Week 7 - Professional

Power Point on English Shop Phrases

This week in Nijmegen was really a week of work, with teaching practise being on Monday and Tuesday as normal and then class the rest of this week. Teaching this week did go well as I took my first proper English lesson for the Dutch students, as they repeated phrases you would use in a shop, took part in role plays and then played a simple game of mix and match. The children did all seem to enjoy it and hopefully they have learned some new basic English (I will find out tomorrow or not when I do a recap… Fingers crossed!). This relates with our own Curriculum as it states:

“Literacy focuses on developing each child’s ability to understand and use language as an integral part of learning in all areas in order to interact effectively with the world around them…” Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007)

Cookstown at Christmas

On Tuesday then I continued with the theme of Northern Ireland as I taught the class a little bit about the different main holidays that we have. So I explained about Christmas, Easter, Halloween and the summer holidays of course. The children were amazed to find out we ate turkey at Christmas as they don’t eat it as much over here in the Netherlands. However, most things did seem similar like present giving (although they give most of theirs at the beginning of December) and Easter eggs etc.

Our poster on N.Ireland Education system

Class then this week was very interesting as we found out more about our trip to the Tour to the West coming up in the weeks ahead. We will be visiting the cities of Delft, The Hague and then Zaanse Schans. So this will be something else to look forward to - a wee weekend away!

On Friday then we got to delve into each countries educational system. We all had to make a poster on our educational system explaining the stages of schools, the ages and the different options you have once you get older. The main systems that shocked me were Finland and France. As we know with the PISA ranking system Finland is an aspiring country that all school systems want to follow.

“The results of PISA surveys conducted in the 2000s show that literacy, as well as skills in mathematics and natural sciences, among Finnish youth is among the best in the world.” University of Helsinki

Their education system really is basically the same through primary school and secondary, with the option of vocational college or university. The main difference that shocked me was that all people had to have a Master’s degree if they wanted to become a teacher. This came as a great surprise as back at home we do not have this problem … if we did have this ‘rule’ there would be a dramatic decrease in people who want to be teacher.

Education quote...

France then had a system that was similar to our Northern Irish one through primary school, only they start at 6 and then they go to college at 11 and then at 14 do an exam that lets them go into high school or a vocational college. After this they, like us, have exams to complete to get into university. However, the biggest shock that I got was that while our fees for university are over £3000, in France they pay €5 a year. This is crazy as we pay so much more over in Northern Ireland!

Me winning at bowling!

So this week really wasn’t too exciting I have to admit but it did let us see into other countries school systems and show us major differences and also makes you think why is there such a dramatic difference between each one? Especially when looking at the financial side of things… We did however also go bowling this week which to my surprise I did quite well in the last game. I do not know what came over me to make me good for once haha

French Flag

P.s. Top tip for this week, if you’re thinking about going to University go to France as you’ll save yourself thousands in student fees! So get learning your French - Au revoir!

References:

CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007).  Language and Literacy. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/key_stages_1_and_2/areas_of_learning/language_and_literacy/. Last Accessed: 24/03/13

University of Helsini (2006). Department of Teacher Education. Available:

http://www.helsinki.fi/teachereducation/about/pisa.html. Last Accessed: 24/03/13

Week 6 - Cultural

On the move...

So this week was full of Dutch and Irish culture. The week really was the same as we took off for teaching practise on Monday and Tuesday, in which Tuesday I taught the children about our own culture in Northern Ireland. I let them see about the different flags, the royal family, St Patrick ’s Day and the 12^th of July. The children were also interested in the different sports that we have back home, for instance Gaelic football and hurling. Here the children loved watching the videos of the sport as it looked so fast and so dangerous.

Eindhoven

This weekend then we decided to go to Eindhoven as we hadn’t really travelled all that far in the Netherlands itself. Plus Sarah’s friend from home was coming over to visit and so we met her in Eindhoven to bring her back to Nijmegen for a few days. During the day though we got to look about Eindhoven and my first instinct was how modern it was compared to Nijmegen. We later found out this was because the city was only about seventy years old and therefore there were very few old buildings that existed in Eindhoven.

Saint Catherine's Church

We got to see the numerous shops and shopping centres as well as bars and churches. The one church that we did go in and visit was called St. Catherine’s, in which it was amazing. The beauty of the building oozed out with the incredible stain glass windows that throughout the church told the stories of the Bible. The church also had an area where you could light candles, which many people did and said prayers at. Really and truly this building had a humble sense to it and made you realise and think about what really was life about.

