Moynihan European Research Centers K-12 Outreach
Classroom visit to bellevue elementary school
April 8, 2011
The Moynihan European Research Centers continued their outreach to local communities by hosting “European Outreach Days” with their third and final visit for the 2010-2011 year. Again partnering with "Say Yes! To Education", five International Relations students from the Maxwell School traveled to a local Syracuse City School District School to teach the kids at Bellevue Elementary about life in Europe. Students who were either from, lived in, or studied in the European countries of Bulgaria, Spain, England, and France talked about their experience in these European countries.
The Maxwell students presented to kids from the second grade to fourth grade levels, reaching nine total classrooms in all. The students presenting on Spain set up their presentation in the cafeteria and taught to six classes at once. Although it was a little bit daunting to present to such a large group of young kids, Olga Aulet-Leon relayed, “It was a fantastic experience that I really enjoyed. Getting the opportunity to get outside our study bubble and reach out to local kids in our community is something that I am really glad I got a chance to partake in.” The Moynihan European Research Centers clearly have had great such success in their outreach in the 2010-2011 school year, and promises to continue its success in the years to come.
Classroom Visit to Huntington Elementary School
March 25, 2011
The Moynihan European Research Centers are continuing their outreach to local communities by hosting “European Outreach Days” with their second visit for the 2010-2011 year. This time partnering with "Say Yes! To Education", four International Relations students from the Maxwell School traveled to Huntington Elementary School to teach the kids about life in Europe. The students presented a variety of different viewpoints and topics, from learning about the royal family in England to how to write their names in the Bulgarian alphabet.
This time, students presented Spain, England, Bulgaria and Turkey. The kids were enthralled by the presentations, and the students and teachers were all excited to learn more about Europe. Those presenting found it a valuable experience as well. Rebecca Weiss presenting about her study abroad experience in England said she really enjoyed it. “This is the first time I’ve done this outreach and I had a great experience. The part I enjoyed most was the enthusiasm that the students showed to what I was presenting. If I have the chance, I would love to do it again.” Again, it was a great event and the Moynihan European Research Centers are looking forward to their final visit of the year in the coming weeks.
Classroom Visit to Liverpool Elementary school
November 19, 2010
The Moynihan European Research Centers are continuing their outreach to local communities by hosting “European Outreach Days” now in its second year running. The first visit for the year was held on November 19th, 2010 with seven International Relations masters’ students from the Maxwell School traveling to Liverpool Elementary to teach the kids about life in Europe. The students presented a variety of different viewpoints and topics, from how to dance the flamenco from Spain to learning to introduce themselves in French.
The visit began with a European feast of pizza shared by the Maxwell students and the teachers from the local school. Then it was off to the classes where students shared about their home countries or study abroad experiences in Spain, Germany, France, Ukraine, Switzerland, and Turkey. The kids were enthralled by the presentations, and the students and teachers were all excited to learn more about Europe. The experience was appreciated by all those involved, and not surprisingly the Maxwell students were grateful for the opportunity to get involved in their local communities. Colin Ackerman, an International Relations student from Maxwell who shared about his study abroad experience in Germany relayed, “It was great! I had a lot of fun sharing about my experience and I could tell the kids liked it too. The Moynihan European Research Center and the elementary school did a great job organizing the event. I would definitely do it again!”
On the Liverpool Elementary Schools side, the students and teachers also raved about the presentations. One teacher exclaimed, “The presentations were definitely valuable for the kids. It is nice for them to see that there is a life outside Liverpool and to see that not everything is done the way we do things here. The kids thought seeing a young student from another country was really cool. They loved hearing about the food and the things they do for fun. I would definitely participate again!"
Overall, it was a fantastic experience for all those involved.
Visits in 2009-2010
Classroom Visits to donlin drive Elementary School
April 9, 2010
The Moynihan European Research Centers are continuing their drive to reach out to the surrounding Syracuse community. On April 9th, 2010, 10 Maxwell graduate students taught classes on European countries. With help from the teachers of Donlin Drive Elementary School, over 240 students from kindergarten through 5th grade learned about new and interesting topics, including the Czech Republic and Russia.
The day started in the morning with a meeting between the teachers and graduate students. Many of the teachers were excited to have the opportunity to have ‘official’ guests come to the classroom to present, and were interested in finding a way to make the outreach more of a permanent fixture in their classroom. For the graduate students’ part, many were participating for their second time, proving that there is more to be gained by those who give.
One new graduate student to the outreach, Linda, was amped before her presentation about her country, the Czech Republic. Early in the week she was still wondering what could possibly engage third graders for half an hour. She found out that it was easier than she had expected. In commenting on her presentation the classroom teacher said, “In our presentation (the Czech Republic), the students had a small colored map for each child so they could locate the country, gave them some facts about their country (size, population) and they compared these facts with the United States, taught some words in their native language, and culminated the activity with each child making a small flag of the Czech Republic. The children were excited and engaged throughout the entire presentation. I felt it was a very worthwhile activity and the children had a wonderful learning experience.”
As the outreach program winds down for the year, there are still many opportunities and possibilities for this program in the future. The European Research Centers are actively looking for more schools to which we can reach out, and more creative ideas for ways to work within the community. The two outreach programs that we have done this year were successful. The challenge now is to take that momentum and turn it into a concrete outreach agenda with willing partners at Syracuse University and the surrounding school systems.
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Classroom Visits to Liverpool Elementary School
February 12, 2010
This year the European Research Centers at the Moynihan Institute are taking Europe straight to the schools. During the spring 2010 semester, students from the International Relations, Public Administration and various language departments will teach classes about European countries and culture to students of the Syracuse school system.
Our first planned event was to Liverpool Elementary School on February 12th, 2010.
Aly Freedman did not want to participate in the outreach trip to Liverpool Elementary School. She was nervous that she had had no prior teaching experience, and that the vicious children would run her out of the room. After some convincing, she was standing in front of twenty third graders with Valentine’s Day candy and cards on their minds. Aly used her operatically trained voice to get the attention of the students, and in ten minutes had 20 8-year-olds belting the War Cry from Wagner’s Die Walkure. They then invited her to stay for their party, where she stayed until we pried her away for lunch.
Liverpool Elementary School and the Center for European Studies at the Moynihan Institute shared a day of culture and learning on February 12. 9 graduate students from Syracuse University taught lessons to grades 2-6 on European themes. The students represented 5 countries and extensive European travels. In addition to a lesson on opera, students were given lessons on Kazakh ancestry, French culture, Turkish food, German children songs, and Russian cartoons.
The students were introduced to many languages, learning numbers and simple phrases. They also participated in activities that allowed them to show their creativity, such as making traditional Kazakhstani hats to transform themselves into relatives of Genghis Khan. Not only did students belt out opera, but they also sang German so well that you could imagine yourself wandering the Austrian hills with Julie Andrews. Finally, there was high level learning, as the students were challenged to come up with features that distinguish a democracy from a monarchy.
The principal and teachers were very accommodating and supportive. The principal gave the CES group a tour when they arrived at the school, and then the first of 13 lessons started. In total, 250 students saw at least one lesson during the day, including special education students. The teachers were appreciative of the preparedness and creativity of the lessons, especially the German lesson given by Ortrun Merkle, who may have to give up her International Relations degree to teach at Liverpool.
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