My European Internship At Kaiserslautern High School

European Internship Reflection Paper My European Internship at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany was an unforgettable experience. I say this with both the most positive and highest regard someone could use to define a once in a lifetime and life-changing opportunity. I was able to grow as a future special education educator, a Western Michigan University student, and as an individual. I was pushed out of my comfort zone in many ways inside and outside the classroom, and through the Department of Defense School Environment, as well as being in Germany, which to me, was a foreign country in Europe. I can honestly say that through this internship experience, I have gained countless knowledge, the “on the job” application …show more content…
A second huge contribution and “culture shock” I was exposed to during my Special Education Internship, was the United States of America Military culture. I say culture as the military has a language, holidays, institutions, foundations, and traditions of their own. Both the United States Air Force and the United States Army have cultures, customs, expectations, rules, laws, benefits, and consequences that we as United States Citizens may never encounter or become familiar with. One memory I can think of in particular that was impacted by the Department of Defense culture was all of the paperwork, procedures, protocols, practices, and chains of command that are involved. I had no idea and did not have any background information to go off of for what I thought my European Internship with the DODEA would entail. I entered Germany and was immediately taken with both Ciera, and Lisa (the two other WMU interns) to get our paperwork filled, processed, and then receive the different necessities needed to both work, enter, and use the privileges on the base. Engaging in these customs were both time consuming, and frustrating, but at the same time I felt more safe and were also …show more content…
I was asked to lead, fine tune, and help design the Special Education Curriculums at Kaiserslautern High School, develop Common Core Assessments for the Special Education Department, and establish as well as create weekly collaboration procedures, processes, and norms. Although, I was both terrified and excited I realized how important and how much I was able to positively impact Kaiserslautern High School. I also learned so much from my mentor teacher, his experiences, and his “bag of tricks”. My mentor teacher, Mr. Grogan is the Special Education Department Head, and Kaiserslautern High Schools Special Education CSC Chair. He is one of the best and greatest mentors I could have ever asked for. He was extremely supportive, open, and right from the start involved me and pushed me to involve myself in experiences that I would have never had anywhere else, and created some of the most beneficial skills I obtained through this internship. He exposed me to things, that I had not had a ton of experience with before and also built on the concepts that I had learned as a student in Western Michigan Universities Special Education Program. Just one of the most beneficial as well as frequent and