What do Miss DeJong and the convict have in common???
We have both been "stung by nettles"...
We have both been "stung by nettles"...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
British Sport Part 2: Welsh Rugby!
Today I met up with Ellie Hope, a Physical Education teacher from Fairfield, in her hometown of Brecon, Wales. I got there without incident taking a beautiful drive up the A40 to the other side of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was hard to resist sneaking peeks at the gorgeous views along this valley road, but alas, full concentration is needed when driving anywhere in this country.
When I arrived I met Ellie at our prearranged spot and then we found a spot to park my car for the afternoon. We walked through the town, another market town similar to Abergavenny, but a bit smaller. The streets are lined with small homes, village shops and there is also a cathedral in the town. We followed the streets down to the Promenade, which is a beautiful walkway running along the River Usk. This walk ultimately led us to the Rugby Pitch, which was the main point of my journey, and where Ellie's husband, Wayne, was waiting to meet us.
Ellie had invited me to attend the local Rugby game being played between the Brecon "seconds" team and another nearby village team, so it was a big rivalry game. While she was initially worried that the skill level would not give me a good basis for which to the judge game, her fears were allayed by the end. It indeed was an exciting game; with the hometown boys winning by one point in the last seconds of the game.
The game of rugby is played in the United States, in fact I think my own college had a team, but I have never seen this game played - so I was pleasantly surprised by my afternoon, spent in the sun, watching this very physical game which is the closest thing to American football in this country. The fans were passionate for their team, taunted the officials, yelled loudly over points scored and basically offered a great atmosphere where I felt just like being home watching a football game.
I am told the best competitive rugby takes place during the Six Nations Tournament which takes place here in Wales during February and March...another reason for having regrets that I will not be here for a full year.
Rugby is played on a pitch and there are 15 men on the field from each team. The ball can only be thrown backwards and laterally or can be kicked forwards. The ball is usually pitched out, not thrown overhand. The object is to move the ball down field over the line of the goal post and to push the ball down into the ground; so unlike American football the ball where the ball need only break the plane of the goal line. The goal line for rugby is also on the line of the goal post, not five yards in front of it. A team scores five points for a "try" and 2 points for a kick through the goal posts after a try is scored. During live play, attempts at kicking through the goal post can also earn three points.
Rugby is very physical, and shortly after the game began I was taunted by the cheeky Welshman standing beside me about the fact that American football players wear padding...in rugby there is no padding, helmets or anything. (This same cheeky Welshman wanted to know why men are cheerleaders in the US!) As I watched this game progress it did indeed appear as physical, if not more physical, than American football; but there was much less direct one on one hitting at the line of scrimmage like in American football, and the players were not as large. It is also against the rules to tackle any person who is not carrying the ball. It is also against the rules to hit above the shoulders...although, as I was informed...pretty much anything goes in this game as long as the official, of which there is only one on the field, does not see it happening. There is an offsides rule, although I was not too sure what comprises an offsides in rugby.
While often times in this game it appears as if the ball is not progressing forward, from out of nowhere it will appear and pop out from under a pile of 10 or more men and someone would pick it up, pitch out and run down field to keep the play going. The ball is only "dead" and play is only stopped when the official determines that there is no forward movement with the ball. The the players form a "circle" around the ball and the official drops the ball in the middle of this circle ...this is called a "scrim" and the object is for one team to get the ball and advance the forward motion. Rugby is played in two halfs and is a fast paced game where the level of emotional involvement from the spectators reaches high levels... just like football back home.
We followed the game with a quick cider at the local Rugby Club, which was a fairly close atmosphere to some of my favorite hangouts back home, like the Hawks Nest, Gray Barn and VFW. The place where all the players hang out after the game, televisions with sport on the walls, dart boards, inexpensive beer and cider on tap, and general small town camaraderie! I had a great day, it was a taste of home - so thank you to Ellie & Wayne for introducing me to the game of rugby! I can't wait to go to another game soon!
Stinging Nettles...the Vegetation Battle!
For a couple of days, starting a few weeks ago, I would arrive home, step out of the car and suddenly feel like I had been stung by a bee on my feet or on my toes, as I was wearing sandals to school. One morning, as I got into the car I also got stung...so my foot was itchy and burning all the way to school....45 minutes of discomfort and itchiness was not fun. I thought it strange that I would be stung by a bee first thing in the morning... and perhaps I was stepping into some kind of ants nest... that day I was determined to seek out the culprit.
Upon arrival home I finally observed a perfectly innocent looking weed growing in the parking area for the car... on the upside the leaves look perfectly green and smooth...underneath, on the stalks of these leaves, one will observe tiny, teeny hairs...although I have since come to learn that even these are not the extent of the problem...this plant secreets some kind of oil, that when absorbed into the skin will cause a dreadful itch and numbing sensation. If one steps anywhere near these weedy plants one is "stung." Honestly, they may have served as an early anesthetic of ancient medicine...they can pack a numbing wallop.
Since I am not yet a perfect parker in the car spot, more often than not I am parked closer to these litte annoyances than I would like to be, and when I exit the car I have to step into them, or carefully step between the plants to avoid getting stung. My neighbor informs me that if you leave a teeny bit of root from these plants in the ground they will just grow and grow... now I know they are my nemesis and I will be seeking to destroy them! Mosquitoes? forget about them... the battle of the Nettles has begun!
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stinging_nettle
Upon arrival home I finally observed a perfectly innocent looking weed growing in the parking area for the car... on the upside the leaves look perfectly green and smooth...underneath, on the stalks of these leaves, one will observe tiny, teeny hairs...although I have since come to learn that even these are not the extent of the problem...this plant secreets some kind of oil, that when absorbed into the skin will cause a dreadful itch and numbing sensation. If one steps anywhere near these weedy plants one is "stung." Honestly, they may have served as an early anesthetic of ancient medicine...they can pack a numbing wallop.
Since I am not yet a perfect parker in the car spot, more often than not I am parked closer to these litte annoyances than I would like to be, and when I exit the car I have to step into them, or carefully step between the plants to avoid getting stung. My neighbor informs me that if you leave a teeny bit of root from these plants in the ground they will just grow and grow... now I know they are my nemesis and I will be seeking to destroy them! Mosquitoes? forget about them... the battle of the Nettles has begun!
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stinging_nettle
Pampered Chef - British Style!
Having spent every Friday night at home since my arrival here in Wales, I was more than enthused when my new neighbor invited me to attend a Pampered Chef party last night. It was nice to have a "taste of home" and to see that women on this side of the pond can find such joy, laughter and risque joking with stoneware, kitchen gadgets, wine and food as women in America! I happen to love Pampered Chef products, albeit pricey, they are worth every penny as an investment! This party was organized much like an American party would be, although with fewer foods prepared. The women at this party LOVE their stoneware and the hostess herself, owning about 5 or 6 pieces of it, was quick to show off how well her pieces had seasoned over the years - one of her pie dishes being a beautiful shade of ebony black that one could easily mistake for a piece of cast iron!
We were treated to a very pleasant presentation by the Pampered Chef lady, who had recently returned from a trip to Chicago and had, in her possession, some Hershey Kisses. I have learned that the British snub Hershey chocolate as it is not considered "proper chocolate", although only those who have been to America really know what it is, as it is generally not sold here. I, however, love Hershey chocolate - so if that means I don't have refined taste buds - so be it. I savored by Hershey kisses in the moment. I will say that I have come to really love the Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar! That too is very yummy chocolate!
I also learned how to make a Yorkshire Pudding - although I actually also learned that it is not a "pudding" as I had always thought... not in the sense of a Christmas pudding (which is also very, very yummy -with brandy butter of course!). So I am still confused over why it is called Yorkshire Pudding - because in America we know these little things as popovers - which brings to mind memories of the old Cocke'n Kettle restaurant. I learned that traditionally this puffy pastry is usually mixed into a baking dish, put into the oven under the roasting meat, where the juice from the roasting meat drips into the puffy pastry to flavor it and then served as a side dish with the roast. These puddings are now usually made in a muffin pan and served as individual puddings with the meals. They are commonly made here and probably take the place of a traditional bread roll that would normally be served in America
The second yummy dish we were treated to was an almond-pear tart. Served with a nice drizzle of fresh cream (not whipped as we would probably do in America) just a bit of thick creamy, cream - which is also a very nice way to serve pie and tarts.
It was a fun night, albeit not the Friday Night Football fun I am accustomed to at this time of year...but the company of women, all my own age, in a setting where cookware was the center of attention was a pleasant reminder of my lady friends at home!
Unfortunately, as much as I fully intend on investing in a square stoneware baking dish, I think it would probably be a bit too heavy to pack in my suitcase for my return trip home - same goes for those awesome knives - not exactly travel safe! So I settled on the Garlic Shaver - it was a popular item of the night, as a few other women also purchased this little gadget...it will be easy to pack and take home.
Thanks much ladies for a pleasant reminder of home and the opportunity to bond over shared stoneware stories!
We were treated to a very pleasant presentation by the Pampered Chef lady, who had recently returned from a trip to Chicago and had, in her possession, some Hershey Kisses. I have learned that the British snub Hershey chocolate as it is not considered "proper chocolate", although only those who have been to America really know what it is, as it is generally not sold here. I, however, love Hershey chocolate - so if that means I don't have refined taste buds - so be it. I savored by Hershey kisses in the moment. I will say that I have come to really love the Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar! That too is very yummy chocolate!
I also learned how to make a Yorkshire Pudding - although I actually also learned that it is not a "pudding" as I had always thought... not in the sense of a Christmas pudding (which is also very, very yummy -with brandy butter of course!). So I am still confused over why it is called Yorkshire Pudding - because in America we know these little things as popovers - which brings to mind memories of the old Cocke'n Kettle restaurant. I learned that traditionally this puffy pastry is usually mixed into a baking dish, put into the oven under the roasting meat, where the juice from the roasting meat drips into the puffy pastry to flavor it and then served as a side dish with the roast. These puddings are now usually made in a muffin pan and served as individual puddings with the meals. They are commonly made here and probably take the place of a traditional bread roll that would normally be served in America
The second yummy dish we were treated to was an almond-pear tart. Served with a nice drizzle of fresh cream (not whipped as we would probably do in America) just a bit of thick creamy, cream - which is also a very nice way to serve pie and tarts.
It was a fun night, albeit not the Friday Night Football fun I am accustomed to at this time of year...but the company of women, all my own age, in a setting where cookware was the center of attention was a pleasant reminder of my lady friends at home!
Unfortunately, as much as I fully intend on investing in a square stoneware baking dish, I think it would probably be a bit too heavy to pack in my suitcase for my return trip home - same goes for those awesome knives - not exactly travel safe! So I settled on the Garlic Shaver - it was a popular item of the night, as a few other women also purchased this little gadget...it will be easy to pack and take home.
Thanks much ladies for a pleasant reminder of home and the opportunity to bond over shared stoneware stories!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
De Dicto: London is the Place for Me
De Dicto: London is the Place for Me
Press the up arrow on this link and you will find a clip of the actual Lord Kitchener singing one line of this song... but the claymation is also awesome and done by a sixth form student.
Press the up arrow on this link and you will find a clip of the actual Lord Kitchener singing one line of this song... but the claymation is also awesome and done by a sixth form student.
"London is the Place for Me..."
Micaela and I spent the weekend in London. Our main reason for going on this particular weekend was to attend a reception for all American Fulbrighters in the UK at the U.S. Embassy. In order to make the most of our time Micaela and I took an early bus from Newport, Gwent bus station. This was the most affordable method of travel, and only added about an hour of travel time over a train. The three hour drive was well worth it...and honestly, while most people may think it crazy, I could easily justify doing this several times, even as day trips with early and late buses to and from the city! The drive on the National Express bus service was quick, efficient and safe. We were delivered to the heart of the city - Victoria Coach Station - which was a short walk to the Victoria Train Station, where we got the Tube to our hotel. This city is quite easy to navigate once you have a basic sense of direction and have the secret that child's fare tickets are available at the window and only cost 1 pound for the entire day - tube and bus transportation! It's worth standing in the queue in get this, as a full day adult fair is 5.60; also a good value!
Having arrived a bit too early to check in to our hotel on Friday in the West End of London, Micaela and I set out to explore as much as we could on this particular afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and somewhat warm with a bit of breeze the closer we got to the Thames River. We walked west up the Strand turned down south to the Waterloo Bridge where we were afforded a beautiful view of the Parliament buildings, the Jubilee Bridge, Cleopatra's Needle, the Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and the London Eye! Immediately, that became our goal and destination of the day. While a bit pricey - at 17 pounds for adults and 8.60 for children, it was definitely worth every pence! I would say it is London's answer to the Eiffel Tower. The geometric patterns of the steel of the wheel and the heights one gets to be able to look out over the rooftops of London are just as spectacular as those afforded in Paris from the Eiffel Tower! I could not help but reminisce of my time there at sunset with Zachary two summers ago, and now I was having a similar experience with Micaela in an entirely different city, yet one as rich with cultural history and aged architecture as the other. Perhaps Zach was a bit more enthused about the Eiffel Tower than Micaela seemed to be with the Eye experience, but so be it.
What I love the most about the city of London is its sense of openness. While the traffic is quite heavy at times, the city is not "tall" and there is a great amount of sky visible from the streets. One does not feel claustrophobic as one can in some American cities with their looming skyscrapers.
Walking Westminster Bridge was a thrilling experience as I could not help but think of William Wordsworth composing his poem, and all the other literary giants of our time who must have walked across that very bridge. I was enthralled with every historical site and sight I have ever seen on television or read about in a book... I am truly living my dream expressed in my original Fulbright essay. I couldn't be more thrilled with what I am experiencing and I am so happy I can share it all with Micaela. Truly, I cannot put it into words. I honestly never thought I would step foot into Harrods, doors through which Princess Di and the Queen walk through. I never thought I would touch the golden gates of Buckingham Palace and see the balcony from which a newly married princess waved from. I never thought I'd walk the very streets that Wordsworth, Shelley, Stoker, Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen so often walked and from where they received their inspiration. I never thought I'd see the great Westminster Abbey, Big Ben or Scotland Yard. Still to see...The Globe, Trafalgar Tavern, Dickens's home, and St. Paul's... and countless other places. Not to mention all the museums and tours that I did not get a chance to see on this visit. The list is growing and the travel guide given to me by Heather prior to my trip never left my bag or my hand while there. Thank you, Heather! What a great gift you gave me!
The reception at the Embassy, while the reason for the trip, was somewhat anti-climactic. It was fantastic, however, to meet up with all my fellow Fulbrighters and enjoy a chance to chat, compare notes and enjoy a glass of wine. It was also a treat to meet other UK Fulbrighters who had just returned from their year abroad and who were full of invitations to visit their homes, share the experiences and provide support on this end to us also. It truly is a wonderful group to be a part of and I cannot wait until I too can repay the kindnesses on this end to some lucky UK teacher who gets to visit the US next year by being a mentor and friend to them too.
