This past November, my colleagues and I had the privilege to travel and teach in Bangladesh. This trip allowed us to share our knowledge and culture with the people we met as well as learn about theirs.
Our worlds are very different in many ways however our goals seem to be the same. As teachers we all want to provide our students with the tools to excel in their field.
We spent some time at the Grameen College of Nursing. The instructors there were all very eager and appreciative of the skills and knowledge our team provided them. The people we taught were equally interested in finding out about our Canadian culture. They asked many questions about our families, home and daily activities. They were intrigued by many things we take for granted here. They could not get over the power that we have as women here and our freedom to choose our own destiny. They also loved to hear about snow and were awed at the fact we could build a snowman.
Our team also loved having the opportunity to experience the Bangladesh culture and hear about their stories. We learned as much from these people as they learned from us. They taught us to value family and the importance of living within our means. We were all reminded that we should not put as much value on material goods as we do.
Travelling to Bangladesh as a teacher was an invaluable learning experience. We plan to integrate our newly acquired knowledge into our own classroom so that we can share our experience with our students and help them become more compassionate health care workers.
Beverly Tannahill (Health Care Teacher)