My Goals

Working elements:


I want to gain a better understanding of the teachers working process.

I have observed the teachers’ daily structure and yet not completely understood their procedures. I will not hesitate, if I have any questions or if I wonder about their methods in practice – I will have a dialog with the teachers, so they can give me a better comprehension of their methods regarding working and disciplining the children in the Kindergarten.

Sometimes they don’t have an answer for my questions, because it is something they ought to do from the government’s guidelines or from the principal. Then I’m told “that’s how it is” I also accept it, as it’s part of the culture, that you obey the authorities with no question asked.

I will continue on reflecting on the teachers methods and adapt (as long as my norms and personality doesn't get compromised) into the culture in the Kindergarten, as I know it's the most advantageous way I will get the full understanding of their working process.



I want to acknowledge the children as individuals.

If a child is sad, hurt or frustrated, I want to be there for them. I will listen to their words and acknowledge their feelings. I also want to acknowledge them for who they're as individuals with different social and learning skills.

I am aware of, that it’s not always possible to succeed. The teacher tends to get frustrated, when a child isn't capable of learning what the teacher wants to teach the child. At this very point, I want to guide the child, based at the child's competence. Although, I have experienced that the teacher has encouraged me to stop, because we have a tight working schedule. I still want to continue on giving the child a little extra help, because those children tend to be overlooked by the teachers. Even though they're a little more intellectual challenged, they still deserved to be acknowledged, as it makes one grow and become more confident as a person.

Especially if a child is crying, and I'm giving that child a little extra attention, the teacher has often stopped me during the process and encourage the child to stop crying. I know it’s not part of the culture, to display ones emotions in public – but I still believe the child has to be heard, as there is a reason for why the child is sad.

Furthermore, I want to break through this message to the teachers, that it’s acceptable to show emotions, and only natural that a few out of 36 children are being more challenged than others - they can't all be excellent "pupils". They might not agree with me, but it’s worth a try. I believe by showing any kind of acknowledgement such as empathy and understanding towards a child, is the first step of getting a solid relation to the child. It's important to me, I get their trust, if they want to receive my help.



Being different, yet still inspiring the teachers and the children.

Being a foreign student, I still have the same authority as the teachers. The children must obey and give me the same courtesy as the other teachers. I am aware of the power I have towards the children. I’m aiming for giving the children the same courtesy as they give to me. I want to be their role model, even though I can’t be the same role model as the other teachers, as I a westernized individual.

In Vietnam, it's a collectivised society, there’re no room for individuals – even the teachers aren’t individuals. They think, teach, and speak the same way. The children get the same treatment and expectations, regardless on their social or learning skills. Furthermore, the teachers expect the children to be equally good at the same subjects, and consider it as a personal defeat, if the child doesn't live up to their expectations during the lessons.

Those children whom are challenged, need more time to learn new things. I want to focus on them, in order to improve their learning skills. Most of the times, there’s only ONE WAY of teaching/learning certain things – that's what the teachers can relate to, because that's how they were taught during their education. As I mentioned before, the teachers get frustrated, when a child doesn’t understand the task.

I don't blame the teachers. I know the teachers are lacking of tools to help a child that is challenged. This is were I've got the opportunity to inspire them with other pedagogic methods on helping a child . I've already given them inputs on how to do things differently (thinking outside the box), and they appreciate my help, and hope for more inspiration. I'm aiming for on keeping giving them new inspirations regarding those situations.



My personal goals:

I want to gain a greater understanding of the Vietnamese culture.

I myself am raised with Vietnamese norms and traditions by my parents. The Danish institutions taught me about the Danish norms and traditions, and I’m well socially integrated in the Danish society.

Even though I have a good understanding of my own culture, I still manage to get puzzled on the local Vietnamese' behaviour. The way they think, talk and behave in public. Additionally, the way the parents raise their children. I will still observe what’s going on in my surroundings and reflects on their actions - sometimes I've blatantly asked them "what is the purpose of your action?" They usually give me a good philosophical reason - other times they tell me they have no clue, the just do it, because it's a way of life, which is related to their culture. Even so, it still improves my understanding of the Vietnamese culture.

This will provide me a better insight to have a continual development as a social worker with pedagogic methods – especially if I happen to meet a Vietnamese child (or a child with a similar culture) in a Danish Kindergarten with parents whom feel so strongly about upbringing their child with Vietnamese norms, traditions and culture. Instead of judging them for being ignorant, I have the understanding of their culture - their way of life. This will enriched the coorporation between me and the child's parents in the Kindergarten.



I speak Vietnamese, not fluently…….however I get by.

I'm aiming for better speaking skills and to have a broader vocabulary in the Vietnamese language. So far, the children and the teachers have taught me so much in Vietnamese. It’s excellent, and a useful way of learning new vocabularies with all their objects/material in the class. We use them on each other to translate from Vietnamese-English/English-Vietnamese.

This method is good for training our memory, because we remember new words easily when we have an actual object associated to the word. I intend to become much better at the Vietnamese language, and to have taught the children/teachers a greater variation of the English language.