On Saturday, having a full day of meetings scheduled, which were not going to be held in the hotel, much to my chagrin as that is what I had originally thought, I was fretting about what to do with Micaela. It was not my plan to let a 14 year old loose in the streets of the London by herself. Fortunately, we meet a lovely couple during the embassy reception, who were there accompanying their US Fulbright teacher, Paul and Lynn - he being a head teacher to one of our group. They kindly offered to take Micaela under their wing the following day as they explored the city. They walked about 20 miles that afternoon... and needless to say Micaela slept well on Saturday night. Thank you to them both for taking care of her that day!
My day was spent discussing the UK educational system - including classroom management challenges, curriculum and assessment challenges and also learning from my fellow Americans that I am not alone. We are all facing challenges of living abroad and being without the comforts of home - simple things like water pressure, tumble dryers and certain foods in the grocery are all things we have in common. I think I am the only person with the challenges of driving long distances to and from my school and living space, but those that have been driving shorter distances are indeed adjusting to road widths, although perhaps not so much the hedge lined twists and turns that I experience here. I found these sessions rather useful, as I have already employed some strategies in my classroom in the past few days with some particularly difficult students.
Saturday evening I was lucky enough to purchase tickets to see the musical Chicago at the Leicester Square discount ticket booth. Mel had given me the tip on this location and we got half price tickets with fabulous seats in the center of the theater. Micaela and I are finally discovering a unique passion that we have in common, which is the musical theater... as we also saw The Phantom of the Opera while in New York this past summer. It only took 14 years for us to develop a shared interest. Stolen glances at her face, during these performances, have always found her rapt in the moment and the songs.
Sunday we navigated our way back to the center of the city, as we moved our lodging to the north end of the city and the dormitories at the London School of Economics. At first I was not thrilled with the choice of accommodations, as I felt quite claustrophobic, and the shared bath was not exactly the cleanest. However, upon examination of my fellow traveler photo albums on facebook, I realized their rooms were much nicer than ours so next time, should I arrange to stay there again, I will make certain that we are much more comfortable.
Once again, we set out on walking the streets of London and our tour took us to Buckingham Palace, Wellington Arch, Harrods, Royal Albert Hall, and Kensington Palace. Melissa, Nancy, Micaela and I all getting in a lot of exercise on this particular day. Unfortunately, while we had hoped to see the famous "changing of the guard" at the Palace, it was cancelled for the day due to a cycle tour taking place through the city. Very disappointing.
Exhausted we returned by Tube to Victoria Coach Station in order to board our 5:30 p.m. coach home to Wales. Our whirlwind tour of London having come to an end we are already planning our next visit and perhaps an entire week during half term. No need to travel to the continent as there is definitely enough to see in London! It is very easy to picture myself living there...but alas, dreaming - I must remember that my "real life" awaits me in the U.S.
I am, however, along with Micaela, regretting that I did not sign up for an entire year exchange. The experience is definitely rich and rewarding and has been worth every second of fear, aggravation and tears I have experienced. The learning curve, once conquered and mastered, will find me boarding a plane to return home. This weekend trip to London was a definite turning point in my psyche and I know I will be sad when the time comes to return home, as I am settling in. (This does not mean I do not miss my family, friends and dogs at home... I do...terribly...and I wish every one of you could be here with me!) I know it was not a mistake to sign up for this experience and I hope that I will somehow be able to participate in something similar at some point in the future.
"At night when you have nothing to do, you can take a walk and shop every avenue...oh yes, London that is the place for me."
Having arrived a bit too early to check in to our hotel on Friday in the West End of London, Micaela and I set out to explore as much as we could on this particular afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and somewhat warm with a bit of breeze the closer we got to the Thames River. We walked west up the Strand turned down south to the Waterloo Bridge where we were afforded a beautiful view of the Parliament buildings, the Jubilee Bridge, Cleopatra's Needle, the Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and the London Eye! Immediately, that became our goal and destination of the day. While a bit pricey - at 17 pounds for adults and 8.60 for children, it was definitely worth every pence! I would say it is London's answer to the Eiffel Tower. The geometric patterns of the steel of the wheel and the heights one gets to be able to look out over the rooftops of London are just as spectacular as those afforded in Paris from the Eiffel Tower! I could not help but reminisce of my time there at sunset with Zachary two summers ago, and now I was having a similar experience with Micaela in an entirely different city, yet one as rich with cultural history and aged architecture as the other. Perhaps Zach was a bit more enthused about the Eiffel Tower than Micaela seemed to be with the Eye experience, but so be it.
What I love the most about the city of London is its sense of openness. While the traffic is quite heavy at times, the city is not "tall" and there is a great amount of sky visible from the streets. One does not feel claustrophobic as one can in some American cities with their looming skyscrapers.
Walking Westminster Bridge was a thrilling experience as I could not help but think of William Wordsworth composing his poem, and all the other literary giants of our time who must have walked across that very bridge. I was enthralled with every historical site and sight I have ever seen on television or read about in a book... I am truly living my dream expressed in my original Fulbright essay. I couldn't be more thrilled with what I am experiencing and I am so happy I can share it all with Micaela. Truly, I cannot put it into words. I honestly never thought I would step foot into Harrods, doors through which Princess Di and the Queen walk through. I never thought I would touch the golden gates of Buckingham Palace and see the balcony from which a newly married princess waved from. I never thought I'd walk the very streets that Wordsworth, Shelley, Stoker, Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen so often walked and from where they received their inspiration. I never thought I'd see the great Westminster Abbey, Big Ben or Scotland Yard. Still to see...The Globe, Trafalgar Tavern, Dickens's home, and St. Paul's... and countless other places. Not to mention all the museums and tours that I did not get a chance to see on this visit. The list is growing and the travel guide given to me by Heather prior to my trip never left my bag or my hand while there. Thank you, Heather! What a great gift you gave me!
The reception at the Embassy, while the reason for the trip, was somewhat anti-climactic. It was fantastic, however, to meet up with all my fellow Fulbrighters and enjoy a chance to chat, compare notes and enjoy a glass of wine. It was also a treat to meet other UK Fulbrighters who had just returned from their year abroad and who were full of invitations to visit their homes, share the experiences and provide support on this end to us also. It truly is a wonderful group to be a part of and I cannot wait until I too can repay the kindnesses on this end to some lucky UK teacher who gets to visit the US next year by being a mentor and friend to them too.
On Saturday, having a full day of meetings scheduled, which were not going to be held in the hotel, much to my chagrin as that is what I had originally thought, I was fretting about what to do with Micaela. It was not my plan to let a 14 year old loose in the streets of the London by herself. Fortunately, we meet a lovely couple during the embassy reception, who were there accompanying their US Fulbright teacher, Paul and Lynn - he being a head teacher to one of our group. They kindly offered to take Micaela under their wing the following day as they explored the city. They walked about 20 miles that afternoon... and needless to say Micaela slept well on Saturday night. Thank you to them both for taking care of her that day!
My day was spent discussing the UK educational system - including classroom management challenges, curriculum and assessment challenges and also learning from my fellow Americans that I am not alone. We are all facing challenges of living abroad and being without the comforts of home - simple things like water pressure, tumble dryers and certain foods in the grocery are all things we have in common. I think I am the only person with the challenges of driving long distances to and from my school and living space, but those that have been driving shorter distances are indeed adjusting to road widths, although perhaps not so much the hedge lined twists and turns that I experience here. I found these sessions rather useful, as I have already employed some strategies in my classroom in the past few days with some particularly difficult students.
Saturday evening I was lucky enough to purchase tickets to see the musical Chicago at the Leicester Square discount ticket booth. Mel had given me the tip on this location and we got half price tickets with fabulous seats in the center of the theater. Micaela and I are finally discovering a unique passion that we have in common, which is the musical theater... as we also saw The Phantom of the Opera while in New York this past summer. It only took 14 years for us to develop a shared interest. Stolen glances at her face, during these performances, have always found her rapt in the moment and the songs.
Sunday we navigated our way back to the center of the city, as we moved our lodging to the north end of the city and the dormitories at the London School of Economics. At first I was not thrilled with the choice of accommodations, as I felt quite claustrophobic, and the shared bath was not exactly the cleanest. However, upon examination of my fellow traveler photo albums on facebook, I realized their rooms were much nicer than ours so next time, should I arrange to stay there again, I will make certain that we are much more comfortable.
Once again, we set out on walking the streets of London and our tour took us to Buckingham Palace, Wellington Arch, Harrods, Royal Albert Hall, and Kensington Palace. Melissa, Nancy, Micaela and I all getting in a lot of exercise on this particular day. Unfortunately, while we had hoped to see the famous "changing of the guard" at the Palace, it was cancelled for the day due to a cycle tour taking place through the city. Very disappointing.
Exhausted we returned by Tube to Victoria Coach Station in order to board our 5:30 p.m. coach home to Wales. Our whirlwind tour of London having come to an end we are already planning our next visit and perhaps an entire week during half term. No need to travel to the continent as there is definitely enough to see in London! It is very easy to picture myself living there...but alas, dreaming - I must remember that my "real life" awaits me in the U.S.
I am, however, along with Micaela, regretting that I did not sign up for an entire year exchange. The experience is definitely rich and rewarding and has been worth every second of fear, aggravation and tears I have experienced. The learning curve, once conquered and mastered, will find me boarding a plane to return home. This weekend trip to London was a definite turning point in my psyche and I know I will be sad when the time comes to return home, as I am settling in. (This does not mean I do not miss my family, friends and dogs at home... I do...terribly...and I wish every one of you could be here with me!) I know it was not a mistake to sign up for this experience and I hope that I will somehow be able to participate in something similar at some point in the future.
"At night when you have nothing to do, you can take a walk and shop every avenue...oh yes, London that is the place for me."
"Sunny Day Sweepin' the Clouds Away..."
My cultural sensibilities were a bit shaken today during a Year 8 lesson on Holes. While reading aloud in class we tackled a portion of the text which, for most American students would have been clear from the get-go, but for a British audience of adolescents it was none too clear. An illustration of how cultural allusions in literary texts,depending on the society in which the text is read, can sometimes be unclear.
In the text a literary allusion is made to the nursery rhyme "There was An Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe", as Stanley Yelnats is reading a letter from his mother. Stanley's father is working on the creation of an invention which requires him to boil old, smelly sneakers (trainers) and so their home is starting to smell very bad. Stanley's mother comments, "Now I know how the little old woman who lived in a shoe must have felt." An clear attempt at creating some humor in the text. This allusion was easily understood by most students in the class, although there were two students who had never heard reference to this fairly tale.
On the same page of the text, as Stanley is speaking to his friend, Zero, who will later admit to Stanley that he can't read, Stanley asks him, "Haven't you ever seen Sesame Street?" To which Zero "stares blankly." The allusion to Sesame Street, and Zero's response of a blank stare would certainly lead to a prediction, on the part of a student, that perhaps Zero cannot read or write, since he has never even apparently heard of Sesame Street, and Stanley finds this fact quite shocking. In America, there would hardly be a child who did not know of Elmo, Grover, Oscar, Big Bird, Kermit and Miss Piggy! So as I was trying to lead the group towards the prediction that Zero was illiterate, it seemed to be rather slow going. I asked how many children had heard of Sesame Street, and only two students raised their hands. They had heard of the above characters through the "Muppet Movie", but not through the PBS Children's educational show. I found myself having to explain the cultural signifcance in America of Sesame Street and promised a short clip of the show if I can find one on the internet for next lesson!
In speaking to fellow teachers, I did indeed learn that while Sesame Street may be more well known amoung older generations, it may not necessarily be popular amoung this particular generation of UK students, due to the variety of television shows now aired on television. Who would have ever thought that something as simple as Sesame Street, a show we take for granted so often in the US, would lead to such discussion! I learn something new every day!
I will say, once I explained that hardly a child in the US would not have seen Sesame Street, and that it would be highly unusual for Zero not to have seen it, and that is why Stanley was shocked, the Year 8 students completely understood its significance to the story.
"Can you tell me how to get...how to get to Sesame Street?"
In the text a literary allusion is made to the nursery rhyme "There was An Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe", as Stanley Yelnats is reading a letter from his mother. Stanley's father is working on the creation of an invention which requires him to boil old, smelly sneakers (trainers) and so their home is starting to smell very bad. Stanley's mother comments, "Now I know how the little old woman who lived in a shoe must have felt." An clear attempt at creating some humor in the text. This allusion was easily understood by most students in the class, although there were two students who had never heard reference to this fairly tale.
On the same page of the text, as Stanley is speaking to his friend, Zero, who will later admit to Stanley that he can't read, Stanley asks him, "Haven't you ever seen Sesame Street?" To which Zero "stares blankly." The allusion to Sesame Street, and Zero's response of a blank stare would certainly lead to a prediction, on the part of a student, that perhaps Zero cannot read or write, since he has never even apparently heard of Sesame Street, and Stanley finds this fact quite shocking. In America, there would hardly be a child who did not know of Elmo, Grover, Oscar, Big Bird, Kermit and Miss Piggy! So as I was trying to lead the group towards the prediction that Zero was illiterate, it seemed to be rather slow going. I asked how many children had heard of Sesame Street, and only two students raised their hands. They had heard of the above characters through the "Muppet Movie", but not through the PBS Children's educational show. I found myself having to explain the cultural signifcance in America of Sesame Street and promised a short clip of the show if I can find one on the internet for next lesson!
In speaking to fellow teachers, I did indeed learn that while Sesame Street may be more well known amoung older generations, it may not necessarily be popular amoung this particular generation of UK students, due to the variety of television shows now aired on television. Who would have ever thought that something as simple as Sesame Street, a show we take for granted so often in the US, would lead to such discussion! I learn something new every day!
I will say, once I explained that hardly a child in the US would not have seen Sesame Street, and that it would be highly unusual for Zero not to have seen it, and that is why Stanley was shocked, the Year 8 students completely understood its significance to the story.
"Can you tell me how to get...how to get to Sesame Street?"
Thursday, September 17, 2009
"Thursday morning ends another dream...
...yesterday goes away, leaving only half a memory."
and so begins another day...on a much brighter note than the last couple of days have. Maybe because today is really "Friday" for me, as tomorrow Micaela and I depart bright and early to get our bus into London, where we are spending the weekend, starting with a Friday evening reception at the US Embassy and then sightseeing. If one cannot look forward to that with eager anticipation and a positive outlook, well then, its hopeless...which the future and the remainder of this exchange are not.
