World Youth Day 2016!

Hello friends! I have exciting news to share!

I will be attending World Youth Day 2016 in Kraków, Poland next summer!! :) 

You can check out the World Youth Day homepage for all the information: http://www.krakow2016.com/en/

The tentative outline for the Sioux Falls Diocese trip can be found here!

I'm planning to write more about the specifics soon, so stay tuned! Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!! :)

Professional Development Part 1: Project Based Learning

Hi friends! Summer is off to a great start! I've been nannying 3 days a week and working on school-related things the other 2 days.

Last week I attended a great 2 day seminar on Project Based Learning at New Technology High School in Sioux Falls. This high school is part of a larger New Tech "network" which has schools all over the U.S. that exclusively use PBL in their day to day operations. You can read more about the program here.

Overall this was one of the best professional development workshops I'd ever been to! I learned a ton, and had dedicated planning time during the workshop to make real lessons for next year! A definite win in my book :)

You can view this google site to read/download all the resources from the course! Woohoo! Free learning!

The project I worked on creating is called "Native American Culture and Traditions: What's Going on Today?" for my English 11 classes. You can read my "entry document" which I'll give to students on the first day of the unit below.

Dear English 11 students,
                   Every year, with this year as the debut, English 11 students will create resolution proposals regarding the Keystone XL pipeline controversy. We will use various strategies like reading, writing, and speaking strategies to fully delve into Native American literature, traditions, culture, and how outside influences can have very personal impacts. We will spend time reflecting on each step of the process and use critical friends to both hold each other accountable to best practices, as well as offer new ideas and suggestions to each other. We will also incorporate new technologies and research methods to broaden our horizons. Each group will have members responsible for certain items regarding the resolution proposal.
                   This year, near the end of the project, we will host Dr. Charles Woodard, an accomplished English professor from South Dakota State University, to discuss his part in N. Scott Momaday’s The Way to Rainy Mountain and discuss the Keystone XL pipeline controversy. After these discussions, you as a group will have the opportunity to adjust your resolution proposals as you see fit, or fine tune any last minute items before presenting these to the forum (your class). Each class will have a top resolution proposal, and these top proposals will be presented to tribal leaders and legislators.
                   Please submit by email by October 29^th the following items:
·       Graphic organizer (using piktochart.com) about animals/what they represent
·       Man to Send Rain Clouds types of conflict notes
·       Keystone XL pipeline resolution proposal
Rules for submission:
·       Each group will submit the 3 aforementioned items.
·       The Keystone XL resolution proposal should follow the model provided.
·       All submitted items should be clearly labeled with group member’s names and free from error.
·       Group members must abide by their group contract.
 Email your final submissions to me by 5pm on Thursday October 29^th.
 This is your chance to create a personalized resolution proposal that authentically connects the Native American literature, traditions, and culture we study in English 11 to the real-world controversy surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline. Don’t forget that the top proposals will be presented to tribal leaders and legislators; be sure your work is exemplary!

What You Need to Know About: Living in Egypt (Part 2)

In my last post I covered the logistics of my soon-to-be new life in Egypt. This post focuses on adapting to living in Egypt- in particular the cultural differences I will encounter on my newest adventure. I have to begin by saying that I was planning to wait to write this blog post in a couple of days (behind on grading, yet again!), but I was inspired by my Jesus Calling this morning:

"Do not fear change, for I am making you a new creation, with old things passing away and new things continually on the horizon. When you cling to old ways and sameness, you resist My work within you. I want you to embrace all that I am doing in your life, finding your security in Me alone. It is easy to make an idol of routine, finding security within the boundaries you build around your life... Instead, ask Me to open your eyes so you can find all I have prepared for you in the precious day of Life."

Could it be any more perfect?! It never ceases to amaze me how aptly Jesus Calling coincides with what is happening in my life. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, all of the students at Dover speak fluent English. According to the two current teachers I spoke with, this is also the case in Rehab, the gated community where I will be living. The stores are very American in nature, and English is the language of choice in business. In Egypt most people also speak Arabic. On that topic- if anyone has any recommendations for good books to learn Arabic, please send them my way!!

I know that many of my friends and family have expressed concerns about my safety- warranted, yes. But I'm happy to share that between the two teachers, neither one of them has felt unsafe while living and working in Egypt! These gated communities where I will live and teach are exceedingly safe- the principal of Dover actually told me he has to watch the news to hear about anything because we're so isolated! I'm not asking anyone to forego their concerns, but I do want everyone to know that I will do everything in my power to keep myself safe.