“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” Mahatma Gandhi

Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in Eindhoven

We then walked around Eindhoven the rest of the day looking upon different monuments and buildings, with also the constant reminder of St. Patrick’s day being on Sunday. This was an instant reminder as some streets had green and white balloons hung up around some of the irish pubs. With this reminder of culture from home, it got us excited for the night to come as everyone had decided to celebrate our culture and head out while dressed in green. Never the less we took things to a new extreme as I was covered head to toe, quite literally, in green. With green hair, green face and clothes I was a walking green blob! Nevertheless everyone had a brilliant time and it showed us that maybe us Northern Irish Erasmus students had formed more great relationships than we had originally thought.

P.s. Top tip for this week… no matter how home sick you may feel or have, remember as you are missing old friends and family, realise you have many new friends that you will always stay close to or in contact with for the rest of your life, who will still be able to cheer you up.

Us all dressed up ready to go and celebrate Saint Patrick's Day!

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”

John F. Kennedy

References:

Gandi, M. Brainy Quotes. Available: 

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_religion.html#MM1ZJP2owLOKmKi2.99. Last Accessed: 19/03/13

Kennedy, J.f. Brainy Quotes. Available:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/culture.html#mIr73XsA7ZF5D49r.99. Last Accessed: 19/03/13

Week 5 - Professional

Our school...

As week 5 began here in the Netherlands, the mere aspect of starting school placement was upon us. To be honest I was nervous about the school because mainly of the language barrier between us and the children/teachers. Monday was our first day and due to our school being in Gendt, we had to get up at 6am and leave Vossenveld at 6.50am. To say the least I was not a happy guy at that time of the morning as I was steadily becoming used to the sleep in’s every day. Although, we all do cycle as a group in the morning to the train station which makes it a little better as we can all talk to each other and try to wake up a little – especially if it’s bitterly cold! Anyway, we got bus 33 to Gendt at 7.38 and we arrived at our school, Vonkenmorgen. The name of the school, as we found out later is a name that was an object or part of the old mills that used to function in The Netherlands. 

The school Souzy and I attend has groups 5 to 8 in it and the class that we have is Group 8b which contains 11 to 12 year olds. We met our class that morning and our teacher and everyone was so welcoming and eager to find out about us and where we were from. Even better our teacher is awesome at English and a few children are fluent which helps considerably! This is further highlighted when some children who are poor at English can ask the better speakers to translate for them! Plus they also used Google translate to ask us questions as they really were intrigued about us. We got to see around the school and the different rooms and it was clear the school was quite new and had plenty of resources.

Our classroom

It also was good to make comparisons with our Primary Schools back home. First thing I noticed was that no one called the teacher Mrs or Miss… we were all called by first names. Secondly, a huge difference was when the lunch bell rang the children just hopped onto their bikes and left to go home for lunch. This apparently is normal in the Netherlands – I still am not used to the school becoming a ‘ghost town’ at lunch. Furthermore, their lunch break lasts an hour and 15 minutes! However, the teacher explained we could also use this time if we had some work to do which helps the time fly by!

Cookstown main street... With no bikes!

The next day at school was even better than the first. The children were becoming used to our accents (which was a great surprise with mine!) and we were becoming used to some of the Dutch words. All the lessons are taught in Dutch so it does be hard and tiring trying to work out what the teacher is saying and what tasks the children have to do. We also got to teach the children about our homes on Tuesday, talking about the landscapes for example, the loughs, the mountains etc. The children found this fascinating! Especially at the fact that the picture of Cookstown and Belfast they seen no one using bikes! We also got to see that depending on their ability the children were moved to different seats for the different subjects, so this was one comparison that I could see from back home. This corresponds with what the National Education Association states:

“Practice allows teachers to tailor the pace and content of instruction much better to students' needs and, thus, improve student achievement.” NEA (2005)

Finally, the children seem to get a lot of time to be creative and express themselves, as they have art each day in the afternoon and then free time to go outside and play; in which I was dragged into playing football haha but I thoroughly enjoyed bonding with the children.  This relates to our Curriculum as Art lets them develop in numerous ways:

“Visual education should be planned to allow for the different ways pupils think, learn and develop.” CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007)

So teaching this week really was a blast and even though I do not look forward to the early mornings every week, the thought of attending the school is making it worthwhile! The other down side is the cost of travelling which is not fair when really we could be doing without it… but we have no other choice but to pay it so we can attend our placement. Again though I love my school, my mentor teacher and my children and I furthermore love on a Wednesday morning when I can have the day off, sleep in and recover from the previous days of work haha

Just remember...