Today was a good day, beginning with a gift of wine and chocolate... what could be better than that???!!! There was also a dinner invitation for a few weeks out; a suggestion for a hair stylist in Peterchurch, which I could probably fit in on a day when Micaela is playing football, an invitation awaiting to visit Hay-on-Wye and invitations for Micaela to meet other teacher's children, walk dogs and see rugby games. There was even one teacher, who sought me out to apologize for not really having the time to talk in person, but that by reading my blog she felt she knew a lot about me already. I really appreciated that. Thank you everyone for your welcoming gestures of friendship...it is much appreciated and perhaps, like Micaela's state of mind, I won't want to go home at Christmas either!
It was a good day, but it wouldn't be complete without me forgetting some minor "administrative/clerical" detail... in this case the Thursday morning assembly for Form 7 - despite the giant post-it note staring me in the face from my computer screen, as I patiently waited for the registration list to appear on the screen. Yikes! No surprise though to my colleagues at home...I am notorious for forgetting class meeting days, staff meetings, etc... I am not good with the administrative duties of the job. AND- at home I rely an awful lot on the intercom system to just "call" the kids down to wherever they're supposed to be at whatever time they're supposed to be there. Funny how we get dependent on such things; plus my short term memory is definitely the first thing to go...
Today I tried a new lesson with my Year 10 students that I have never tried before, not even at home in America, which involved preparing the students to read the first two chapters of Great Expectations with a fine tooth comb, but in such a way that they will walk away from that room absolutely in love with Charles Dickens. (That may be a bit of an exaggeration,but one should never aim too low.) The overall aim is to conduct a Reader's Theater, reading with expression and dramatic effect, basically. It began with a lesson on inflection. One sentence with eight words on the board. Saying the sentence, with a different word emphasized, and figuring out the inferential meaning of the sentence. It was pretty funny when the students were reading it aloud. It didn't take long for them to catch on. I then split the group into smaller groups, handing each a reader's theater prepared script (thanks to the internet of course) and they rehearsed their stories...we used very silly stories that most were familiar with, but I threw in Casey at the Bat just for fun...and not surprisingly it turned out to be the most difficult piece to perform since the knowledge of baseball in America is not quite built up in their background. I will give kudos to that group (and maybe some house points as well to some of them) who really did try to give it a good go. Overall, they all performed marvelously.
However, the funny part of the process was when I gave each group a "rubric", which is like a mark scheme here in the UK. I explained it and how to use it to help them prepare their reading by aiming for the highest letter grade of A. When they asked if I was marking them I simply replied "yes." Now, it is interesting to note how seriously some UK students take their "marks". Unlike American high school students, who are quite accustomed to receiving a lot of marks of different weights and values over the course of a 12 week period, that is not how it works here- UK students create coursework assignments, usually one important assignment, for each unit of study they do and those are used as part of their overall GCSE assessment scores at the end of Year 11. BUT, when they thought I was actually giving them a "mark" for this assignment, they stepped up the seriousness with which they took the assignment.
The reaction of these students to the idea of being "marked" for this assignment, made me pause to ponder two things: would American high school students achieve more if they were assessed less? ...and also: would UK high school students achieve more if they were assessed more? or would they achieve less if they were assessed more? It's an interesting idea to ponder...it would make someone a great doctorate thesis. Both systems are so different, yet there are some similarities as far as the MCAS and GCSE testing are concerned. However, in American high schools we place a great amount of emphasis on all the parts leading to the whole, as one task leads to the next bigger task, which then leads to the next bigger task, which then leads to the most important task (homework - quiz - test - unit project) and I just wonder -
IF we only placed emphasis on THE MOST IMPORTANT task, would students achieve more and would we get a much more accurate picture of the student? OR...(like the exercise in inflection, depending on what word is emphasized, the same sentence can have eight different meanings, but still the words in the actual sentence don't change) is it best to have multiple levels of assessment and not place it all on one final assessment? Which method paints a clearer picture of the student's abilities? I'm not sure of this answer... and I look forward to experimenting with the idea a bit more. It's a brain twister though, ain't it???
Later, when they returned for their second lesson of the day, the performance lesson, I explained how the rubric would work in America, and how grading worked in America ( a condensed version of course). I explained how this particular assessment would normally count as a test grade in America because it was important enough to count as such. Finally, I revealed to them I was not really giving them a "mark" to count for their coursework, to which there were audible sighs of relief and much laughter. I did tell them we were going to use the rubric as a form of peer and self-assessment and they did like that. I also told them, that just for the fun of it, I would annotate the rubric with comments as I would normally do back home, and provide them with an American grade... that went over well.
So overall, it was good day...and you will all be happy to know that I am off line for the weekend! London here we come!
You may have noticed a theme to this week's posts. If you figure it out and can identify all of the allusions made this week let me know!
"Thursday morning and the trees are singing..."
and so begins another day...on a much brighter note than the last couple of days have. Maybe because today is really "Friday" for me, as tomorrow Micaela and I depart bright and early to get our bus into London, where we are spending the weekend, starting with a Friday evening reception at the US Embassy and then sightseeing. If one cannot look forward to that with eager anticipation and a positive outlook, well then, its hopeless...which the future and the remainder of this exchange are not.
Today was a good day, beginning with a gift of wine and chocolate... what could be better than that???!!! There was also a dinner invitation for a few weeks out; a suggestion for a hair stylist in Peterchurch, which I could probably fit in on a day when Micaela is playing football, an invitation awaiting to visit Hay-on-Wye and invitations for Micaela to meet other teacher's children, walk dogs and see rugby games. There was even one teacher, who sought me out to apologize for not really having the time to talk in person, but that by reading my blog she felt she knew a lot about me already. I really appreciated that. Thank you everyone for your welcoming gestures of friendship...it is much appreciated and perhaps, like Micaela's state of mind, I won't want to go home at Christmas either!
It was a good day, but it wouldn't be complete without me forgetting some minor "administrative/clerical" detail... in this case the Thursday morning assembly for Form 7 - despite the giant post-it note staring me in the face from my computer screen, as I patiently waited for the registration list to appear on the screen. Yikes! No surprise though to my colleagues at home...I am notorious for forgetting class meeting days, staff meetings, etc... I am not good with the administrative duties of the job. AND- at home I rely an awful lot on the intercom system to just "call" the kids down to wherever they're supposed to be at whatever time they're supposed to be there. Funny how we get dependent on such things; plus my short term memory is definitely the first thing to go...
Today I tried a new lesson with my Year 10 students that I have never tried before, not even at home in America, which involved preparing the students to read the first two chapters of Great Expectations with a fine tooth comb, but in such a way that they will walk away from that room absolutely in love with Charles Dickens. (That may be a bit of an exaggeration,but one should never aim too low.) The overall aim is to conduct a Reader's Theater, reading with expression and dramatic effect, basically. It began with a lesson on inflection. One sentence with eight words on the board. Saying the sentence, with a different word emphasized, and figuring out the inferential meaning of the sentence. It was pretty funny when the students were reading it aloud. It didn't take long for them to catch on. I then split the group into smaller groups, handing each a reader's theater prepared script (thanks to the internet of course) and they rehearsed their stories...we used very silly stories that most were familiar with, but I threw in Casey at the Bat just for fun...and not surprisingly it turned out to be the most difficult piece to perform since the knowledge of baseball in America is not quite built up in their background. I will give kudos to that group (and maybe some house points as well to some of them) who really did try to give it a good go. Overall, they all performed marvelously.
However, the funny part of the process was when I gave each group a "rubric", which is like a mark scheme here in the UK. I explained it and how to use it to help them prepare their reading by aiming for the highest letter grade of A. When they asked if I was marking them I simply replied "yes." Now, it is interesting to note how seriously some UK students take their "marks". Unlike American high school students, who are quite accustomed to receiving a lot of marks of different weights and values over the course of a 12 week period, that is not how it works here- UK students create coursework assignments, usually one important assignment, for each unit of study they do and those are used as part of their overall GCSE assessment scores at the end of Year 11. BUT, when they thought I was actually giving them a "mark" for this assignment, they stepped up the seriousness with which they took the assignment.
The reaction of these students to the idea of being "marked" for this assignment, made me pause to ponder two things: would American high school students achieve more if they were assessed less? ...and also: would UK high school students achieve more if they were assessed more? or would they achieve less if they were assessed more? It's an interesting idea to ponder...it would make someone a great doctorate thesis. Both systems are so different, yet there are some similarities as far as the MCAS and GCSE testing are concerned. However, in American high schools we place a great amount of emphasis on all the parts leading to the whole, as one task leads to the next bigger task, which then leads to the next bigger task, which then leads to the most important task (homework - quiz - test - unit project) and I just wonder -
IF we only placed emphasis on THE MOST IMPORTANT task, would students achieve more and would we get a much more accurate picture of the student? OR...(like the exercise in inflection, depending on what word is emphasized, the same sentence can have eight different meanings, but still the words in the actual sentence don't change) is it best to have multiple levels of assessment and not place it all on one final assessment? Which method paints a clearer picture of the student's abilities? I'm not sure of this answer... and I look forward to experimenting with the idea a bit more. It's a brain twister though, ain't it???
Later, when they returned for their second lesson of the day, the performance lesson, I explained how the rubric would work in America, and how grading worked in America ( a condensed version of course). I explained how this particular assessment would normally count as a test grade in America because it was important enough to count as such. Finally, I revealed to them I was not really giving them a "mark" to count for their coursework, to which there were audible sighs of relief and much laughter. I did tell them we were going to use the rubric as a form of peer and self-assessment and they did like that. I also told them, that just for the fun of it, I would annotate the rubric with comments as I would normally do back home, and provide them with an American grade... that went over well.
So overall, it was good day...and you will all be happy to know that I am off line for the weekend! London here we come!
You may have noticed a theme to this week's posts. If you figure it out and can identify all of the allusions made this week let me know!
"Thursday morning and the trees are singing..."
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Wednesday Week....
Wednesday felt like a week, but it ended on a high note- with lots of up's and some down's in between - good food! Up's because today the student's really started demonstrating a lot of interest in our class lessons and down's because today it was my turn to miss home!
First, because I missed the staff briefing yesterday, I did not know about Year 7 photo day...so while I was expecting to teach Year 9 this morning, I discovered I was to keep my Year 7's for an extra "bonus" lesson! My reaction..."yippee!" Not. They are my biggest challenge; while loveable and little, it is high maintenance instruction with them. Thankfully, they were able to register in the library with their thumb prints - which is a required in order for them to check out a book. The system is sort of like the biometric scan we needed for our visa's and the students simply need to scan their book and put their thumb print on a scanner, and whala - instant check out! Take note Alicia, my friend, perhaps that's a wave we need to catch in our own media center!
Getting them ready for their "class photo" was a very interesting experience. The photographer - not our own Mr. Cassidy, but reminiscent of him - had a very efficient system of lining students in a symmetrical height centered pose. Form Tutors - in this case the English department were to check uniforms, straighten ties, tuck in shirts, straighten collars, etc and make certain everyone was neat and orderly. Of course, we were outside on a fairly chilly morning, and it did take a few minutes to get everyone posed just "so". Believe it or not, there were actually three English teachers in this photo...usually not the case as Miss Sheppard makes for the hills come photo time!
Up's with the students who, for the first time really showed a lot of interest in what we are doing in each class; downs because this week its my turn to miss home.
Up's with the Year 8 students, who were full oodles of questions about America. Also with one particularly fidgety student, who I finally had an opportunity to work one on one with and give him some much needed attention. Some even told me that I should visit before the end of Year 11 to teach them another class! How sweet they all are!
Up's with Year 11's who really responded to our lesson on To A Mouse - especially with audiotaped Scottish brogue, as well as Year 11 girls who stayed behind to chat at break and want help to organize a prom, which they want to plan for their end of year, which I did promise to help them with, also I suggested a real "high school" dance for upper grades which I would be happy to help with too. I had been asked last week to help them with a cheering squad, so I was fearing they would ask again... haha...I'm sure after reading this blog they will be reminding me of that! I'll be in a bit of trouble with that, as you all know back home, the girls were the experts; I was just the coach who kept them focused and motivated. So if any of you girls back home remember any cheers, write 'em up and send 'em! It's just nice to be included in a circle of girls again who seek out your advice... so thank you girls, you're all very lovely.
Up's with Year 7 students who finally finished all their work from the past few lessons and got to go to the library to get some books so now they will have books for registration!
Up's for Micaela who played "football in her boots" today and said she was going to miss her friends here and that she really likes it at Fairfield! Phew - load off my mind! If she's happy that's a BIG plus! P.S. - that's "soccer in her cleats" for all you Yanks.
Up's because we finally found a restaurant with good food! After two days of driving around in circles we finally found where we wanted to be...and had a good dinner!
Up's because people at Fairfield were very supportive today with my bit of homesickness and had all kinds of suggestions for me... thank you everyone so very much!
Up's because I really do feel confident in the material I'm teaching and, while, the assessment piece is still not clear, it is starting to come together as I reveiw other student work and have been given some work to "practice" with.
We won't talk about the downs...but suffice it to say that I am so very, very tired due to long days, long hours in the car, not enough of my favorite foods, and not enough sport, and a bit of feeling isolated from the center of the universe. I have lost seven pounds since I arrived and I really am missing my social network at home, Michael, and my pups. There is no doubt that embarquing on this path is a tough one, I never thought I'd actually do it, but I did, and while I am embracing every moment to learn everything I can, moments like these are to be expected. This week it's my turn to have a few "missing home" moments, since apparently Micaela is over all of that now, but you know what...
"you won't give a darn by Wednesday week..."
First, because I missed the staff briefing yesterday, I did not know about Year 7 photo day...so while I was expecting to teach Year 9 this morning, I discovered I was to keep my Year 7's for an extra "bonus" lesson! My reaction..."yippee!" Not. They are my biggest challenge; while loveable and little, it is high maintenance instruction with them. Thankfully, they were able to register in the library with their thumb prints - which is a required in order for them to check out a book. The system is sort of like the biometric scan we needed for our visa's and the students simply need to scan their book and put their thumb print on a scanner, and whala - instant check out! Take note Alicia, my friend, perhaps that's a wave we need to catch in our own media center!
Getting them ready for their "class photo" was a very interesting experience. The photographer - not our own Mr. Cassidy, but reminiscent of him - had a very efficient system of lining students in a symmetrical height centered pose. Form Tutors - in this case the English department were to check uniforms, straighten ties, tuck in shirts, straighten collars, etc and make certain everyone was neat and orderly. Of course, we were outside on a fairly chilly morning, and it did take a few minutes to get everyone posed just "so". Believe it or not, there were actually three English teachers in this photo...usually not the case as Miss Sheppard makes for the hills come photo time!
Up's with the students who, for the first time really showed a lot of interest in what we are doing in each class; downs because this week its my turn to miss home.
Up's with the Year 8 students, who were full oodles of questions about America. Also with one particularly fidgety student, who I finally had an opportunity to work one on one with and give him some much needed attention. Some even told me that I should visit before the end of Year 11 to teach them another class! How sweet they all are!
