Category Archives: Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Fellowship to Singapore 2016-2017

Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Fellowship to Singapore 2016-2017

Unpacked

I’m in my new “home,” but it certainly doesn’t feel like home. It’s too quiet here. I didn’t think I’d be missing my peeps already, but I am.

The rest of the travel was pretty brutal and I slept very little or not at all – it’s hard to tell sometimes if I actually slept in that airplane seat. I spent less than 12 hours at the hotel at the airport, but I was glad to sleep horizontally for a few hours. Though I purchased a new SIM card, it’s not working in my phone yet because I need to unlock the phone. I think I’ve taken the necessary steps to do so. Time will tell. Of course, I wish I had done this before, but I had not realized that my phone was locked.

I need to go out and explore my new neighborhood, which I will do after this entry. I need to get dinner and find a place to buy some hangers and some basic food.

It still has not sunk in yet that I will be here for so long. Right now, it feels more like a vacation than anything. I suspect that will change, though.

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Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Fellowship to Singapore 2016-2017, Uncategorized

In-flight internet-tainment

Four hours into the flight and 11 hours remaining, I caved and paid for the wifi. I already watched two mediocre movies, ate one less-than-mediocre meal, and tried to find a TV show worth watching. I decided that paying for the wifi was worth it if I can blog a little while on the plane.

All the lights are off and it seems like we are supposed to  be sleeping, but it’s not even 8:00 pm in Chicago, so I can’t really sleep right now.

Of course, I’m also using the internet connection to catch up on the news that I have missed in the last five hours and to catch up on some reading that I haven’t been able to do because I’ve been preparing to leave with an unprecedented (or would that be ‘unpresidented’?) focus. I mostly read about education policy and news, like the proposed appointment for the Secretary of Education for the new administration. I find most of what I read infuriating, like this and this. I hope that this Fulbright experience gives me an even better perspective on the mission and importance of public schools. I think we can learn a lot from other countries.

From what I have read so far, I know that the school system in Singapore is very good – that’s one reason why I chose Singapore as my Fulbright destination country. And, from what I understand, all schools (except entirely private international schools) are under the auspices of the MOE. Even some religious schools are part of the one district that the MOE oversees. I am eager to learn more about this system as it serves all/most of the citizens of the country, a country which has a population of 5.3 million people. If Singapore can figure out a way to serve all their students equitably, then I have hope that Chicago can too.

This is a new record for me – two blog posts in one day! I can’t guarantee that I will keep this up, but I’ll do my best to make regular posts now that I have fully embarked on this adventure. I even told my husband that I would allow him to be a guest blogger. So, if you’re reading this, thanks! Please come back for more!

 

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