A lot of the cultural differences I will encounter are things I've already been introduced to while living in Spain last summer. Though growing up in the Midwest has given me wonderful qualities, I have to be extra vigilant when it comes to interacting with others in a new culture. In South Dakota, its polite, even expected, that you smile at just about every person you pass by. In places like Spain and Egypt, those friendly glances are invitations. For a while in Spain I felt like i was being deliberately rude, but it is part of the culture to avert your eyes in public so as not to give off the wrong vibes. Both of the current teachers at Dover I spoke with voiced their genuine comments that they've never lived in a more accommodating place; they are treated with the utmost kindness and respect both at and away from school. They did mention though that they've never made friends with someone accidentally on the street or in a mall- they've only met people through colleagues at the school. I definitely don't think this is a bad thing! The Human Resources department at Dover provides all international teachers with cultural training to avoid any major faux pas while adjusting to Egypt. I'm sure I'll be the first one in line!!

In regard to clothing, I've got some rumors to dispel! Though for the most part unintentional, it is easy to stereotype people we do not know. I personally am guilty of this as well; when we are uneducated, we make preemptive judgements based not on fact, but rather on perception. I've heard a lot of comments about buying head scarves and long skirts when I tell people I will be moving to Egypt. This is not the case at all! After speaking with the principal of Dover and the two current teachers, I have a much more modern idea of what women wear in Egypt. I'm glad to say I can literally wear all the clothes that I wear now, especially my teacher clothes!! Women all over Egypt, especially in these gated communities, wear very American-style clothing. Colored pants, patterned shirts, dresses and skirts, and so much more!

Though it is of course not recommended to wear scandalous clothing (just as here in the United States), I am not limited by anything when it comes to my wardrobe. The only exception would be if I wanted to visit a mosque or other place of worship, where it would be inappropriate for my shoulders and knees to be uncovered. Again, this is something I'm used to from my time in Spain, France, and Italy. Women who wear head scarves and long skirts in Egypt do so for religious reasons, not because everyone is expected to. It is also important to note in regard to my clothing that I will in fact need to bring my "winter" clothes. That may seem like a silly statement since I'm moving to a desert climate, but I assure you it is true! While it does get hot over the summer, the majority of the school year will be temperate. My apartment, the businesses in Rehab, and all of the school are fully air-conditioned. This is great news because I can virtually transport my current wardrobe with me and not have to do much other shopping. The bad news is that because of the desert climate, there are no heating systems in any buildings. This might not seem like a big deal, but when it gets to 40 degrees at night and there isn't anything to regulate the temperature except blankets, I'll be missing my winter clothes if I don't bring them along!

I've already started to bombard the two teachers with questions about moving to Egypt- thankfully they are exceedingly helpful and honest, which is already making this huge transition much easier! Looking forward to sharing more as time moves along! :)

What You Need to Know About: Living in Egypt (Part 1)

Today I'm going to talk about me living in Egypt- specifically my accommodations! Dover provides housing (free of charge) to all it's international teachers. That means I will most likely live with a roommate, from either Canada or the U.S., in a fully furnished apartment (called a flat in Egypt). The city I will be living in is called Al Rehab- Wiki information here and the city's own website here. Rehab is a completely gated community with about 200,000 residents- close to the size of Sioux Falls where I'm living now. Rehab is about 20 minutes outside of Cairo to the East and is one of the newer developments of New Cairo. When conversing with the principal of Dover, I found it interesting that each of these new gated communities are completely self-sufficient. There are actually miles of desert in between them because you can find everything you need within the city walls!

From Rehab, where I will be living, Dover is another 20-30 minutes East. (Google map here). After checking out the link above for Rehab City's website, you can see that within the gated city there is everything I could possibly need! Here is a breakdown of the highlights:

• Hospital/Health Clinic: About a 10-15 minute walk from the teacher's apartments in Rehab. Five stories tall with a fully-equipped ER. There are always 8-9 doctors on site with at least that many nurses. The school pays for full health insurance for all employees, either with the school doctor or at the hospital.
• Security: Everyone must enter through the security posts to gain access to the community. Rehab has it's own police force specifically assigned to the city. Each individual apartment building also has it's own security guard on the premises. 
• Shopping malls: Yes, that's plural! There are two large shopping malls in Rehab, with everything from Bath & Body Works to American Eagle. The two current teachers at Dover that I spoke with said they haven't needed to leave the city for any of their shopping needs. The malls also have a wide variety of restaurants and fast food shops (both indoor and outdoor). Check out the city's website listed above for pictures and more.
• Grocery stores: The largest store in Rehab is called Metro, and has a wide range of American products available. There are also Carrefour stores (exciting, right Judy??) like I shopped at in France. From my research, I've found a couple places that sell gluten free products and some that will bake fresh a day in advance!
• Fitness centers: There are male/female only fitness centers, as well as co-ed ones. They are comparable in price to gyms here in the U.S. 

panorama of the outdoor mall in Rehab

Water and electricity are continuous in Rehab; the city has it's own pumps and generators separate from the other communities. Downtown Cairo sometimes has problems with black outs, but Rehab does not. The most annoying problem I will face is the Internet dropping. Fun fact: Egypt has more people than any other country that are on Facebook! The high traffic causes the lines to go down occasionally, which can be a pain. From what I gleaned speaking with the current teachers, this is definitely the biggest problem they face while living in Rehab. 