Up's with Year 11's who really responded to our lesson on To A Mouse - especially with audiotaped Scottish brogue, as well as Year 11 girls who stayed behind to chat at break and want help to organize a prom, which they want to plan for their end of year, which I did promise to help them with, also I suggested a real "high school" dance for upper grades which I would be happy to help with too. I had been asked last week to help them with a cheering squad, so I was fearing they would ask again... haha...I'm sure after reading this blog they will be reminding me of that! I'll be in a bit of trouble with that, as you all know back home, the girls were the experts; I was just the coach who kept them focused and motivated. So if any of you girls back home remember any cheers, write 'em up and send 'em! It's just nice to be included in a circle of girls again who seek out your advice... so thank you girls, you're all very lovely.
Up's with Year 7 students who finally finished all their work from the past few lessons and got to go to the library to get some books so now they will have books for registration!
Up's for Micaela who played "football in her boots" today and said she was going to miss her friends here and that she really likes it at Fairfield! Phew - load off my mind! If she's happy that's a BIG plus! P.S. - that's "soccer in her cleats" for all you Yanks.
Up's because we finally found a restaurant with good food! After two days of driving around in circles we finally found where we wanted to be...and had a good dinner!
Up's because people at Fairfield were very supportive today with my bit of homesickness and had all kinds of suggestions for me... thank you everyone so very much!
Up's because I really do feel confident in the material I'm teaching and, while, the assessment piece is still not clear, it is starting to come together as I reveiw other student work and have been given some work to "practice" with.
We won't talk about the downs...but suffice it to say that I am so very, very tired due to long days, long hours in the car, not enough of my favorite foods, and not enough sport, and a bit of feeling isolated from the center of the universe. I have lost seven pounds since I arrived and I really am missing my social network at home, Michael, and my pups. There is no doubt that embarquing on this path is a tough one, I never thought I'd actually do it, but I did, and while I am embracing every moment to learn everything I can, moments like these are to be expected. This week it's my turn to have a few "missing home" moments, since apparently Micaela is over all of that now, but you know what...
"you won't give a darn by Wednesday week..."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
"Goodbye Ruby Tuesday, who could hang a name on you?"
Tuesday - arrived at school promptly at 8:40 a.m as we were running late this morning due to Micaela not feeling quite 100% and she was moving a bit slower than usual...add a few lorry's which keep the speed down, a very large lorry inching its way down the road up to the school, causing people to reverse direction and students to wait on the corner of the road before attempting to navigate the narrow lane, and you can't help but arrive a few minutes behind schedule.
BUT, when one is apparently confused between a staff briefing, which I thought only was on slate for the first week of school, and a staff meeting, which bad just been held on Monday afternoon, a certain American exchange teacher doesn't know she is even really late for anything, until...she notices through the window of the staff room, as she makes her way to the front door, that the place is packed with bodies, and upon entering the main hallway, the door is securely shut. Oh well, not about to announce my late presence, so I did the sensible thing and went directly to my classroom. Now I know... every Tuesday...staff briefing...8:40 a.m. No problem.
Apparently Monday afternoon meetings only include actual teaching staff, and the Tuesday morning staff briefing includes everyone; add the Thursday afternoon English department meeting and there are three required meetings a week. Vastly different from the once every two week meeting at home, and the occasional department meeting that may impinge upon your free block to attend...otherwise known affectionately as "common planning time"...a bit of a misnomer back at NHS if you ask me.
Tuesday - preparation period first thing in the morning, however, due to the "under construction" status of the new ICT area, the classroom is used to instruct the ICT classes during the first two lessons of the day. Needing to relocate myself for my prep period I sought out the work room on the third floor and made myself at home, getting myself ready for the week, since this was my first planning block alloted of the week. The second lesson of the day I relocated to Mel's room to teach the Year 8 students. I really don't mind having to "relocate"...the ICT guys are nice and pleasant and have been very helpful in solving my issues regarding the use of united streaming, and it has been fun getting to know them and talk about some sport with them. It is different from home though, in that I never have to relocate myself, unless it is to cover duty once in a while.
As indicated, it is only temporary until their new area is completed and then I will have the space as needed. Until then, it is nice to see other people from around the building in our area of the campus. Much like home, each academic area is housed in specific areas of the campus, by building clusters, as NHS has the academic core subjects somewhat divided by floor, and alternate ends of floors, so it is not often that you see colleagues from other departments. The good thing is that at least everyone at Fairfield has the same time for lunch, so there is more of an opportunity to see others, unlike at home where even lunches are divided by floor for the most part.
However, my day once again got away from me with lesson planning, clerical issues, nps email catch up, etc...that despite having two planning periods, a 15 minute break and a one hour lunch, I never left my room, nor did I even eat my lunch! Where does the day go??? I have no idea, but I was very, very busy!
Year 8's responded well to their "building character" lesson with Holes and their literature circle groups.
Year 10's, despite losing five minutes of their lunch for being a bit too talkative during powerpoint presentations, successfully completed their background building tasks and are ready to move on to a bit of Reader's Theater as Dicken's himself would have done with his own works. This will take us through the first two chapters with a fine tooth comb as they prepare to write their coursework essay.
TUESDAY - ended with the Year 7's, finishing up family trees...and yes, we are finished with this lesson, even if they have not quite finished with the actual tree, it is DONE. All students have a paper version suitable for "best work" to put into their actual "autobiography" project and now we move on to the day they were born! The saving grace is having Ruth to banter back and forth with over lessons that work, and lessons that don't, and the acknowledgement of the amount of variation that takes place in those Year 7 instructional groups. Today we were both acknowledging the amount of energy it takes to keep up with these little ones; it can exhaust you after 60 minutes.
Micaela was originally scheduled to take an Animal Care class, which would normally release at 5 p.m., but she really wants to play football (soccer) on Wednesday afternoons, which will also keep us at school late, so in my zeal to have at least one day per week when we can leave campus before 3:45 p.m. we decided to forego that class.
I was hoping to make it back to Gilwern in order to have my nails done, but alas we did not, and once again all the shops were closing by the time we arrived in the area... I shall never fit this treat into my schedule on a weekday afternoon it seems. This is not a popular indulgence in the area, and a place such as California Nails does not exist. Most hair salons may have one or two girls who give manicures and there are a few places dedicated to doing nails, with two or three people at the most, other than that, in this immediate vicinity, it is not something easy to come by at conveneint weekday hours for working women. (Many of my lady friends at home will empathize with this dilemma!)
Ways to make a million in the UK that we brainstormed today...
Open a drive through coffee shop somewhere on the A465, which probably would only be approved where there is an existing structure or petrol station...but still you would make a million pounds!
Open an ESPN Zone bar featuring UK & American Sport - or any kind of pub dedicated solely to watching of sport that is open all day serving Buffalo wings, margaritas, cold Budweiser and some curly fries with skinny onion rings... and you will make a million pounds! Someone tell Phil the next time you are at the Hawks Nest that he should look into this.
Open a California Nail Salson with full services for manicures and pedicures...give discounts for the first three visits and remain open until 8 p.m. each week night, and after that you will have an entire population of women hooked on having their nails and toes done and you will make a million pounds!
Open an Outback, Longhorns or some really awesome steak restaurant and stay open for lunch and all evening; even on weekdays, but be located somewhere within one mile of the roundabouts between Hereford and Abergavenny and you will make a million dollars!
*On a side note - my Facebook status today consisted of a list of all my favorite cravings - Outback ribeye, loaded potato, caesar salad, margaritas, etc... My dad, in an effort to be helpful, sent me an FB message telling me that he would gladly send me a "2 for 1" meal card for Ruby Tuesdays - an American chain restuarant... to which end I did a UK location search and, no surprise, there are none anywhere in 4 countries! Funny thing is, he sent this AFTER I had already titled today's post with the above... how odd is that?????
"yesterday don't matter when its gone...."
BUT, when one is apparently confused between a staff briefing, which I thought only was on slate for the first week of school, and a staff meeting, which bad just been held on Monday afternoon, a certain American exchange teacher doesn't know she is even really late for anything, until...she notices through the window of the staff room, as she makes her way to the front door, that the place is packed with bodies, and upon entering the main hallway, the door is securely shut. Oh well, not about to announce my late presence, so I did the sensible thing and went directly to my classroom. Now I know... every Tuesday...staff briefing...8:40 a.m. No problem.
Apparently Monday afternoon meetings only include actual teaching staff, and the Tuesday morning staff briefing includes everyone; add the Thursday afternoon English department meeting and there are three required meetings a week. Vastly different from the once every two week meeting at home, and the occasional department meeting that may impinge upon your free block to attend...otherwise known affectionately as "common planning time"...a bit of a misnomer back at NHS if you ask me.
Tuesday - preparation period first thing in the morning, however, due to the "under construction" status of the new ICT area, the classroom is used to instruct the ICT classes during the first two lessons of the day. Needing to relocate myself for my prep period I sought out the work room on the third floor and made myself at home, getting myself ready for the week, since this was my first planning block alloted of the week. The second lesson of the day I relocated to Mel's room to teach the Year 8 students. I really don't mind having to "relocate"...the ICT guys are nice and pleasant and have been very helpful in solving my issues regarding the use of united streaming, and it has been fun getting to know them and talk about some sport with them. It is different from home though, in that I never have to relocate myself, unless it is to cover duty once in a while.
As indicated, it is only temporary until their new area is completed and then I will have the space as needed. Until then, it is nice to see other people from around the building in our area of the campus. Much like home, each academic area is housed in specific areas of the campus, by building clusters, as NHS has the academic core subjects somewhat divided by floor, and alternate ends of floors, so it is not often that you see colleagues from other departments. The good thing is that at least everyone at Fairfield has the same time for lunch, so there is more of an opportunity to see others, unlike at home where even lunches are divided by floor for the most part.
However, my day once again got away from me with lesson planning, clerical issues, nps email catch up, etc...that despite having two planning periods, a 15 minute break and a one hour lunch, I never left my room, nor did I even eat my lunch! Where does the day go??? I have no idea, but I was very, very busy!
Year 8's responded well to their "building character" lesson with Holes and their literature circle groups.
Year 10's, despite losing five minutes of their lunch for being a bit too talkative during powerpoint presentations, successfully completed their background building tasks and are ready to move on to a bit of Reader's Theater as Dicken's himself would have done with his own works. This will take us through the first two chapters with a fine tooth comb as they prepare to write their coursework essay.
TUESDAY - ended with the Year 7's, finishing up family trees...and yes, we are finished with this lesson, even if they have not quite finished with the actual tree, it is DONE. All students have a paper version suitable for "best work" to put into their actual "autobiography" project and now we move on to the day they were born! The saving grace is having Ruth to banter back and forth with over lessons that work, and lessons that don't, and the acknowledgement of the amount of variation that takes place in those Year 7 instructional groups. Today we were both acknowledging the amount of energy it takes to keep up with these little ones; it can exhaust you after 60 minutes.
Micaela was originally scheduled to take an Animal Care class, which would normally release at 5 p.m., but she really wants to play football (soccer) on Wednesday afternoons, which will also keep us at school late, so in my zeal to have at least one day per week when we can leave campus before 3:45 p.m. we decided to forego that class.
I was hoping to make it back to Gilwern in order to have my nails done, but alas we did not, and once again all the shops were closing by the time we arrived in the area... I shall never fit this treat into my schedule on a weekday afternoon it seems. This is not a popular indulgence in the area, and a place such as California Nails does not exist. Most hair salons may have one or two girls who give manicures and there are a few places dedicated to doing nails, with two or three people at the most, other than that, in this immediate vicinity, it is not something easy to come by at conveneint weekday hours for working women. (Many of my lady friends at home will empathize with this dilemma!)
Ways to make a million in the UK that we brainstormed today...
Open a drive through coffee shop somewhere on the A465, which probably would only be approved where there is an existing structure or petrol station...but still you would make a million pounds!
Open an ESPN Zone bar featuring UK & American Sport - or any kind of pub dedicated solely to watching of sport that is open all day serving Buffalo wings, margaritas, cold Budweiser and some curly fries with skinny onion rings... and you will make a million pounds! Someone tell Phil the next time you are at the Hawks Nest that he should look into this.
Open a California Nail Salson with full services for manicures and pedicures...give discounts for the first three visits and remain open until 8 p.m. each week night, and after that you will have an entire population of women hooked on having their nails and toes done and you will make a million pounds!
Open an Outback, Longhorns or some really awesome steak restaurant and stay open for lunch and all evening; even on weekdays, but be located somewhere within one mile of the roundabouts between Hereford and Abergavenny and you will make a million dollars!
*On a side note - my Facebook status today consisted of a list of all my favorite cravings - Outback ribeye, loaded potato, caesar salad, margaritas, etc... My dad, in an effort to be helpful, sent me an FB message telling me that he would gladly send me a "2 for 1" meal card for Ruby Tuesdays - an American chain restuarant... to which end I did a UK location search and, no surprise, there are none anywhere in 4 countries! Funny thing is, he sent this AFTER I had already titled today's post with the above... how odd is that?????
"yesterday don't matter when its gone...."
Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday, Monday --- "Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be..."
Today was my first "real" Monday on regular timetable, as last week, the first day of school, was not a "normal" Monday, so I had no warning of what a full Monday would be like. It was a marathon day, without a prep period, and it was full of surprises from beginning to end. Add a staff meeting to the end of the day, a hungry, yet ill-feeling Micaela to keep me company on the way home, every pub from here to nowhere closed on a Monday night (reminiscent of many, many years ago in Massachusetts where restaurants were not often open on Mondays) and another day of not arriving in Gilwern until past 6:30 p.m., and you have the makings of a very long Monday, Monday!
First, it started with Form Tutor and registration. Time in which I am required to check each child's homework diary to make certain that their parents have signed it. I am also to sign each diary and read any notes that may have been made by parents concerning their children and then respond briefly in acknowledgement, and if necessary follow up with any concerns that have been expressed. During this time I am also to take the register, pass out any flyers or make any announcements and also send children out of the class is they have been requested to be elsewhere. Because I also dropped the ball last week with my Year 7 English and forgot to have them choose a free book from a library program, I also needed to get that done. Needless to say, I was trying to juggle a million different things at a time and the students who needed to go for their academic testing did not get sent out because I was still doing my housekeeping chores. For some reason it just all seemed very chaotic.
I am still adjusting to the 20 minute "homeroom" and then the "registration" period that occurs again after lunch...and all the clerical issues that are dealt with a bit differently here, than at NHS. At NHS school wide announcements are done all at the same time over the intercom,(for those of you confused by Miss Sheppard's use of the word "tannoy", I believe she is referring to a British manufacturer of loudspeaker systems- I too had to look that one up) computerized attendance is done at the start of each lesson throughout the entire day,(not kept in a teacher diary) which also provides instant access to know if a child is cutting a class, absence lists are no longer generated on paper, and the Pledge of Allegiance is done daily along with a moment of silence. I actually miss the flag in my classroom and saying the Pledge daily.