P.s. Top tip for this week… If you’re nervous, it does not mean it’s a bad thing. You are nervous because you are starting something completely new and you are about to embark on a whole new adventure no matter what the outcome is. So just keep calm, keep smiling and keep your head high.

“If I'm nervous, it means I had to work hard to get there, whether it's playing in a tournament or speaking at an event. So I try to stop and be proud of getting to live in that moment.” Maria Sharapova

References:

CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007).  The Arts. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/microsite/the_arts// Last Accessed: 09/03/13

National Education Association (2005). Research Spotlight on Academic Ability Grouping. Available: http://www.nea.org/tools/16899.htm. Last Accessed: 09/03/13

Sharapova (2009). Brainy Quotes. Available: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/mariashara433701.html#zOP6Cc6DFtQ63zL2.99. Last Accessed: 09/03/13

Week 4 - Personal

Erasmus Family forming...

As the weeks steadily start to fly in, really this week was mostly a lot of social activities between playing games with other Erasmus students and going out. Also as time goes on we start to form our own circle that really becomes our new family for the next few months and to be truthful the laughs still haven’t stopped!

Dutch Numbers

We also had class this week that generally was us all struggling at Dutch once again – although to be honest we didn’t do too badly at our Dutch homework - which was a great surprise! This week in the class we learned in Dutch the different days of the week and also the numbers (which I found easy as I had already learned them back at Stranmillis; I  felt smart in the class for once haha!). Furthermore on the Dutch language class, as much as I am enjoying trying to learn some basic language skills this may have been the last class that I can attend. This really is due to the schools for placement being released to us this week and my school is quite a distance from Vossenveld or from HAN University for that matter. So thinking practically, I may not be back on time from the school in order to attend the class. However, fingers crossed that I am as I thoroughly enjoy the class even though we do scrape our way through it haha. As Hickson is acclaimed for saying the famous quote of:

“If at first you don’t first succeed. Try, try, try again.”

In this case, I use this saying or phrase quite often in the Dutch language class… believe me!

Inspirational History quote by Eleanor Roosevelt

Classes continued with Dutch culture where we learned about the history of the country and then of the other students countries and the famous dates that they had picked out. As an avid history lover that I am, I loved finding out things that I really had no knowledge of – especially the more recent events! Plus in my opinion it’s crucial for everyone to realise the history of their own country as well as other countries so that we can see similar events occurring as well as the similar dates that the events did occur. Also, as many people do say history does have a habit of repeating itself, so maybe if more were aware of their history then they wouldn't let certain events happen once again.

“If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree. ” Crichton

My Placement Partner Souzy!

Finally the tutoring class was non-existent this week as we only have it every other week so we all know what that means… another beautiful lie in which was definitely needed! This then leads into our schools being released and glad to my knowledge I am paired with my Greek friend Souzy however, the school is in Gendt, North of Nijmegen so we have to cycle to the train station every morning and get a bus from there. The bus lasts about thirty minutes so we will be up at dawn making sure that we are on time… so on Monday and Tuesday I will be full of the joys of spring! 

To be honest I am a little anxious of starting placement as I am going to be teaching eleven to twelve year old pupils which I am not used to as back home this age would be first year in high school . Again though, it is all an experience and I might ask any way to spend some time with the younger children for a more beneficial experience for myself. Furthermore, it will also set a more solid routine for us and after all we are here to teach so it’s all quite exciting too! Throughout teaching practise though I will have to remember to be age appropriate no matter what. This relates to competence twenty one of the GTCNI teaching competences:

“Employ strategies that motivate and meet the needs of all pupils…”

My short hair...

Finally this weekend maybe not so much a ‘cut’ above the rest, as I received my first haircut in The Netherlands (in my opinion it is more of a hair-shave than a haircut as my hair is very short!). This again shows how crucial it is to try and learn the Dutch language in situations like this – maybe then I wouldn't have such little hair left on my head! Oh well I will get used to it like everyone else and it will grow back – Thankfully!

Ps top tip for this week… when getting your haircut and you hear the shaver being turned on and you value your hair, immediately say Nee Nee Nee Nee! (No No No No!)

References:

Crichton, M and W.E.Hickson. Good Reads – Quotes about History. Available: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/history. Last Accessed 03/03/13.

GTCNI Competences (2008). Professional Competences. Available: http://www.gtcni.org.uk//index.cfm/area/information/page/ProfStandard. Last Accessed 23/02/13.