Phoebe Mawer Secondary Teacher
I AM KAYLA. I AM EMMA:
Experiencing Emma Willard through the eyes of a student In December 2019, I was afforded the opportunity through the Amanda Minotti Teaching Fellowship exchange program to attend the Emma Willard School, located in Troy, Upstate New York. This program provided me with the opportunity to immerse myself in a different education system, to exchange ideas and knowledge with teachers, and broaden my personal experience by working and living in a different community and culture. This experience also required me to switch my Summer wardrobe for snow boots and a ski jacket. Born and raised in Cairns, I was grossly unprepared for the minus 14-degree temperatures and record snowfall! Before departing St Margaret's, I listened to a presentation given by the Heads of Year following their experiences after becoming a student for the day. The Heads of Year committed to becoming a student for one full school day, attending classes, battling the Avoca lockers at peak transition times, and even went as far as eating lunch with their student cohort. I was inspired by this idea and thought what better way to experience a school’s community, culture and practices than through the eyes of an Emma girl. I first met Kayla, a sophomore (Grade 10 equivalent) at Emma Willard, during my first week. Below is a diary of a day in the life of Kayla, which I think perfectly encapsulates life at Emma: Before School
SUNATA
Kayla, along with many other faculty family members, lives on campus in a house provided by the school. Today, Kayla’s walk to school involves traipsing along a snow ploughed path surrounded by deer. Kayla arrives to Kella’s Hall (the dining hall) where all staff and students (day girls included) are encouraged to eat all meals together as a community. Today’s breakfast menu includes a do-it-yourself waffle station, a variety of fresh bagels, eggs, bacon, omelettes, fresh fruit and every cereal you could imagine, not to mention unlimited chocolate and strawberry milk!
8.20 am: Pre-calculous with Mr Allan Berry Our first lesson of the day is pre-calculous mathematics; affectionately known to the students as pre-calc. As the students introduce themselves, I quickly notice that, similarly to St Margaret's, Emma is a culturally diverse school with students from all corners of the world. The Emma community includes students from over 30 countries with a myriad of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Like St Margaret’s, this social and cultural richness provides a platform for curiosity and additional opportunities for emotional and intellectual growth for all students. It is immediately evident that Emma is committed to building a community that values and celebrates differences and fosters mutual respect. I also notice that the class is made up of students from sophomore, junior and senior students (Years 10, 11 and 12 respectively). Students have the freedom to choose their subjects based on interest and aspirations for college, and aren’t limited to subject offerings within the grade. Mr Allan Berry announces that students will be receiving their test results back today and Kayla nervously awaits the results. She is delighted to see a test result of 98 per cent. This is common for Kayla. She typically receives 100 per cent; quite an achievement for a sophomore in pre-calc. I am quickly thrust back into my schooling days as we start working through probability problems. I will admit statistics was my least favourite mathematical topic. I feel uneasy and hope that Mr Berry doesn’t call on me for an answer. Luckily, I have Kayla next to me talking me through the problems and explaining how she arrives at her answers. Thankfully, Mr Berry only directs his questions towards his students. This prompts me to consider how my students must feel at times. I am reminded of the importance of fostering confidence within our girls and building a classroom culture where success is not measured by getting things right, but rather by having a go. I am inspired by Kayla as she is the first to raise her hand to answer questions. She is not deterred by the fact that there are older students in the class, or by potentially getting the answer incorrect. 9:15 am: Class Meeting
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Class Meeting is the equivalent of a year level meeting. All sophomores come together for important year level notices. The main agenda item today is a presentation by