I also received a good lesson in the stereotypical tough British school master who requires complete obeyance with the rules. I will affectionately call this person, Bill Nye the Science Guy. (For those of you who don't know, Bill Nye is a popular, Public Broadcast System ((PBS)) Emmy Award winning children's television show where children learn all about science - see the link below.) Now, I have had some interactions with this teacher, and overall I would classify him as a pleasant, helpful, and amiable chap; Micaela loves his science lessons! So when he entered my classroom this morning and wanted to speak with the class I graciously gave him the floor. Hence, I was rather shocked when I experienced, along with my little Year 7 students, his "wrath", albeit perhaps an alter-ego, over late exercise books with the past week's homework assignments and a very severe and stern warning not be late with them again. Apparently the little people are expected to turn in their exercise books on Monday mornings before 9 a.m. While I realize that Bill Nye the Science Guy was "acting" intimidating, in order to scare the little peanuts into never being late again - it worked - even I was scared. To add to that, I had just finished reading a note from a "mum" indicating that her child was overly obsessing with his homework and fretting over not getting it right, as a result fearing getting into trouble, to which the last words in this note were, "that's just not quite right." I responded by saying, "no worries, we will do everything we can to help Student X"; and I had assured Student X he would not get in trouble for having problems with his homework... and then Bill Nye the Science Guy arrived and the little peanut cried.
I have been asked often if I think that American high schools are a lot more relaxed than English high schools...after today I would like to say yes, but that's only the surface. I think that it is hard to compare the atmosphere of Fairfield with NHS - both being quite different and dealing with quite different age groups, socio-economic groups, and ethnic groups and having much different social/cultural influences upon the environments. To add to that are the inate differences in expectations that are inbred within the two school climates. The above scenario, as illustrated, while perhaps unexpected on my end, was not so unexpected for the students, as this "stereotypical" behavior is often times part of building responsibility in these students, and even what adults educated here have often come to expect. I can clearly picture in my head, the above scenario taking place in Northbridge and the parents immediately placing phone calls to the teacher, principal and probably anyone else who would listen, along with a teacher/parent meeting, etc. Perhaps in some respects, the authority of the classroom teacher as strict disciplinarian is more respected here, in the United Kingdom, than at home. Perhaps that is why, while we would often like to employ much stricter methods of behavior management, we do not, for fear of reprimand or parent complaints. Perhaps, our society in the U.S. has usurped the discipline ability from our teachers, as even many parents don't have the authoritarian gumption to discipline their own children. I have been told that even talkative students have occasionally been required to copy pages from the dictionary as their form of "punishment". In America, this might be classified as "old school", as our methods of discipline would more closely involve after school and break detentions for minor infractions, to in-school suspensions and out-of school suspensions for the most major of infractions.
Overall I think that perhaps the discipline policies and procedures may be much stricter at NHS, than at Fairfield, if not for the sole reason than that there are 800 students at NHS and stricter policies must be in place in order to maintain a safe and orderly climate to learn in. Students at NHS must have passes to be out of class at any given time. Students are required to have passes in order to enter classes late. Backpacks, jackets, drinks, ipods, and cellphones are not be allowed in the classess; some of which are also true here at Fairfield.
Regarding dress codes and attendance procedures, forms of address to teachers, entering and exiting classrooms, and entering and exiting assemblies, it is much stricter and more formal here at Fairfield. Although I think that the "bell system" at NHS keeps everything running on a strict timetable, with a very specific "passing" time being built into the bell schedule which is quite necessary when moving 800 students from one class to another at the same time.
Here at Fairfield, the bell may ring a few minutes early, or a few minutes late, and then students are only allowed to leave when the teacher allows them too, as a result, often times I find that my little Year 7's are still "packing up" and the Year 11's may already be at the door waiting to come in. Part of this is my continuing adjustment to watching the clock and making certain that I am remaining on task and thus the lesson will end when it should. At home I am not conscious of watching the clock so much. Sometimes I have been surprised by a bell that rings a few minutes early. Later I was given a good piece of advice from Mel, "the bell is for you, not for the students"...now a new mantra...especially with the older students, to whom I have stated that very line to several times this past week; especially when they are anxious to get to lunch or break.
In the area of homework and getting it done there are many differences. I think, from what I have seen, and from what Micaela is doing, American high schoolers get much more homework - I think, however, the accountability for getting that homework completed may be somewhat lax for American high schoolers.
This is why I say that, first, the Year 7 students would not be in an American high school. They are too young and thus would be in a Middle School. Historically, the concept of a middle school is conscious about building self-esteem during the years from 5th grade to 8th grade (Year 6 to Year 9), so to be so strict over missing homework is not usually something you would find in a middle school. If students that age were to forget or be late with their homework they would get a gentle reminder to get their homework in by the end of the day, or the next day, and encouraged to try not to be late again. Eventually, if this problem persists calls home would be made and harsher reprimands or detentions would probably be issued.
Second, if American high school students, the ages of the students I normally teach at home, which range from 15 to 18 years old, were to be late with their homework or just not do it, there would be consequences that would affect their ultimate term and year end grades because they would recieve zeros for the assignment. Nothing else need be done. Although to clarify, missing homework, in and of itself would not be enough to bring a students grade to "failing", it would, however be enough to reward a student for excellent effort and thus raise a B+ to an A-.
High school students, in both countries, are expected to take responsibility for their own achievement and to get their homework done, the processes of creating this expectation is much different. My trick at home is to check homework randomly, which usually encourages students to get it all done because they never know when I may count it in their grade. That way it is a reward system, which can help your grade, and not just provide a penalty for missed or incomplete homework. Homework is usually not "graded" for right or wrong answers, as, since it is homework, it should be expected that mistakes will be made. Some courses, such as math may "grade" homework, but I generally do not in my English classes, I just want to see that some effort has been made to get it done.
Hence, my frustration today with two of my classes, opposite ends of the age groups, who did not complete their homework and thus, in the case of the Year 10 students, were unprepared to present their power point shows in class. In fact, 5 out of 10 groups were not prepared. Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing the students here as opposed to students at NHS, I am sure that the same preparedness ratio would have been true at home too, (in fact, I am positive of that, especially with some groups of students) however, the difference is in the "assessment" of the task as homework - or in the case of a final powerpoint presentation, a test grade. What exactly does one do to "penalize" students who do not complete their homework and are not prepared for classes since there is no "grade"to give; and vice versa how does one reward students who do get their homework done? Ultimatley, I am sure it will affect their final assessment on their final essay product, both positively and negatively, but in the moment what does one do?
My reaction was to say, "you're going to get a zero for the work, " but that has no affect here, since "zero" doesn't really exist. Mrs. Young suggested that other teachers make students stay during their lunch to complete the homework, (an option that would not be available at home, since students cannot be kept from their lunch as a punishment -only their 15 minute break) and I'm sure, even further than that, is the option of assigning a "detention" for not having the work complete. Although, I have learned that an after-school detention is reserved for rather serious offences, as letters must be sent home to parents and there is a process to issueing them; hence another difference. An after-school detention at home, would still be classified as a "minor offense" - class disruptions such as overly talkativeness, repeatedly being unprepared for class, minor disrespect and no letters must be sent home, a simple 24 hour notice will suffice. My personal philosophy, especially with high school students, is that I should not be inconvenienced because they were remiss with their homework. In the end, being at a loss this time, I sternly reprimanded them for not having their homework and not being prepared to present, expressed disappointment in their lack of responsibility and warned them that if it were to happen again they would indeed miss their lunch or get a detention, the only real options I seemed left with at the time, and the seemingly acceptable practice at Fairfield, (or in the case of after school detention, not really). Learning curve... that was a "rookie" experience we were often warned about while preparing for this exchange, as indeed I had this issue well in hand many, many years ago.
Later, there were the little tikes, Year 7's, who did not have their "trees" in hand for the family tree project. While I was prepared for a few students who may not have been prepared, I was not prepared for over half. Despite notes in homework diaries and typed notes home explaining the task. Again, stern warnings about not having homework, threats of detentions, but not with so much toughness as Bill Nye, because that's just not me. So - some quick thinking and I improvised with drawings of trees, and once again the "learning curve" hit full force, in dealing with so many ability levels at this very young age; a project which I thought would take one lesson, will probably take two lessons. I am also finding it very difficult to deal with the four or five students who need constant reinforcement, redirection, and specific assistance to accomplish what is a seemingly simple task - but that is my "high school" brain talking...and I need to shift to the middle school brain for this particular group and get to their level and their time table...it really is not a very easy thing to do after so many years of teaching the older student.
On a lighter note - as Micaela and I were eating our not so wonderful dinner in a local pub... accompanied by a terrier named Gaspod who feverently laid near our table and began to lick himself, and not having too many appetizing items on the menu to choose from, (Liver & Onions, Stuffed Hearts of Sheep, etc...) finally settling on lasagna (not the kind we make at home) and pan-fried chicken with chips - seemingly, safe choices; most likely cooked in the kitchen of the family living quarters, - I learned an interesting thing. For an entire week, outside of not actually making it to break time until the end of the week, I kept wondering, where the "flapjacks" were. Even when I wandered down the past two days, I could not figure out why I kept missing the "flapjacks, and all there seemed to be was a platter of cookie bar type treats - sort of like a combination between a rice krispie treat and a warm granola bar; but where the heck were the "flapjacks"??? Apparently, Micaela, having had a conversation with another teacher earlier on Monday, learned that teachers are treated to "flapjacks" at break time...and in her earnest enthusiasm asked, "You get pancakes at break time?" - to which the teacher responded with a description of the above type treats. We both had a good laugh over that one, as all this time I have been enjoying the flapjacks afterall!
Monday, Monday ...so good to me.
http://www.billnye.com/
First, it started with Form Tutor and registration. Time in which I am required to check each child's homework diary to make certain that their parents have signed it. I am also to sign each diary and read any notes that may have been made by parents concerning their children and then respond briefly in acknowledgement, and if necessary follow up with any concerns that have been expressed. During this time I am also to take the register, pass out any flyers or make any announcements and also send children out of the class is they have been requested to be elsewhere. Because I also dropped the ball last week with my Year 7 English and forgot to have them choose a free book from a library program, I also needed to get that done. Needless to say, I was trying to juggle a million different things at a time and the students who needed to go for their academic testing did not get sent out because I was still doing my housekeeping chores. For some reason it just all seemed very chaotic.
I am still adjusting to the 20 minute "homeroom" and then the "registration" period that occurs again after lunch...and all the clerical issues that are dealt with a bit differently here, than at NHS. At NHS school wide announcements are done all at the same time over the intercom,(for those of you confused by Miss Sheppard's use of the word "tannoy", I believe she is referring to a British manufacturer of loudspeaker systems- I too had to look that one up) computerized attendance is done at the start of each lesson throughout the entire day,(not kept in a teacher diary) which also provides instant access to know if a child is cutting a class, absence lists are no longer generated on paper, and the Pledge of Allegiance is done daily along with a moment of silence. I actually miss the flag in my classroom and saying the Pledge daily.
I also received a good lesson in the stereotypical tough British school master who requires complete obeyance with the rules. I will affectionately call this person, Bill Nye the Science Guy. (For those of you who don't know, Bill Nye is a popular, Public Broadcast System ((PBS)) Emmy Award winning children's television show where children learn all about science - see the link below.) Now, I have had some interactions with this teacher, and overall I would classify him as a pleasant, helpful, and amiable chap; Micaela loves his science lessons! So when he entered my classroom this morning and wanted to speak with the class I graciously gave him the floor. Hence, I was rather shocked when I experienced, along with my little Year 7 students, his "wrath", albeit perhaps an alter-ego, over late exercise books with the past week's homework assignments and a very severe and stern warning not be late with them again. Apparently the little people are expected to turn in their exercise books on Monday mornings before 9 a.m. While I realize that Bill Nye the Science Guy was "acting" intimidating, in order to scare the little peanuts into never being late again - it worked - even I was scared. To add to that, I had just finished reading a note from a "mum" indicating that her child was overly obsessing with his homework and fretting over not getting it right, as a result fearing getting into trouble, to which the last words in this note were, "that's just not quite right." I responded by saying, "no worries, we will do everything we can to help Student X"; and I had assured Student X he would not get in trouble for having problems with his homework... and then Bill Nye the Science Guy arrived and the little peanut cried.
I have been asked often if I think that American high schools are a lot more relaxed than English high schools...after today I would like to say yes, but that's only the surface. I think that it is hard to compare the atmosphere of Fairfield with NHS - both being quite different and dealing with quite different age groups, socio-economic groups, and ethnic groups and having much different social/cultural influences upon the environments. To add to that are the inate differences in expectations that are inbred within the two school climates. The above scenario, as illustrated, while perhaps unexpected on my end, was not so unexpected for the students, as this "stereotypical" behavior is often times part of building responsibility in these students, and even what adults educated here have often come to expect. I can clearly picture in my head, the above scenario taking place in Northbridge and the parents immediately placing phone calls to the teacher, principal and probably anyone else who would listen, along with a teacher/parent meeting, etc. Perhaps in some respects, the authority of the classroom teacher as strict disciplinarian is more respected here, in the United Kingdom, than at home. Perhaps that is why, while we would often like to employ much stricter methods of behavior management, we do not, for fear of reprimand or parent complaints. Perhaps, our society in the U.S. has usurped the discipline ability from our teachers, as even many parents don't have the authoritarian gumption to discipline their own children. I have been told that even talkative students have occasionally been required to copy pages from the dictionary as their form of "punishment". In America, this might be classified as "old school", as our methods of discipline would more closely involve after school and break detentions for minor infractions, to in-school suspensions and out-of school suspensions for the most major of infractions.
Overall I think that perhaps the discipline policies and procedures may be much stricter at NHS, than at Fairfield, if not for the sole reason than that there are 800 students at NHS and stricter policies must be in place in order to maintain a safe and orderly climate to learn in. Students at NHS must have passes to be out of class at any given time. Students are required to have passes in order to enter classes late. Backpacks, jackets, drinks, ipods, and cellphones are not be allowed in the classess; some of which are also true here at Fairfield.
Regarding dress codes and attendance procedures, forms of address to teachers, entering and exiting classrooms, and entering and exiting assemblies, it is much stricter and more formal here at Fairfield. Although I think that the "bell system" at NHS keeps everything running on a strict timetable, with a very specific "passing" time being built into the bell schedule which is quite necessary when moving 800 students from one class to another at the same time.
Here at Fairfield, the bell may ring a few minutes early, or a few minutes late, and then students are only allowed to leave when the teacher allows them too, as a result, often times I find that my little Year 7's are still "packing up" and the Year 11's may already be at the door waiting to come in. Part of this is my continuing adjustment to watching the clock and making certain that I am remaining on task and thus the lesson will end when it should. At home I am not conscious of watching the clock so much. Sometimes I have been surprised by a bell that rings a few minutes early. Later I was given a good piece of advice from Mel, "the bell is for you, not for the students"...now a new mantra...especially with the older students, to whom I have stated that very line to several times this past week; especially when they are anxious to get to lunch or break.
