What Teachers Say About VIF

Rose-Anne Reynolds
(South Africa)

"I was able to see how similar children's needs are, regardless of race, culture, sex, religion or economic status."

Rose-Anne taught third grade at John Hope Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia, from 2000 to 2002, and she was named VIF's 2002 Georgia Cultural Educator of the Year. She has since returned to her fifth-grade classroom at Pinelands North Primary School in Cape Town.

Through VIF, I had the privilege of looking at the problems and challenges facing us as South Africans with fresh eyes and new energy. It has helped me better understand the global role of educators and the value of an education. I am able to teach with much more confidence knowing that I can adapt and thrive in new and challenging environments. I am also much more aware of the need and power of collaboration among teachers. I loved the opportunity to travel and see places I had just read about and to share my view of the world with people who grew up in a different hemisphere.

While I was in the U.S., I used to send letters home about what I was doing, and these letters were included in Cape Town's school newsletters. Since returning to Cape Town, I have loved sharing with my students how similar children are around the world. I have enjoyed using techniques and strategies I learned in the U.S. and sharing many resources with my colleagues. I even had the privilege of having two local newspapers write articles about me, and therefore have been able to share my experiences with a wider audience. I am still in touch with teachers and friends at my U.S. school, and an Australian VIF teacher who returned home and I have gotten our classes to write to each other as pen pals.

Adjusting to normal life in South Africa after having been so attuned to American life was a challenge. My husband, who accompanied me on this adventure, had to find meaningful work in his field upon our return, and this has required us to move to another city in South Africa. My VIF experience taught me that we will be happy anywhere, as long as we are together! I have a newfound resilience, and moving to another city is not as daunting as it would have been pre-VIF.

My husband and I have made significant, meaningful relationships that will last a lifetime. I have wonderful memories about people I've worked with, children I've taught, lives I have changed. And I have had my life changed by places I have been, tastes, smells, sounds, my personal and professional growth, and a wonderful sense of achievement when I won the VIF award.

The world is a much smaller, less intimidating place now that I have the experience of living and working in a country as complex, powerful and big as the U.S.A. I was able to see how similar children's needs are, regardless of race, culture, sex, religion or economic status.