some cases bridging the gap between them and their parents. I try to include art and history in my lesson plans. Based on what I have learned.”
Another teacher appreciated the storytelling techniques and immediately implemented them when he returned to his home school. “I deal with my students’ anxiety during courses by having them sing, do physical exercises, tell a short story or listen to music,” he said.
Christian, director of the U of A Adventure Therapy LabIt also focuses on the mental health benefits of nature. Many courses include hikes on Lake Atlanta in Rogers. He taught meditation sessions as an effective practice to reduce stress.
Christian and Jennifer Sugg, school counselors at Harbor High School, taught additional mental health training, offering practical prevention and interventions.
Several teachers said that the emphasis on mental health helped them personally.
One teacher said, “I appreciate that there are more sessions to cater to my and my classmates’ mental health and psychological well-being.” “So many amazing lessons about teaching English as a foreign language and being a better teacher, but those mental health sessions helped me deal with some of the baggage I’ve been carrying around for years.”
At Har-Ber High, participants were asked to recall their saddest and happiest moments. One participant reflected on her father’s death and how it changed the course of her life forever. “When we were asked to go to our happy place, I thought of an ex-spouse and how that moment was the happiest in recent times,” she said. “Those two ends gave me insight and helped me put some things in context.”
The art sessions were also profound, she said. “After I started painting, I immediately started crying. I named the mask ‘the hidden face’, a kind of Janus. On the inside, in black and red, the pain and insecurity, on the outside, the visible face has bright colors and all the colors. I like to present the world in my daily life,” she said. . “Certainly, those sessions were important and crucial, they helped me hold a mirror up and reflect in a way that I hadn’t done before, because I didn’t know or want to look.”
Another teacher said he appreciated the time to reflect. “Being a teacher is a 24/7 job. Most of us work at night, on weekends or even on holidays, leaving very little time for ourselves or our families,” he said.
Participants from Burkina Faso who arrived late to the program due to social and political unrest “[The Fulbright Exchange] It positively influenced my outlook and improved my critical thinking.
Another added: “During the mindfulness sessions, I have the opportunity to cry, think, breathe and work to heal my mind.”
The Fulbright exchange was a collaboration between the U of A and the Spring International Language Center, a professional academic organization that provides on-campus English language training and cross-cultural education. Teachers from the College of Education and Health Professions; Fran Hagstrom, interim associate dean for international education; And Professor Chris Goring was instrumental in collaborating with international educators during his six-week visit.
Another program highlight included a trip to Little Rock, where teachers met with Gov. Asa Hutchinson and toured the Little Rock Nine Memorial at the Arkansas Capitol.
of Fulbright Teacher Exchanges They are sponsored by US Department of State Funded by the US Government and administered by the US International Research and Exchange Board. The programs are governed by policies established by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
About 400 teachers from 80 countries participate in these exchanges every year. Back home, these fellows teach 75,000 students a year. If each taught an average of 15 more years, that would amount to about 1.5 million students.
[ad_2]
Source link