Mail can be a little dicey to Egypt- like when I was in Spain, the best way to send or receive packages is with FedEx or DHL (3-4 days usually). It is more expensive, but that way there are tracking numbers and accountability. I promise to share my address later on for anyone who wants to send anything along :)

I can't wait until August when I can share my own photos of my new home!!!! 

What You Need to Know About: Teaching in Egypt

Here comes the first of a number of posts about specific aspects of this new and exciting chapter of my life! This first post focuses on Dover American International School, more commonly referred to as Dover, where I will begin my teaching career! All information in this post either comes from the school's website (http://www.daisegy.com/) or my Skype chat with the two current teachers.

Dover is located in El Sherouk City, and suburb of Cairo, Egypt. This means that Dover stands about 25 minutes from Naser City, 30 minutes from Heliopolis, and 30 minutes from Cairo International Airport. The school campus is built on 15,000 square meters of land in a residential area of El Sherouk and consists of an administration building, pre-kindergarten building, elementary building, middle school building, and high school building. Dover has a total of 42 individual classrooms, 4 art rooms, 3 science labs, 2 computer labs, 2 school libraries, and a cafeteria. All buildings are fully air-conditioned and have full access to wireless internet. Each individual classroom comes equipped with a desktop computer, projector, and SmartBoard. The Dover campus is surrounded by an iron fence and hedge, and is patrolled 24/7 by the school's private security force. There are 5-6 officers on site at the school all day long that are constantly patrolling the premises. The school also has a full-time doctor available on site everyday. I can use this doctor for any of my health needs, including things like flu shots.

I will begin my teaching career at the elementary level at Dover, which serves about 150 students total. The middle and high school buildings also have about 150 students each. According to the first year teacher I spoke with (also at the elementary level), she has about 15-17 students in her classes each period. The maximum number of classes I will teach each day is 5 out of 7. This is because the school provides full transportation to and from the school, and the busses only run on one schedule. What this means is that teachers are unable to come into work early or stay late. Most teachers use their free periods to do all their grading, and do their planning and preparation for the following days at home.

A regular school day runs from 7:30am-2:30pm. The busses pick up teachers from their individual place of residence, which means I will most likely be picked up at about 6:15am each day. An interesting difference to note is that a regular school week in Egypt runs Sunday-Thursday because Fridays are days of worship. Dover is very conscientious of the political climate in Egypt, and will either institute a late start/early out or cancel school if there is a protest happening. As for holidays, I'm in luck! Dover celebrates all Christian and Islamic holidays, which means I will have extensive time to travel both within and outside of Egypt during my year-long contract.

Teacher planning is less strenuous at Dover than what I'm currently experiencing now during my student teaching. Prestigious private schools like Dover are not subject to school boards or district policies. They are free to do what is best for the students, which results in significantly less "busywork" for teachers and administrators. The main reason parents send their children to these schools is to provide them with an American education to prepare them to enter an American university. This means that the coursework tends to be more rigorous than in the United States itself because these wealthy parents want their students to have the best teachers and preparation possible.

All of the students have their own textbooks and workbooks, and I will have a teacher copy for all of these. While the school does provide these resources, teachers have ample freedom as to the curriculum. The administration is exceedingly supportive of new ideas and innovations, which makes Dover the perfect place to start my teaching career! I will have support and resources at my disposal to experiment with my own teaching style. Both of the teachers I spoke with had wonderful things to say about their teaching experiences at the school, and I very much look forward to joining the faculty at Dover!

I've had a couple questions about the language proficiency I'll be encountering while living and working in Egypt. I'm happy to share that both the teachers I spoke with said that their students (even at the elementary level) speak better English than most adults in the U.S. and Canada! I will not be contending with English Language Learners by any means. This goes back to the idea that parents want their students to have a fully Americanized education, so there are no lags in the language at all.

Should I come across more information about teaching either at Dover specifically, or about teaching in Egypt in general, I'll be sure to come back and add things to this post. Overall, I have heard wonderful things about teaching at Dover from both the administration and current teachers there. I can't wait to start in August! :)

Just Call Me Miss Bryant!

That's right everyone, I have officially accepted my first "big girl" job!! I couldn't be more excited to start the transition into this next journey! With a job offer accepted and a year-long contract signed, I will be teaching English at Dover American International School in El Sherouk, a suburb of Cairo, Egypt! (Keep reading, and I promise I'll explain it all!)

