Preservice Teacher Gains Experience Teaching in Malawi

Elizabeth Smith is a 5th grade teacher at Ira B. Jones Elementary School in Asheville, NC.

"World Camp has transformed who I am as a teacher because I understand and value the need for global education." 

Studies show that preservice teachers who have exposure to diversity are better equipped to teach in diverse classrooms - Elizabeth shares how Malawi influences her teaching.

"As I walked into my colorful, resource-rich classroom on the first day of school as nervous as I was I couldn’t help but remember that I had already stood in front of a group of children thousands of miles away and taught them life-sustaining knowledge. That classroom setting was different from my own classroom: dirt floors, broken mud walls, sometimes nonexistent roofs, sparse resources. I didn’t teach students the relevance of division in their everyday lives as I currently do with my fifth-grade students.  Instead, in working as a World Camp intern teaching at rural primary schools, I taught Malawian students powerful life-saving skills and knowledge of HIV/AIDS and health education, gender empowerment and environmental sustainability. Although I had never taught this curriculum and was in an extremely different environment than I had ever experienced I realized that what I was seeing in my Malawian students was the same thing that I saw in the eyes of my students here in Asheville. Children all around the world want to be set up for success in their lives. More specifically, students want to learn; they want to be captivated; they want to be inspired.

World Camp’s interns teach the curriculum through fun, interactive and engaging methods. The students’ eyes light up with interest, excitement and understanding. Teaching in the poverty stricken country of Malawi as a World Camp intern gave me an insightful understanding of education that has changed the way I approach my teaching here in the United States. I realized that I could teach difficult concepts through creative and interactive ways with barely any resources pulled from the destitute Malawian schools.  The students comprehended the content and transformed the knowledge into skills and practices in their daily lives. Surely then, I could easily teach the North Carolina Standard Course of Study through engaging and interactive lessons even if I didn’t have any of the teaching resources on which teachers so often rely.  Our American schools are so lucky to have the resources that we have however, teaching in Malawi opened my eyes to understand that even though a classroom may not have an Interactive SmartBoard, or enough science kits or laptops for every student, meaningful and enriching learning can happen for every child.

I traveled to Malawi almost two years ago while I was still in college to learn how to become a teacher. Now, in my first year of teaching, my experiences from my time in Malawi continue to permeate my classroom on a a weekly basis. World Camp helped me realize that one of my goals for my students is for them to be aware of the world around them and to think globally. My fifth-graders have deep conversations about the differences in their lives and the lives of children in Malawi. They are beginning to open their eyes to the diversity around the world, understanding that there is an incredible world that exists outside of Asheville, North Carolina. World Camp has transformed who I am as a teacher because I understand and value the need for global education.

At eleven years old most of my students have not traveled outside the U.S. Even though they lack international travel experiences they still have intelligent, educated and meaningful conversations about the diverse world in which they live. It is my desire that my class becomes a springboard for my students' global interests. I want my students to leave my classroom at the end of the year equipped with an international awareness, knowledge of an empathy for other's situations around the world and a desire to experience the world around them. My teaching focuses on helping students learn about the world so that they will have a deep passion for helping, serving, and learning about others."