In the area of homework and getting it done there are many differences. I think, from what I have seen, and from what Micaela is doing, American high schoolers get much more homework - I think, however, the accountability for getting that homework completed may be somewhat lax for American high schoolers.
This is why I say that, first, the Year 7 students would not be in an American high school. They are too young and thus would be in a Middle School. Historically, the concept of a middle school is conscious about building self-esteem during the years from 5th grade to 8th grade (Year 6 to Year 9), so to be so strict over missing homework is not usually something you would find in a middle school. If students that age were to forget or be late with their homework they would get a gentle reminder to get their homework in by the end of the day, or the next day, and encouraged to try not to be late again. Eventually, if this problem persists calls home would be made and harsher reprimands or detentions would probably be issued.
Second, if American high school students, the ages of the students I normally teach at home, which range from 15 to 18 years old, were to be late with their homework or just not do it, there would be consequences that would affect their ultimate term and year end grades because they would recieve zeros for the assignment. Nothing else need be done. Although to clarify, missing homework, in and of itself would not be enough to bring a students grade to "failing", it would, however be enough to reward a student for excellent effort and thus raise a B+ to an A-.
High school students, in both countries, are expected to take responsibility for their own achievement and to get their homework done, the processes of creating this expectation is much different. My trick at home is to check homework randomly, which usually encourages students to get it all done because they never know when I may count it in their grade. That way it is a reward system, which can help your grade, and not just provide a penalty for missed or incomplete homework. Homework is usually not "graded" for right or wrong answers, as, since it is homework, it should be expected that mistakes will be made. Some courses, such as math may "grade" homework, but I generally do not in my English classes, I just want to see that some effort has been made to get it done.
Hence, my frustration today with two of my classes, opposite ends of the age groups, who did not complete their homework and thus, in the case of the Year 10 students, were unprepared to present their power point shows in class. In fact, 5 out of 10 groups were not prepared. Don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing the students here as opposed to students at NHS, I am sure that the same preparedness ratio would have been true at home too, (in fact, I am positive of that, especially with some groups of students) however, the difference is in the "assessment" of the task as homework - or in the case of a final powerpoint presentation, a test grade. What exactly does one do to "penalize" students who do not complete their homework and are not prepared for classes since there is no "grade"to give; and vice versa how does one reward students who do get their homework done? Ultimatley, I am sure it will affect their final assessment on their final essay product, both positively and negatively, but in the moment what does one do?
My reaction was to say, "you're going to get a zero for the work, " but that has no affect here, since "zero" doesn't really exist. Mrs. Young suggested that other teachers make students stay during their lunch to complete the homework, (an option that would not be available at home, since students cannot be kept from their lunch as a punishment -only their 15 minute break) and I'm sure, even further than that, is the option of assigning a "detention" for not having the work complete. Although, I have learned that an after-school detention is reserved for rather serious offences, as letters must be sent home to parents and there is a process to issueing them; hence another difference. An after-school detention at home, would still be classified as a "minor offense" - class disruptions such as overly talkativeness, repeatedly being unprepared for class, minor disrespect and no letters must be sent home, a simple 24 hour notice will suffice. My personal philosophy, especially with high school students, is that I should not be inconvenienced because they were remiss with their homework. In the end, being at a loss this time, I sternly reprimanded them for not having their homework and not being prepared to present, expressed disappointment in their lack of responsibility and warned them that if it were to happen again they would indeed miss their lunch or get a detention, the only real options I seemed left with at the time, and the seemingly acceptable practice at Fairfield, (or in the case of after school detention, not really). Learning curve... that was a "rookie" experience we were often warned about while preparing for this exchange, as indeed I had this issue well in hand many, many years ago.
Later, there were the little tikes, Year 7's, who did not have their "trees" in hand for the family tree project. While I was prepared for a few students who may not have been prepared, I was not prepared for over half. Despite notes in homework diaries and typed notes home explaining the task. Again, stern warnings about not having homework, threats of detentions, but not with so much toughness as Bill Nye, because that's just not me. So - some quick thinking and I improvised with drawings of trees, and once again the "learning curve" hit full force, in dealing with so many ability levels at this very young age; a project which I thought would take one lesson, will probably take two lessons. I am also finding it very difficult to deal with the four or five students who need constant reinforcement, redirection, and specific assistance to accomplish what is a seemingly simple task - but that is my "high school" brain talking...and I need to shift to the middle school brain for this particular group and get to their level and their time table...it really is not a very easy thing to do after so many years of teaching the older student.
On a lighter note - as Micaela and I were eating our not so wonderful dinner in a local pub... accompanied by a terrier named Gaspod who feverently laid near our table and began to lick himself, and not having too many appetizing items on the menu to choose from, (Liver & Onions, Stuffed Hearts of Sheep, etc...) finally settling on lasagna (not the kind we make at home) and pan-fried chicken with chips - seemingly, safe choices; most likely cooked in the kitchen of the family living quarters, - I learned an interesting thing. For an entire week, outside of not actually making it to break time until the end of the week, I kept wondering, where the "flapjacks" were. Even when I wandered down the past two days, I could not figure out why I kept missing the "flapjacks, and all there seemed to be was a platter of cookie bar type treats - sort of like a combination between a rice krispie treat and a warm granola bar; but where the heck were the "flapjacks"??? Apparently, Micaela, having had a conversation with another teacher earlier on Monday, learned that teachers are treated to "flapjacks" at break time...and in her earnest enthusiasm asked, "You get pancakes at break time?" - to which the teacher responded with a description of the above type treats. We both had a good laugh over that one, as all this time I have been enjoying the flapjacks afterall!
Monday, Monday ...so good to me.
http://www.billnye.com/
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Visiting Hereford...again.
On Saturday I decided I would spend the afternoon in Hereford. It worked out just fine, since Micaela was to meet her new friends from school to do some shopping and to head off for a sleepover. I wanted to take a tour of the Hereford Cathedral and see the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library. Since photos are not allowed inside the exhibits, I only have photos of the exterior of the Cathedral.
The Cathedral has marvelous tapestries, some of the oldest and most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen, more tombs to priests and monks inside one building than I could imagine and some absolutely stunning stone and wood carvings which I dare not explain. Hereford Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Hereford. There has been a bishop in Hereford for over 12 centuries. The nave of the cathedral was first built in the 1100's and as it has evolved over the centuries, many different periods of architecture have influenced its design. One of the most stunning features on the exterior of the Cathedral is its tower, which dates from the 14th Century and is covered in "ballflowers"-flowers in stone. The Cathedral also includes "cloisters" which are not open to the public because they serve as private residences. One of the most remarkable pieces of value in the Cathedral is "King Stephen's Chair", so named because it is believed to be the throne used by King Stephen when he visited the Cathedral at Pentecost in 1138. It is a true medieval chair, simplistically designed and functional. Queen Elizabeth II has also used it on her visits to the Cathedral.
The Cathedral is also home to two valuable treasures, the Mappa Mundi and The Chained Library. There is also an original copy of The Magna Carta. The Mappa Mundi is a late 13th Century map of the world and is one of the most important medieval works of art still in existence. It is the largest and best surviving example of a type of cartography - in some respects it reminded me a lot of a giant concept map - it is more like a story than a map and it encompasses the history of time from Creation to Doomsday. It can best be described as a pictorial encyclopedia, and is arranged in such a way, that one wants to look at it sideways, as the North is located where our modern minds now associate West.
For more detailed information check out this link:
www.herefordwebpages.co.uk/mappamundi.shtml
The Chained Library is also unique. The bookcases and chains date from the early 17th Century , but the books housed in the library cases date from the 8th Century to the 19th Century. To appreciate the idea of a "chained library" one must understand the value of a book in relation to the early middle ages. Before the general populace could read, and before books were printed on printing presses, they were valuable works of art. Having been copied by hand by cloistered monks and bound in leather, they would be equipped with a chain that would attach to the book on one end, and the shelf above a lectern desk with the other end. The chain would be just long enough to reach the desk top so a person could read the book. This ensured that books would not be "overdue"...or walk away under a person's cloak! The earliest book in the library is also the Cathedral's oldest artifact: the Hereford Gospels, made in England on the Welsh border in the 8th Century. This volume contains the four gospels of Matthew, Mark , Luke and John- largely in Latin. Inside these books the vivid color inks used in the calligraphy and illustrations are largely preserved. It truly was amazing to see such an old collection of books. Another unique feature of a chained library is that books are shelved with the spines facing away from the reader, this was so that when books were taken off the shelf they would not have be turned, thus avoiding entanglement of the chains with other books. There are other chained libraries in England, as well.
I spent the remainder of my afternoon browsing through shops and walking through the pedestrianized area of the city center. It turned out to be Heritage Weekend in Hereford, and my self-guided walking tour brought me to the Town Hall. Also an amazing feat of architecture, with rich detail, built of brick and terra cotta at the turn of the 20th Century, the inside features two grand staircases and the building is somewhat reminiscent of the grand style of old Union Station in Worcester, but much more ornate and absolutely stunning.
It was a beautiful day in the city center, the sun shone all afternoon and early evening. I enjoyed my walk, the iced coffee from Starbucks, and I found myself purchasing my very first pair of Birkenstock footwear, as the flat sandals on my feet have proven to be ill for the walking through cobblestone streets and castles as I have been doing since arriving here. They are not the most fashionable shoe, but I must admit, they are comfortable - and better yet, they were on clearance!
It was fun to explore the many nooks and crannies of this center on my own. I found most interesting the names of shops and pubs and the menus offered. Look closely at the photos above and you will see what I mean.
The Cathedral has marvelous tapestries, some of the oldest and most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen, more tombs to priests and monks inside one building than I could imagine and some absolutely stunning stone and wood carvings which I dare not explain. Hereford Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Hereford. There has been a bishop in Hereford for over 12 centuries. The nave of the cathedral was first built in the 1100's and as it has evolved over the centuries, many different periods of architecture have influenced its design. One of the most stunning features on the exterior of the Cathedral is its tower, which dates from the 14th Century and is covered in "ballflowers"-flowers in stone. The Cathedral also includes "cloisters" which are not open to the public because they serve as private residences. One of the most remarkable pieces of value in the Cathedral is "King Stephen's Chair", so named because it is believed to be the throne used by King Stephen when he visited the Cathedral at Pentecost in 1138. It is a true medieval chair, simplistically designed and functional. Queen Elizabeth II has also used it on her visits to the Cathedral.
The Cathedral is also home to two valuable treasures, the Mappa Mundi and The Chained Library. There is also an original copy of The Magna Carta. The Mappa Mundi is a late 13th Century map of the world and is one of the most important medieval works of art still in existence. It is the largest and best surviving example of a type of cartography - in some respects it reminded me a lot of a giant concept map - it is more like a story than a map and it encompasses the history of time from Creation to Doomsday. It can best be described as a pictorial encyclopedia, and is arranged in such a way, that one wants to look at it sideways, as the North is located where our modern minds now associate West.
For more detailed information check out this link:
www.herefordwebpages.co.uk/mappamundi.shtml
The Chained Library is also unique. The bookcases and chains date from the early 17th Century , but the books housed in the library cases date from the 8th Century to the 19th Century. To appreciate the idea of a "chained library" one must understand the value of a book in relation to the early middle ages. Before the general populace could read, and before books were printed on printing presses, they were valuable works of art. Having been copied by hand by cloistered monks and bound in leather, they would be equipped with a chain that would attach to the book on one end, and the shelf above a lectern desk with the other end. The chain would be just long enough to reach the desk top so a person could read the book. This ensured that books would not be "overdue"...or walk away under a person's cloak! The earliest book in the library is also the Cathedral's oldest artifact: the Hereford Gospels, made in England on the Welsh border in the 8th Century. This volume contains the four gospels of Matthew, Mark , Luke and John- largely in Latin. Inside these books the vivid color inks used in the calligraphy and illustrations are largely preserved. It truly was amazing to see such an old collection of books. Another unique feature of a chained library is that books are shelved with the spines facing away from the reader, this was so that when books were taken off the shelf they would not have be turned, thus avoiding entanglement of the chains with other books. There are other chained libraries in England, as well.
I spent the remainder of my afternoon browsing through shops and walking through the pedestrianized area of the city center. It turned out to be Heritage Weekend in Hereford, and my self-guided walking tour brought me to the Town Hall. Also an amazing feat of architecture, with rich detail, built of brick and terra cotta at the turn of the 20th Century, the inside features two grand staircases and the building is somewhat reminiscent of the grand style of old Union Station in Worcester, but much more ornate and absolutely stunning.
It was a beautiful day in the city center, the sun shone all afternoon and early evening. I enjoyed my walk, the iced coffee from Starbucks, and I found myself purchasing my very first pair of Birkenstock footwear, as the flat sandals on my feet have proven to be ill for the walking through cobblestone streets and castles as I have been doing since arriving here. They are not the most fashionable shoe, but I must admit, they are comfortable - and better yet, they were on clearance!
It was fun to explore the many nooks and crannies of this center on my own. I found most interesting the names of shops and pubs and the menus offered. Look closely at the photos above and you will see what I mean.
Friday, September 11, 2009
"You say Tomaytoes and I say Tomahtoes."
Week one was full of many new and different experiences. I realized, upon meeting my students who will be in my charge, for the first two terms of school, that they have a variety of backgrounds and interests, despite living in such a rural area of England. Many have been to America, but the majority of them have not, nor have many of them ever met an American. It has been a pleasant experience getting to know these young people to date and I have felt supported professionally by the Fairfield staff as I adjust to my new surroundings.
Monday started off with the unique experience of seeing my daughter in a skirt as she set off for school. Dressed spiffily in her new school uniform! She looked quite academic. Having only driven the route to school once she was apprehensive if I would remember the way. I assured her that we would be fine.
Driving to school is not something I look forward to, while I have learned the route that keeps me on the dual carriageway, the A465, for most of the way, it is the last 8 miles from the A465 to the village of Peterchurch that is most harrowing and nerve wracking. No matter how many times I do it, I just cannot get accustomed to the narrowness of the roads and the claustrophobic feeling created by the heights of the hedges. Locals who drive these roads travel them rather quickly, despite the twists and curves along them,and signs that say "slow". When one of them is coming at you it just tends to evoke an innate reaction to hitting the brake or going left as far as possible. Even on the dual carriageway, a road no wider than Linwood Ave, one will often find drivers traveling at 80 miles per hour and attempting to overtake the foreign driver with an approaching curve in the opposite direction. Indeed, while introducing myself to my new students I used an analogy of playing a video game on XBox 360, complete with demonstration, which did receive some chuckles. I should have spent more time playing some sort of racing video game in preparation for my visit here. I will recommend that as part of the AED Washington orientation for next year... some hands on driving experience.
