This first week in ireland has started off so exciting and rewarding. I have learned so much with only having one day of my internship and one class. I am so beyond grateful for the experiences I have had so far and can’t wait to see what else is to come this summer. For my internship, I am working with preschool aged children in a day school. I observed a different way to approach conflict rather than the way we do it back home. Instead of immediately stepping in to be the mediators in the arguments between children, here they let the children work things out themselves. The teacher then gives them a high level of independence to the children, which has led to them being more mature than in the States. Seeing children as young as my age group (4 year olds) be so self-sufficient is pretty incredible. Even when it comes to the children being injured. The teachers avoid running over and helping at any inconvenience, they wait until the child comes to them. Obviously, if it is a really serious injury that’s one thing, but for minor things they let the child work through their emotions themselves.
One unexpected moment came with understanding some of the children’s vocabulary. I told a child to put something into the bin that the toy belonged in, and the child assumed I was talking about the garbage. There were a couple of experiences where there was a vocab difference between the children and I. Although the children were slightly confused about what I was saying at some points, they always ended up understanding me. I just need to be more aware of the language I use and make sure what I am asking of them is understood. This week we were talking about water safety and the experience of learning to swim in America is extremely different than the one here. Most children said they didn’t even know how to swim and couldn’t point out a life jacket out of the photo.
This week we went to the EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, which really opened my eyes to Ireland’s history and the reason why so many people claim Irish heritage. I know my family is Irish but when I say that I don’t really know what I mean. It was fascinating to see how this heritage has traveled through time and through countries. The museum not only helped me remember my cultural pride but was just intresting and a good start to important knowledge of ireland. For other visitors to Dublin, I recommend visiting the EPIC Museum. It’s especially meaningful for anyone trying to understand Irish identity or trace their own family roots.
One other thing was my birthday was this past sunday. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to celebrate then with people i’m happy to call my new friends!
