Alumna's Teaching Experience As Fulbright Scholar

Breadcrumb

September 15, 2014

Alumna Kristina Shaw '11 recently completed a 10-month Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) in Munich, Germany.

As part of the program Shaw taught English at two high schools. Although the majority of her job as an ETA was to teach the English language, Shaw also had the opportunity to discuss many issues with her students such as ethnic diversity, class relations, health care, polarized politics, drug legalization, and gun control in the American context, among other topics. I believe the greater part of my job is to be a cultural ambassador for the students in my classes. I often prepare and conduct group discussions about divisive issues and give one on one feedback to students about their English," she said.

A Religious studies graduate from Whittier College, Shaw also had the opportunity to teach a four week unit class on religious diversity in the US. "As a class we discussed the differences between religion in the US and Germany, specifically how religion in the US functions like a market where people typically choose their religion among many varied competing religions," she said.

Shaw considers her experience as a high school teacher in Germany "an amazing and challenging experience. I really enjoyed getting to know my fellow teachers who were very welcoming to me in their school and I even participated in the school's teacher volleyball team,"

After concluding her Fulbright experience, Shaw returned to Berlin, Germany to finish her master's thesis on Islam and homosexuality in Turkey at the Humboldt-Universität Berlin. Since 2011 Shaw has been involved in the German Turkish Masters Program in Social Sciences which has allowed her to study at both the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.