Thankfully, we have arrived on time, uneventfully, each morning this week. Occasionally we are slowed by a lorry (a truck) or a tractor traveling down the road, but those slow us down for a bit of time, because I am not an overtaker... the roads are just too scary to do so. Like anything, the more you do it the "shorter" it seems, although without music to listen to it is a very long drive in silence. (The radio is not working, as a result of the clutch having to be repaired from when I first arrived, and the process to acquire the code and have the radio reconnected is taking quite long and requires bringing the car to a dealer, which could only be done a Saturday, and since schedules have been difficult to coordinate in order to get this done, I have been without a radio in the vehicle and it looks like it won't change anytime too soon.) They are also the kinds of roads and it is the kind of drive which can easily "hypnotize" you. You know...when you suddenly find yourself at a certain point in your route and you can't "remember" how you got there. Thankfully, this has not happened to me, but I can easily see how it could.
Being a Form Tutor for the incoming Year 7 students, brand new students in the building, I had the responsibility of meeting these children outside to walk them into the building. My first reaction was "OH My! They are rather little and short!" In my most friendly voice I said good morning and I could see their little ears perk up like Golden Retrievers...I could see the acknowledgement in their faces that reminded them they were getting the teacher from "America". Leading them into the building proved a challenge, because even I was not certain of the way through the back doors and up the side staircase! Thankfully, one of the little tikes remembered the way to Miss Sheppard's room! Now, I found it rather ironic that me, the new "kid" myself, was responsible for acclimating these students to their new school. I really did not know what constituted "improper adherence to the dress code" or the discipline policies, or attendance policies. I had not really seen any of this published. Thankfully, I was assigned the lovely teaching assistant and librarian, Miss Parsons, to assist me.
The first difference, and most of this comes with the age groups on the campus, is that all children are expected to que up outside the classroom door before entering. Teachers greet students at the door after they are lined up and then give them permission to enter the classroom and take their seats. Not yet having a seating chart set up, this group sat where they wanted (as of day 2 that all changed). Second point of difference, as I began calling the register (or role), students were responding with a "yes" or a "here." At this point Miss Parsons pointed out that it would be expected by other teachers for students to respond with a "Yes, Miss"; so "Yes, Miss" it became and still is when the register is called. I can't quite get my mind around that "formality", but it is the culture of the environment.
This day began with a full school assembly in the gymnasium, also known as "the hall." This assembly was quite different from an NHS assembly, where all 800 students assemble and sit in the bleachers in the field house and a podium, with microphone, are set up in the center. Fairfield students file into the gymnasium and are seated on the floor in neat rows. The Year 11 students, now the oldest on campus, are seated in chairs around the outer perimeter, along with the faculty. This gymnasium can most closely be compared to the Balmer school gymnasium in size. This assembly lasted for 15 minutes and students went to classes, however, being the first day of school for Year 7, they were to return to their Form Tutor and we were to give them the list of rules and expectations for the school, distribute rough books and homework diaries (agenda books) along with various housekeeping and clerical duties. During this time we were also to bring them for their locker keys, their dining cards, read them their timetables (class schedule) and have them fill in the boxes which are in the homework diaries. This was done with a repeating game after each day was read slowly out loud.
When all these tasks were completed, I found myself with about 30 minutes left in the allotted time. Thanks to Miss Parsons we devised a getting to know you game. It was at this point in the day that I realized I was in for the challenge of a lifetime as I teach these youngsters. It was also at this point where a healthy and high regard for my colleagues at home who teach this age group year after year increased ten fold.
The game was played with a very cute bean bag frog. The object was to toss the frog to a classmate, not more than two or three people away. When you receive the frog you were to tell your name, something fun you did over the summer and then repeat the name of the person who tossed the frog to you. The game went rather smoothly until Student X decided that he would toss the frog from one end of the room to the other, diagonally whizzing and narrowly missing the head of another student, crashing and chipping off a piece of plastic from the inbox and almost breaking a window. It was one of those moments that you can see about to happen, and its almost like slow motion, but you are too late to put the motion in reverse... needless to say the game came to an end and the frog went into surgery to have a broken leg repaired. Being at a loss for exactly what to do, actually I was rather shocked, as this is not what I experience at home. (A 16 yr old dropping an "f"bomb, yes; an 11 yr. old whipping a stuffed bean bag frog, No.) I reprimanded the child, albeit gently, consulted with the pastoral care leaders who later spoke with him and ultimately he was made to apologize for his actions.
Finally, break time arrived and the Year 7 students were allowed to leave and the regular timetable would resume. As I prepared to go to the break room and partake in the highly lauded "flapjacks" prepared by Kath, Micaela arrived in my room, and a few weepy moments were had. Indeed, this would prove to be the case for two days at break time and at lunch. Now, it is important to understand that at home my daughter is the young lady who takes the new kids to the school under her wing. Most of her very best friends have turned out to be young girls who have come to our schools from other schools and other states. She is the one who makes the overtures to welcome them, include them, provide them with lunch buddies, etc. and the same was not being done here within the house group she was assigned. No one in the set group she was assigned was including her in break time or lunch time and she was feeling rather isolated and alone. She just could not get her mind around the idea that possibly she would have to make the overtures as the new kid; that's just not the way its supposed to be done in her mind. Unfortunately there were moments where I had to use the "tough love" approach, and tell her to get outside and find her friends. She had made some friends prior to the start of the school year, however, these students were not necessarily in her classes around the lunch time on these days and she did not yet know where to find them. Thankfully, some very nice young ladies in Monnow house, who also happen to be in my Year 10 group, sought her out to befriend her and we have now had her switched to a different house group where she has fit in rather well. So much so, that she met these same girls in Hereford on Saturday, shopped and went on a sleepover. Having friends and a social network will prove to be a very good thing for Micaela.
Academically, there have been some challenges for Micaela. In Spanish she is a novice and the students in her Year group have already had two years of Spanish, so she is very lost. The same is proving true in sciences and maths, where the organization of the content is not broken into isolated "subject" areas as they are at home. At home in the U.S. it is not uncommon to take Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics as separate subjects in consecutive years. The same is true of Math(s) - plural if you are in the UK. At home in the U.S. student will study Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry and Calculus in isolation. Here in the UK all the maths and all the sciences are taught simultaneously as students progress through their schooling. English is the only subject that has any similarities as to the organization. So while she is struggling to keep up, she may come home with a bit more advanced knowledge than students at home. In the meantime, teachers from NHS have been more than helpful in providing tools from home to assist her with staying on track with the curriculum and teachers here have offered their help too.
I actually did not have a moment to get to the staff room for break time until Friday this week, as various things kept me from making my way down there; which is very unusual for me as I am rather a social butterfly, and not having many social opportunities since arriving here to meet people, I fully intend on just dropping every waiting task, so that I can make it to break times. The same was true of most lunch times this week, as I was busy acclimating myself to the curriculum, creating, revising and planning lessons, attending to clerical and technology issues - all during my prep, break and lunch times. I am sure that this week will be much different.
Monday was also the day in the timetable where no preparation period is provided, so I was busy using my lunch time to get ready for the remaining classes. I met my Year 10 and Year 11 students after lunch. With these students I spent some time introducing myself, talking about American high schools, Massachusetts and the region of New England, as well as the similar names of towns that surround Hereford and Northbridge...names such as Worcester, Leicester, Gloucester, Bristol, Newport, and Shrewsbury. While I offered the opportunity to ask questions, there weren't many asked of me... until the next few days....as they began to warm to me as their teacher, they have posed some very inquisitive questions about teens in America, schools, academic subjects, prom, athletics, etc... They each wrote letters of introduction to me, a task I also assign to my students at home in an effort to get to know them and learn about their lives. I have had some interesting reads over the past few days. They are lovely students and their letters are much more inquisitive than they were in class, also very informative in pointing out places and events I should plan on visiting and attending. I am looking forward to getting to know them all, both in and out of the classroom, by attending their athletic contests, musical concerts and whatever else I can fit into my schedule while I am here.
The Year 10 class is rather large in comparison to the largest classes at home, which would usually be topped at 25 or 26, but this particular top set group is 37 students large. Every chair in the room is full. They are an intelligent and nice group of students, but very talkative on day one and they were the group who pushed the envelope the most, as they tested the limits of their American teacher. Thanks to some sound advice from and brainstorming with Ruth (Mrs. Young), the delightful teacher trainee who has been assigned to observe me teaching this group, (which in and of itself is rather ironic, as I feel like a teacher trainee myself at some moments), they were well in hand by their second lesson. This is my Great Expectation group, so I am very confident with this particular material the most and am responsible for ensuring that these students produce top notch course work essays for their final folders. Plan well in hand with this group.
The same is true of the Year 9 students, who I did not meet until Wednesday, due to the timetable organization. They also were very inquisitive and were brought to laughter on more than one occasion with my occasional slip of the tongue between pants and trousers (done purposely of course) and also with my "funny" pronunciations of some words. I am in my comfort zone with these age groups and am feeling rather confident with them. I am having to make adjustments in my own mind as to the content I assume they know, as they are only the equivalent of our 8th, 9th and 10th graders at home. It is difficult to be plopped down midstream of a person's education, without a good grasp on what has come before the current lessons, and what prior knowledge they have been taught or can be expected to know. For example, as the Year 10 and Year 11 students began work on research tasks this week, I reminded them to document their information in their powerpoints or exercise books using MLA style. They did not know MLA style, as I learned they usually only document with the exact URL address in their work. Also, the library does not have a large reference area, so using books for research is sometimes difficult and the internet is relied on heavily. When I cautioned against the use of Wikipedia in their research, because it is considered an unreliable source, they were surprised I thought so- which then sparked great discussion about primary, secondary and reliable internet sources. I have to remember that they are not the "college" level students I am so accustomed to teaching.
The Year 8 students also met me on Wednesday. Again, a very polite and pleasant group of students. Talkative, fidgety and highly energetic, but also very inquisitive of my home and my school. Their most important question was, "What is a prom?" Proms and semi-formal dances are not a staple part of high school life in the UK, so these ideas prompt many questions. Perhaps a semi-formal dance is a piece of American culture Micaela and I can help make happen at Fairfield. I will have to investigate this idea....
The next humorous instance arose with, yet again, the Year 7 students. On Tuesday I was instructed to administer a spelling test; the results to be used to help identify students who may be in need of extra assistance. This was also the point at which I fully realized that my classroom consisted of a variety of academic ability levels, as the seemingly simple task of folding the paper into two columns and numbering from 1-25 and 26-50 proved to take a very long time. In addition to having the students write their birthdays on the top of the page, which some did not know, some could not yet count to 50. Patience will become my new middle name and thus I just may return to America as a changed soul.
As I continued to administer the test, there were words that were spelled incorrectly...like favorite, favourite being the acceptable and correct spelling on this side of the pond, and then I got to THE word. Tomatoes. Now, I was already feeling bad for these poor students with the American teacher reading their spelling words to them, and fearing the worst I was taking great pains to say each syllable very clearly, as well as pronouncing all my "t" and "ing" words very carefully. Then IT was there...TOMATOES. Now, Mel and I had just gone through this very conversation on Sunday while watching cricket. So... I very deliberately chose to say this word as a Brit would... TOMAHTOES. BUT, I did tell these students that I, the American, would normally pronounce this word as TOMAYTOES, to which they giggled and I then repeated in my best British accent the word "TOMAHTOES." I later learned that Mel, while giving this same spelling test in the next room, told her students that if they had Miss DeJong giving them this test she would be saying TOMAYTOES. Oh the joys of the English language! How we Americans have adulterated it with our lazy "r" and "t" as well as our vowel sounds and very odd stressed and unstressed syllables.
I will say the "highlight" of my week has come in the form of teaching lessons regarding family trees and personal metaphors with the Year 7, despite the challenges they offer. In my quest to learn names I had students create name tents related to the animals they compared themselves to, and I have had to make samples of these little projects too...not something I am very good at...but I am trying to give these students some very tactile, hands on projects in their lessons. Monday with Year 7 we will be creating family trees, to which end I hunted down twigs with "branches", cut out "apples" and made my own family tree sample. To all my elementary & middle school colleagues back home... I have profound respect for what you do each and every day in your lessons!
My Year 8 students made ID cards for Camp Green Lake from the novel Holes, and I have dubbed the room that very same location, with myself as the Warden. It's all great fun! Each lesson begins with a greeting at the door, "Welcome to Camp Green Lake." I am considering getting some shovels, finding a location in a nearby field, where we can actually dig the 5x5 hole. If you can't do it here, you can't do it anywhere...there are enough fields in which to dig! This ought to be fun!!
The next challenge of the week came on Friday; drama day! Now most of you who know me well, realize that every day of the week, in this job as a teacher of literature, requires a certain amount of drama that just oozes out of me - especially when reading aloud some of my favorite parts of novels, epic poems and Shakespeare. I have always thought, if given the chance, I would make a very good Lady MacBeth...."The raven himself is hoarse..." BUT - when it comes to actually teaching a drama class I am far outside my element! I really know nothing. So when I knew I was going to be assigned two drama classes while on this exchange I was fairly apprehensive...although, as is the case with everything else on this exchange, I tackled it willingly. Luckily for me I have been paired up with Mel for the next few weeks to team teach these lessons, before being left on my own. Mel created some fairly straightforward lesson plans and as I observed her teach, and in the case of the GCSE Drama class, participate in the activity, I gained a newfound respect for this woman. She is so confident and not afraid to really put herself out there, especially with the older kids. I think I will be a much different "actress" in the classroom when this exchange is all said and done!
So there you have it, the end of week one. To all of you who actually fully read these entries...I thank you. I put much time and effort in crafting them in order to fully paint a true and accurate picture of my experiences. I realize they get a bit lengthy...and perhaps I am defeating the true purpose of a "blog", which by "definition" sounds like entries should be short. It is a true autobiographical sketch and hopefully it demonstrates my true "voice". I also thank all my friends, family, and students at NHS, and here at Fairfield, who have complimented my writing and who have shared their enthusiasm at what they are learning! I am learning a lot from everyone I meet and I am glad you are learning from me too. It is going to be a lot of work while I am here, but it is also worth every second of it! :)
Monday started off with the unique experience of seeing my daughter in a skirt as she set off for school. Dressed spiffily in her new school uniform! She looked quite academic. Having only driven the route to school once she was apprehensive if I would remember the way. I assured her that we would be fine.
