Week 2!

Well, to begin - we spent last weekend in London and had a fabulous time. We rode in by train and started at London St. Pancras. This place was indescribable at the least!! We started our touring day in Kensington, and attempted to navigate the London Underground bus system. We made it to Kensington, and saw Kensington Palace (Will and Kate forever). We then went to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and saw all of the major landmarks (the Eye and Big Ben). In the evening, we stopped at the Thames River and got to see all of the famous towers and bridges and then found a pub to eat dinner at. After this, we headed back to our hotel and then crashed. It was an eventful weekend to say the least!

Me in front of Buckingham Palace

Big Ben under construction

This past week in school was so eventful as well! We only had two regular school days, and then on Wednesday we went to the University of Derby for their equivalent of PD. At UofD, we started out in the student center. They had a Krispy Kreme, Subway or Papa Johns to eat for lunch - and we were thankful for a big hello to American food! I had Subway and finally got a taste of the ranch dressing I have missed for the past 2 weeks. During the day at the university, we were with the primary (elementary) teaching group rather than the secondary group we usually hang around. We met new people and enjoyed the classes we were in. Something that is different here - the classroom teachers teach what we call our special subjects. Rarely do they have a specialist teacher, or an outside organization teaching it. So the teachers have to know how to properly teach subjects like music, P.E., history and science (they focus more on English and Math). It was so interesting getting a chance to 'teach' these subjects to my new peers, and to see how it works over here!

On Thursday, we went to an estate called the Chatsworth House. This is an old, historical manor that we visited to essentially have a field trip about how to properly have a field trip. It was absolutely beautiful, and housed the 12th Duke and Duchess of Devonshire (sadly, we did not get to meet them). We got a tour of the gardens, saw how they would incorporate subject skills into the trip, had a tour of the house and visited the theater. Inside the house, they have pristine sculptures and art work. This place was wonderful, and I wish I was able to take my future students on a trip here!

Side View of Chatsworth House

On Friday, we were able to go on a field trip to River Trent and Trent Locke (a canal and river). The students had been studying about how important it was to have these natural and man-made resources around during earlier times. It rained the whole time we were there, but we had a great time! It was so interesting, even to me, to see how things like this worked. We got to stay in and the kids got to build a sand canal, we got a boat tour around the canal, and we went on a walk around the canal to see interesting stand points. Even though it rained, I think the kids still had a great time! I was glad I was able to help out and work with the kids in learning about their regional history. I was able to talk to the kids more informally as well, and was glad to get a chance to know each of them a little better.

Students at Trent Locke and River Trent learning about canals

So far in these school systems, I have seen many differences and similarities to what we have now. Behavior management is the biggest difference I have seen so far. The kids here in England are almost always very well behaved, and the only time the teacher has to reprimand them is usually when someone is talking when he/she is talking. They do not really have a set behavior management plan in place in any of the classes I have seen, and they do not use the tools or resources we have as well. If a student is not following directions at all, they have something called a refocus card that they must keep out on their desk for the remainder of the day. Most of the students hate having this on their desk, so the behavior is usually curbed immediately. If this does not work, they go to the 'isolation table' where they work independently and do not get a chance to interact with peers. No one uses class dojo, clip charts, or conduct reports over here.

For a good part of what they do, it is similar to what we have in the United States. The students have their morning filled with math and English, eat lunch with their friends, and also get the special subjects that we have at home. But, their special classes are different as well. They have Design and Technology, art, library, P.E., music, challenge work, and other electives on certain days of the week. It is quite impressive what these classes do for the kids as well, it makes them love school that much more. Another thing I have mentioned that is different that I still cannot get over, is that kids have an hour for lunch and then a break! So if they finish lunch in 15-20 minutes, they get 40 to play.

As for my role, in their classroom - I observe while the teacher is teaching. Once they move into independent work, I walk around and help anyone who needs assistance. If no one needs assistance, I pop around and ask the kids questions and make sure everyone is on the right track. I also double check to make sure that no student really needs assistance - and won't ask for it. In the sense, I feel like a teacher's assistant. If the teachers need help putting something up on the wall, cleaning up after a special class, or making copies - I always try to help out. I always tell whatever teacher I'm with that if there is anything they need to get done, let me know and I'll help out!

And that is a wrap for week two, next week is my last week at the school and I'm already dreading leaving these sweet kiddos on Friday. This experience has been nothing short of amazing so far!