Yesterday was our last day of training, and the reality of our trip is really starting to settle in. I am so excited. In all my past cross-cultural experiences, I have always learned or discovered something new about myself, the world, and the function of a global community overall.
My first cross-cultural volunteer experience was in the summer of 2010, when I taught English at a children’s summer camp in a rural neighborhood in Panama. This was also the first time that I experienced “culture shock,” as my eyes opened to the many differences and norms in another part of the world. It was through this experience that I also realized how often I had taken advantage of privileges or opportunities freely provided for in Canada. Most importantly, my trip to Panama was what really deepened my passion for global outreach and empowering developing nations through education.
This summer, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to teach a business course at the All Nations University in Ghana. When I tell my friends that I am going to teach abroad, many of them assumed that it would be for elementary or high school students, and are shocked to hear that the course will actually be for university students. To be quite frank, I am quite nervous myself – Am I really qualified to teach? How can I shape my lessons to be applicable and meaningful for the students’ learning? During our training, however, my professor made me realize that while the technicality of the content is important, the main focus is on teaching the case method itself.
In HBA1, I can definitely say that the case method style of teaching taught me much more than just technical skills. Learning in an environment where students are expected to contribute their ideas has taught me all sorts of invaluable soft skills, such as speaking in front of large groups of people, negotiating, and justifying my reasoning. I remember being quite hesitant to share my thoughts in the first few classes. However, speaking up is something that the case method incites and eventually manages to push students out of their shell. Throughout the year, I’ve countlessly realized the importance of each student’s distinct perspective in creating a comprehensive discussion and learning experience.
I’ve learned a lot in eight months at Ivey and am hoping that our team can pack as much of this knowledge as possible in our short three weeks in Ghana. I guess steep learning curves will always be part of that well-rounded Ivey experience.
Not only am I excited to teach, but I am also greatly looking forwards to learning from the Ghanaian students themselves. Many of my professors have said that they learn something new every time they teach a case, simply because of the different takeaways that students contribute. I’m sure that the discussions formed in the classroom in Ghana will be very different than the ones that I’ve been a part of in HBA1. After watching Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk, The Danger of a Single Story, I realized in shame how I had bought into “the single story” told by popular media of Africa being plagued with poverty and diseases. I know that my trip to Ghana will be eye-opening because of the opportunity to see all the different sides of this beautiful nation and to be able to hear the genuine story of these people as told by themselves.