Week 10 - Professional

As week 10 loomed towards us we knew that we would have a very busy week as we had teaching at the beginning  and then our trip through The Netherlands – Tour to the West. 

Teaching this week went very well, as I found out from our teacher that she had heard good

Teaching Time

reports from the other class teacher in Groups 1 and 2 about our day spent there! This made me extremely happy as I had fully enjoyed my time there and really wanted to gain more insight into the different processes of our Dutch school. Furthermore, we also are on the school website as important news... Brilliant! Nevertheless, I continued with my teaching of English to my Group 8 pupils as we ventured into teaching Time… This I knew from the start was going to be difficult. So I began to look at days of the week, months of the year to make sure they knew the basic names of them in English and then I continued on into looking at “O’Clock, quarter past, quarter to and half past”. This relates to the Northern Ireland Curriculum as it states:

“…Sequence everyday events; know the days of the week, months of the year and seasons; explore calendar patterns;” CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007).

View from the Church Spire in Delft

The week continued on with preparation for us all going on our class trip on Friday. We left Nijmegen on Friday morning and made our way to Delft. Here we were instantly met with the famous blue and white ceramics that you could see all over the city. We also were met with the historical knowledge of the city about the different Kings of Orange, murders and the Royal burial ceremonies.  From our guide, we then were given the task of splitting into groups and carrying out a photo scavaging hunt all around the city, making sure we copied the photo on the page to what it was today, ensuring the angle was correct for extra points. The activity was full of fun and adventure as we managed our own way around the beautiful city that reminded me in structure to that of Amsterdam. My favourite part of Delft was going up the church spire and being able to stand outside on a small balcony around the spire, gazing upon the view of the city. Here we could look at the Geography of the city of how it too had many canals, a main square to where it’s city hall stood and also the injection of culture through tulip and cheese (kaas) shops. It then appealed to me as many groups of children walked by, that a class activity like this would be brilliant to carry out back home for pupils to be able to see the city for themselves and with them having lots of fun.  

“Memories of school Educational trips are among the most prominent of the formative years, largely because they are a welcome break in the routine for both students and teachers. While their purpose is essentially to educate, they can also be a fun bonding experience for everyone involved.” Educational Tourism (2011)

The inside of the beautiful City Hall in Den Haag

We then moved onto that evening to the wonderful city of Den Haag. Here we were instantly met with the impression of a main city full of skyscrapers, wealth and class. It was not until the next day we got to experience this more as another task was set to us in groups; a treasure hunt. Through this though we got to see more perks of the city and gain more knowledge, for instance, seeing their city hall, China Town and of course their Queen’s working palace. This also made me remember the advantages that are always being promoted back home about outdoor learning and that how the child is continually being benefited when educated outside the classroom. As a report by the Magilligan Field Centre , linked through the N.I. Curriculum states:

“Students are given opportunities to work together, to take responsibility, to assess, understand and manage risk, to apply their knowledge to what they see in the field, to identify and classify, to understand cause and effect and to face problem solving opportunities.” Cross, M (MFC 2008)

One of many picturesque scenes in
Den Haag

Our stay in Den Haag really and truly was my highlight of the trip as it really appealed to me as I myself am a city lover. Continually my memory of being told how Den Haag was meant to be the capital of The Netherlands kept going around in my head and I could understand why it would be through its beauty and magnificence.

The Clogs or Klompen in Dutch

We continued on to finish our tour on Sunday to Zaanse Schans where we got to see once again more stereotypical dutch houses, businesses etc. The highlight here was to see the making of the clogs and that the wood used to make them is so wet you could blow the water out! This was a resounding astonishment as all our class gave an “Ohhhh” when the water gushed out.

My week was full of enjoyment and travel and again meeting new friends. The weeks to come are about to be more difficult as works starts to pile up and more classes begin. No matter, it still cannot take the enjoyment out of my Erasmus experience.

Cheese! (Kaas!)

P.s. Top tip for this week, If you see a cheese (kass) shop in any Dutch city, make sure you go inside and try as many free samples as possible! They are delicious!

References:

CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007). Cross, M (2008). Outdoor Education and the Revised Curriculum.  Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/pmb/0906/outdoor_education_and_the_revised_curriculum.asp. Last Accessed: 16/04/13.

CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007). Mathematics and Numeracy KS1 Requirements. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/key_stages_1_and_2/statutory_requirements/ks1_mathematics_numeracy.pdf. Last Accessed: 16/04/1.

Educational Tourism (2011). Available: http://www.educationaltourism.org/why-us.html. Last Accessed: 16/04/13.