As many of you may know, I have been applying to both local and international schools over the past two months. I registered with Search Associates (see my blog post about that here) over Christmas break and have since been utilizing all my free time (ha!) to research schools and apply for jobs.

At the end of January I had contacted Dover (among many other schools) via the Search Associates database to indicate my interest in their open English teaching positions. About a week later, I received an email from the principal asking to hold a preliminary Skype interview. You can imagine my excitement!! With the hundreds of schools in the database and the thousands of other candidates, I was thrilled to have even received a reply! My first Skype interview went remarkably well, and after an hour (which sped by), the principal asked me to send along my teacher evaluations before admitting me to the second round of interviews. Being the eager almost-new teacher, I sent them along the following day! The principal was quite impressed with my evaluations, and asked to hold the second interview within the next couple of days. He also invited my parents to "attend" this interview to ask their (MANY) questions. Right at the beginning of the second interview, he offered me a job!! I was obviously floored, but also exceedingly proud! The principal told me that he had twelve candidates interviewing for five positions, and that I was in his top five. After another long conversation (mainly about the details of the contract and answering my parents' questions), we signed off with me still in a little bit of shock. I asked for some time to think over his offer before making a decision, which he graciously agreed to. If you'd like more information about either of my interviews, I did type notes throughout and would be willing to share them.

Something very important in my decision-making was asking to be connected with current new female teachers at the school. A few days after the job offer, I had the opportunity to chat with a first year teacher and a fourth year teacher via Skype. What a wonderful conversation!!! We spent over and hour chatting about moving to Egypt, living in Egypt, teaching at the school, and so much more. Again, I typed up notes during this conversation, and I'd be happy to share them with anyone who would like more details.

The very next day, I decided that this job offer was perfect for me. I've been searching and praying about my future, and after careful consideration, many conversations, and lots of late nights spent thinking, I'm wonderfully happy to have this opportunity!!

To learn more about Dover American International School, feel free to contact me directly, or check out the school's website: http://www.daisegy.com/ I promise to write more specific blog posts at a later date to talk more about my travel, accommodations, benefits, and other things related to my new job. (How cool does that sound??)

Thank you all in advance for your continued support and prayers as I embark on this exciting new chapter in my life! I'm looking forward to continuing to share my experiences here with you all :)

How To: Become an International Teacher! (Part 1)

Ever since my time abroad last summer, I've been stricken with the infamous travel bug! The word wanderlust so aptly describes my feelings about travel...

I have a particularly wonderful professor at SDSU who has a sister who is an international teacher. She taught in the United States for a couple of years before coming to a bleak realization about education here. I've already begun to struggle with the inconsistency and ineffectiveness of things like standardized tests, tracking, and student "success". I had the opportunity to Skype with my professor's sister (with a group of other students) last semester under the guise of teaching English Language Learners. That conversation quickly turned into "How can I teach internationally?!". She uses a company called Search Associates (read more about them here). After dedicated time and research on my part, I found Search Associates to come highly recommended and have stellar reviews.

Search Associates is basically a big database of international schools and teachers looking for international jobs. Both the schools and the teacher candidates have "profiles", similar to Facebook or other social media sites. For example, my profile includes my resume, contact information, confidential references, education, prior experience, where I'm looking to teach (regions of the world), and a brief biography. Schools' profiles contain information about what kind of qualifications their school requires, salary expectations, benefits, school population, and current open positions. To access the database, candidates must register as either intern or teacher candidates. Intern candidates are usually people who have recently graduated or have little full time teaching experience. Teacher candidates are usually people with at least two years of full time teaching experience.

After conferring with an associate, I chose to register as an intern candidate. However, I still have to ability to apply for teacher positions. To register as an intern candidate, there is a $100 fee. To register as a teacher candidate, there is a $225 fee. Both of these fees are one-time and non-refundable. They both cover the registration cost of an international job fair hosted by Search Associates open only to registered candidates. About 60% of candidates accept jobs through these jobs fair, while the other 40% accept jobs by contacting schools directly through the Search Associates database and setting up Skype or phone interviews.

Before committing to interviews or especially jobs, it is vitally important that you do your research!! DO YOUR RESEARCH. In case you missed it before. While there is valuable information available about the schools on their Search Associates profile, it is integral that you do outside research. Stalk their school website. Get into contact with teachers who have worked there before. Look up information about the city/region where the school is located. Write down specific questions for interviewers about the quality of life, safety, cultural differences, and anything else you can think of- the interviewers are well-versed in talking about all the great stuff, but you need to know what it would be like to live and teach there everyday.

With such exciting and helpful resources out there, it's hard to imagine not going for it! I'll post again soon about my own personal journey to become and international teacher, so keep your eyes peeled!