Driving to school is not something I look forward to, while I have learned the route that keeps me on the dual carriageway, the A465, for most of the way, it is the last 8 miles from the A465 to the village of Peterchurch that is most harrowing and nerve wracking. No matter how many times I do it, I just cannot get accustomed to the narrowness of the roads and the claustrophobic feeling created by the heights of the hedges. Locals who drive these roads travel them rather quickly, despite the twists and curves along them,and signs that say "slow". When one of them is coming at you it just tends to evoke an innate reaction to hitting the brake or going left as far as possible. Even on the dual carriageway, a road no wider than Linwood Ave, one will often find drivers traveling at 80 miles per hour and attempting to overtake the foreign driver with an approaching curve in the opposite direction. Indeed, while introducing myself to my new students I used an analogy of playing a video game on XBox 360, complete with demonstration, which did receive some chuckles. I should have spent more time playing some sort of racing video game in preparation for my visit here. I will recommend that as part of the AED Washington orientation for next year... some hands on driving experience.
Thankfully, we have arrived on time, uneventfully, each morning this week. Occasionally we are slowed by a lorry (a truck) or a tractor traveling down the road, but those slow us down for a bit of time, because I am not an overtaker... the roads are just too scary to do so. Like anything, the more you do it the "shorter" it seems, although without music to listen to it is a very long drive in silence. (The radio is not working, as a result of the clutch having to be repaired from when I first arrived, and the process to acquire the code and have the radio reconnected is taking quite long and requires bringing the car to a dealer, which could only be done a Saturday, and since schedules have been difficult to coordinate in order to get this done, I have been without a radio in the vehicle and it looks like it won't change anytime too soon.) They are also the kinds of roads and it is the kind of drive which can easily "hypnotize" you. You know...when you suddenly find yourself at a certain point in your route and you can't "remember" how you got there. Thankfully, this has not happened to me, but I can easily see how it could.
Being a Form Tutor for the incoming Year 7 students, brand new students in the building, I had the responsibility of meeting these children outside to walk them into the building. My first reaction was "OH My! They are rather little and short!" In my most friendly voice I said good morning and I could see their little ears perk up like Golden Retrievers...I could see the acknowledgement in their faces that reminded them they were getting the teacher from "America". Leading them into the building proved a challenge, because even I was not certain of the way through the back doors and up the side staircase! Thankfully, one of the little tikes remembered the way to Miss Sheppard's room! Now, I found it rather ironic that me, the new "kid" myself, was responsible for acclimating these students to their new school. I really did not know what constituted "improper adherence to the dress code" or the discipline policies, or attendance policies. I had not really seen any of this published. Thankfully, I was assigned the lovely teaching assistant and librarian, Miss Parsons, to assist me.
The first difference, and most of this comes with the age groups on the campus, is that all children are expected to que up outside the classroom door before entering. Teachers greet students at the door after they are lined up and then give them permission to enter the classroom and take their seats. Not yet having a seating chart set up, this group sat where they wanted (as of day 2 that all changed). Second point of difference, as I began calling the register (or role), students were responding with a "yes" or a "here." At this point Miss Parsons pointed out that it would be expected by other teachers for students to respond with a "Yes, Miss"; so "Yes, Miss" it became and still is when the register is called. I can't quite get my mind around that "formality", but it is the culture of the environment.
This day began with a full school assembly in the gymnasium, also known as "the hall." This assembly was quite different from an NHS assembly, where all 800 students assemble and sit in the bleachers in the field house and a podium, with microphone, are set up in the center. Fairfield students file into the gymnasium and are seated on the floor in neat rows. The Year 11 students, now the oldest on campus, are seated in chairs around the outer perimeter, along with the faculty. This gymnasium can most closely be compared to the Balmer school gymnasium in size. This assembly lasted for 15 minutes and students went to classes, however, being the first day of school for Year 7, they were to return to their Form Tutor and we were to give them the list of rules and expectations for the school, distribute rough books and homework diaries (agenda books) along with various housekeeping and clerical duties. During this time we were also to bring them for their locker keys, their dining cards, read them their timetables (class schedule) and have them fill in the boxes which are in the homework diaries. This was done with a repeating game after each day was read slowly out loud.
When all these tasks were completed, I found myself with about 30 minutes left in the allotted time. Thanks to Miss Parsons we devised a getting to know you game. It was at this point in the day that I realized I was in for the challenge of a lifetime as I teach these youngsters. It was also at this point where a healthy and high regard for my colleagues at home who teach this age group year after year increased ten fold.
The game was played with a very cute bean bag frog. The object was to toss the frog to a classmate, not more than two or three people away. When you receive the frog you were to tell your name, something fun you did over the summer and then repeat the name of the person who tossed the frog to you. The game went rather smoothly until Student X decided that he would toss the frog from one end of the room to the other, diagonally whizzing and narrowly missing the head of another student, crashing and chipping off a piece of plastic from the inbox and almost breaking a window. It was one of those moments that you can see about to happen, and its almost like slow motion, but you are too late to put the motion in reverse... needless to say the game came to an end and the frog went into surgery to have a broken leg repaired. Being at a loss for exactly what to do, actually I was rather shocked, as this is not what I experience at home. (A 16 yr old dropping an "f"bomb, yes; an 11 yr. old whipping a stuffed bean bag frog, No.) I reprimanded the child, albeit gently, consulted with the pastoral care leaders who later spoke with him and ultimately he was made to apologize for his actions.
Finally, break time arrived and the Year 7 students were allowed to leave and the regular timetable would resume. As I prepared to go to the break room and partake in the highly lauded "flapjacks" prepared by Kath, Micaela arrived in my room, and a few weepy moments were had. Indeed, this would prove to be the case for two days at break time and at lunch. Now, it is important to understand that at home my daughter is the young lady who takes the new kids to the school under her wing. Most of her very best friends have turned out to be young girls who have come to our schools from other schools and other states. She is the one who makes the overtures to welcome them, include them, provide them with lunch buddies, etc. and the same was not being done here within the house group she was assigned. No one in the set group she was assigned was including her in break time or lunch time and she was feeling rather isolated and alone. She just could not get her mind around the idea that possibly she would have to make the overtures as the new kid; that's just not the way its supposed to be done in her mind. Unfortunately there were moments where I had to use the "tough love" approach, and tell her to get outside and find her friends. She had made some friends prior to the start of the school year, however, these students were not necessarily in her classes around the lunch time on these days and she did not yet know where to find them. Thankfully, some very nice young ladies in Monnow house, who also happen to be in my Year 10 group, sought her out to befriend her and we have now had her switched to a different house group where she has fit in rather well. So much so, that she met these same girls in Hereford on Saturday, shopped and went on a sleepover. Having friends and a social network will prove to be a very good thing for Micaela.
Academically, there have been some challenges for Micaela. In Spanish she is a novice and the students in her Year group have already had two years of Spanish, so she is very lost. The same is proving true in sciences and maths, where the organization of the content is not broken into isolated "subject" areas as they are at home. At home in the U.S. it is not uncommon to take Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics as separate subjects in consecutive years. The same is true of Math(s) - plural if you are in the UK. At home in the U.S. student will study Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry and Calculus in isolation. Here in the UK all the maths and all the sciences are taught simultaneously as students progress through their schooling. English is the only subject that has any similarities as to the organization. So while she is struggling to keep up, she may come home with a bit more advanced knowledge than students at home. In the meantime, teachers from NHS have been more than helpful in providing tools from home to assist her with staying on track with the curriculum and teachers here have offered their help too.
I actually did not have a moment to get to the staff room for break time until Friday this week, as various things kept me from making my way down there; which is very unusual for me as I am rather a social butterfly, and not having many social opportunities since arriving here to meet people, I fully intend on just dropping every waiting task, so that I can make it to break times. The same was true of most lunch times this week, as I was busy acclimating myself to the curriculum, creating, revising and planning lessons, attending to clerical and technology issues - all during my prep, break and lunch times. I am sure that this week will be much different.
Monday was also the day in the timetable where no preparation period is provided, so I was busy using my lunch time to get ready for the remaining classes. I met my Year 10 and Year 11 students after lunch. With these students I spent some time introducing myself, talking about American high schools, Massachusetts and the region of New England, as well as the similar names of towns that surround Hereford and Northbridge...names such as Worcester, Leicester, Gloucester, Bristol, Newport, and Shrewsbury. While I offered the opportunity to ask questions, there weren't many asked of me... until the next few days....as they began to warm to me as their teacher, they have posed some very inquisitive questions about teens in America, schools, academic subjects, prom, athletics, etc... They each wrote letters of introduction to me, a task I also assign to my students at home in an effort to get to know them and learn about their lives. I have had some interesting reads over the past few days. They are lovely students and their letters are much more inquisitive than they were in class, also very informative in pointing out places and events I should plan on visiting and attending. I am looking forward to getting to know them all, both in and out of the classroom, by attending their athletic contests, musical concerts and whatever else I can fit into my schedule while I am here.
The Year 10 class is rather large in comparison to the largest classes at home, which would usually be topped at 25 or 26, but this particular top set group is 37 students large. Every chair in the room is full. They are an intelligent and nice group of students, but very talkative on day one and they were the group who pushed the envelope the most, as they tested the limits of their American teacher. Thanks to some sound advice from and brainstorming with Ruth (Mrs. Young), the delightful teacher trainee who has been assigned to observe me teaching this group, (which in and of itself is rather ironic, as I feel like a teacher trainee myself at some moments), they were well in hand by their second lesson. This is my Great Expectation group, so I am very confident with this particular material the most and am responsible for ensuring that these students produce top notch course work essays for their final folders. Plan well in hand with this group.
The same is true of the Year 9 students, who I did not meet until Wednesday, due to the timetable organization. They also were very inquisitive and were brought to laughter on more than one occasion with my occasional slip of the tongue between pants and trousers (done purposely of course) and also with my "funny" pronunciations of some words. I am in my comfort zone with these age groups and am feeling rather confident with them. I am having to make adjustments in my own mind as to the content I assume they know, as they are only the equivalent of our 8th, 9th and 10th graders at home. It is difficult to be plopped down midstream of a person's education, without a good grasp on what has come before the current lessons, and what prior knowledge they have been taught or can be expected to know. For example, as the Year 10 and Year 11 students began work on research tasks this week, I reminded them to document their information in their powerpoints or exercise books using MLA style. They did not know MLA style, as I learned they usually only document with the exact URL address in their work. Also, the library does not have a large reference area, so using books for research is sometimes difficult and the internet is relied on heavily. When I cautioned against the use of Wikipedia in their research, because it is considered an unreliable source, they were surprised I thought so- which then sparked great discussion about primary, secondary and reliable internet sources. I have to remember that they are not the "college" level students I am so accustomed to teaching.
The Year 8 students also met me on Wednesday. Again, a very polite and pleasant group of students. Talkative, fidgety and highly energetic, but also very inquisitive of my home and my school. Their most important question was, "What is a prom?" Proms and semi-formal dances are not a staple part of high school life in the UK, so these ideas prompt many questions. Perhaps a semi-formal dance is a piece of American culture Micaela and I can help make happen at Fairfield. I will have to investigate this idea....
The next humorous instance arose with, yet again, the Year 7 students. On Tuesday I was instructed to administer a spelling test; the results to be used to help identify students who may be in need of extra assistance. This was also the point at which I fully realized that my classroom consisted of a variety of academic ability levels, as the seemingly simple task of folding the paper into two columns and numbering from 1-25 and 26-50 proved to take a very long time. In addition to having the students write their birthdays on the top of the page, which some did not know, some could not yet count to 50. Patience will become my new middle name and thus I just may return to America as a changed soul.
As I continued to administer the test, there were words that were spelled incorrectly...like favorite, favourite being the acceptable and correct spelling on this side of the pond, and then I got to THE word. Tomatoes. Now, I was already feeling bad for these poor students with the American teacher reading their spelling words to them, and fearing the worst I was taking great pains to say each syllable very clearly, as well as pronouncing all my "t" and "ing" words very carefully. Then IT was there...TOMATOES. Now, Mel and I had just gone through this very conversation on Sunday while watching cricket. So... I very deliberately chose to say this word as a Brit would... TOMAHTOES. BUT, I did tell these students that I, the American, would normally pronounce this word as TOMAYTOES, to which they giggled and I then repeated in my best British accent the word "TOMAHTOES." I later learned that Mel, while giving this same spelling test in the next room, told her students that if they had Miss DeJong giving them this test she would be saying TOMAYTOES. Oh the joys of the English language! How we Americans have adulterated it with our lazy "r" and "t" as well as our vowel sounds and very odd stressed and unstressed syllables.
I will say the "highlight" of my week has come in the form of teaching lessons regarding family trees and personal metaphors with the Year 7, despite the challenges they offer. In my quest to learn names I had students create name tents related to the animals they compared themselves to, and I have had to make samples of these little projects too...not something I am very good at...but I am trying to give these students some very tactile, hands on projects in their lessons. Monday with Year 7 we will be creating family trees, to which end I hunted down twigs with "branches", cut out "apples" and made my own family tree sample. To all my elementary & middle school colleagues back home... I have profound respect for what you do each and every day in your lessons!
My Year 8 students made ID cards for Camp Green Lake from the novel Holes, and I have dubbed the room that very same location, with myself as the Warden. It's all great fun! Each lesson begins with a greeting at the door, "Welcome to Camp Green Lake." I am considering getting some shovels, finding a location in a nearby field, where we can actually dig the 5x5 hole. If you can't do it here, you can't do it anywhere...there are enough fields in which to dig! This ought to be fun!!
The next challenge of the week came on Friday; drama day! Now most of you who know me well, realize that every day of the week, in this job as a teacher of literature, requires a certain amount of drama that just oozes out of me - especially when reading aloud some of my favorite parts of novels, epic poems and Shakespeare. I have always thought, if given the chance, I would make a very good Lady MacBeth...."The raven himself is hoarse..." BUT - when it comes to actually teaching a drama class I am far outside my element! I really know nothing. So when I knew I was going to be assigned two drama classes while on this exchange I was fairly apprehensive...although, as is the case with everything else on this exchange, I tackled it willingly. Luckily for me I have been paired up with Mel for the next few weeks to team teach these lessons, before being left on my own. Mel created some fairly straightforward lesson plans and as I observed her teach, and in the case of the GCSE Drama class, participate in the activity, I gained a newfound respect for this woman. She is so confident and not afraid to really put herself out there, especially with the older kids. I think I will be a much different "actress" in the classroom when this exchange is all said and done!
So there you have it, the end of week one. To all of you who actually fully read these entries...I thank you. I put much time and effort in crafting them in order to fully paint a true and accurate picture of my experiences. I realize they get a bit lengthy...and perhaps I am defeating the true purpose of a "blog", which by "definition" sounds like entries should be short. It is a true autobiographical sketch and hopefully it demonstrates my true "voice". I also thank all my friends, family, and students at NHS, and here at Fairfield, who have complimented my writing and who have shared their enthusiasm at what they are learning! I am learning a lot from everyone I meet and I am glad you are learning from me too. It is going to be a lot of work while I am here, but it is also worth every second of it! :)
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