A recycled blogpost from my visit in Pitman New Jersey 2014!

Today I visited a few new classrooms where I haven’t been before. It was very interesting to again note that kids and adults do not ask the same kind of questions. Generally speaking I would say that kids like to know, for real, what it might be like to live in Sweden. They ask personal questions formed from their own point of view and seem happy to get an answer.

Some adults may have a real interest, too, BUT the interesting thing is that they tend to repeat each others questions. Check what adults have asked me the last week:

1. Are you Irish?
2. Is this your first time in the US?
3. For how long will you be here?
4. Have you visited other states in the USA?
5. When does school start in Sweden?
6. How many school days are there?
7. What subjects do you teach?
8. How many students are there in each class?
9. What kind of grades do you use in Sweden?
10. What American singer would be THE most famous, Elvis or Michael Jackson?

There have been a FEW more questions, but the above questions have tended to come back. Now look at the questions kids have asked:

1. Do you celebrate Halloween?
2. What cellphones brands do you have in Sweden?
3. What clothes do you wear in Sweden?
4. How far from China is Sweden?
5. What does the Swedish national anthem sound like?
6. What do the houses look like in Sweden?
7. How old are your daughters?
8. What music do you listen to in Sweden?
9. What famous Americans are popular in Sweden?
10. Are there IKEA:s all over Sweden?
11. What sports do you do in Sweden?
12. Do you eat the same food as we do?
13. What kind of farms are there in Sweden?
14. What do you grow in Sweden?
15. What does the trees look like in Sweden?
16. Does The Swedish House Mafia really come from Sweden?

Kids tend to want to know about things out of school more than the teachers do.Teachers tend to ask about school related topics. I find that most interesting. Another thing I find interesting is the way no lesson where I have been involved has been at all like the other. I have asked the kids what they wanted to know and that has lead to lessons that differed very much from each other. Being in a situation where I can choose what to share or not from what the students like to know, has thus been just like I prefer to work, i.e in a group oriented manner. I will miss this school and all the kids next week when I go home. They are all very open and welcoming and I have a great time learning more about this NJ school.