Week Twenty-one

Personal

It's hard to believe as I sit here in my living room watching television in English and drinking a good cup of tea that I am home and have been for a week. I left Nijmegen very early in the morning last Friday and didn't process the transition as much as I should have, the last week felt like a blur with a lot of tears shed and a lot of goodbyes said. It's hard to believe that the Erasmus experience is actually over, the five months have flown in with a mix of different feelings and experiences, I think it will take awhile to process properly everything I experienced and learned from my time in the Netherlands.

The last week was a mix of bitter sweet memories, we had a lot of good times together, spending every moment we could together , there were a lot of nights we had parties and nights that we sat around talking or listening to music. We said goodbye to a lot of things, our bikes, the canal, our rooms, the centre of Nijmegen and the hardest part, saying goodbye to our friends. I met a lot of wonderful people on Erasmus and made a lot of wonderful memories to look back upon whether it be sitting in class laughing about the night before , laying out beside the canal basking in the sunshine, having a snowball fight and hot chocolate after, climbing up onto the roof and looking at the stars or sharing a plate of frites and mayo in the centre. It was very hard to say goodbye to everyone and there were a lot of tears shed, "Somehow I know we'll meet again. Not sure quite where and I don't know just when. You're in my heart, so until then it's time for saying goodbye." Jim Henderson’s Muppet's.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to have this experience, to meet all the people I have met and to see education in a different country, i am so happy that i got to travel to Berlin and Bruges and Amsterdam, I learnt a lot about the dutch culture and also the different cultures of the people we spent these five months with. I also learnt a bit more about myself and how much I am able to do and handle, it certainly has inspired me to do things and to learn more. I am lucky to have the friends that I have made as I know how much support and care they can give, I would recommend Erasmus to anyone and encourage them to travel and see slightly more of the world, I know now that I would have regretted not going, it’s a experience and one that i will remember for the rest of my life.'The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.' St. Augustine

Week Twenty

Professional

“Some people live in a dream world and others see the reality. There are also people who realise their dreams.” Desiderius Erasmus

This week was the end of classes for all of us , it was a mix of emotions because not only were we saying goodbye to the pabo and our class groups on a professional level, but we had to finish and had in a lot of work, our final assignment was to present a group project about teaching children different ways to deal with diversity, of course myself Darren and Eimear just used our skills from teaching PDMU for the past two years and came up with some fun and interactive lessons using resources and materials that we had taught before. We listened to the rest of the class and their presentations on the topics and delivered group evaluations, some of the presentations were more interactive than others but it was clear to see that a lot of work had been put into each one.  I liked the idea of learning from each other and using each other’s ideas to aid our own teaching in the future, the best way to learn professional skills is to learn from other professionals and a lot of the classes we took gave us the opportunity to do so and also to pass on our own knowledge to other people.

Before our last tutoring class we had to read a letter which we had written to ourselves at the start of our Erasmus with the goals and expectations for our time in Nijmegen, my letter contained a lot of goals that were both professional and personal, it was nice to see how my feelings had changed from the start of Erasmus to the end and how many goals that I had

achieved.  While reading the letter I saw how much I had learnt and what perceptions that I had about how my time in the Netherlands was going to be, I thought that I was going to injure myself cycling but I became quite a good cyclist. It reminded me of how much I had achieved in classes and on placement, I definitely will have more of an understanding of EAL pupils and have a greater respect for classroom assistants as I saw how much they are needed in a classroom as I saw teachers in a classroom without them.

I feel that the other wonderful people have helped me grow in a professional level, by forming new relationships and allowing myself to see things from a different point of view I can have a more diverse attitude to education and can use what I have learnt from other countries educational systems as an example to improve my own methods. I liked this quote from Carl Rogers as it explains partially what I have learnt ‘In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?’  

Quote found at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/carlrogers202206.html#ApB5mI8Gb4fbhK2H.99 

Week Nineteen

Cultural

Most of this week has been dedicated to meeting work deadlines, the past few months haven’t really been filled with a lot of work because they were waiting for our last two weeks. After finishing an eight page report about my school practice, a 1000 word essay about global citizenship and a group project on diversity I was very happy to celebrate Darren’s twenty first birthday

.

We discovered while searching for stuff for Eimear’s birthday that twenty one isn't a hugely celebrated birthday like it is back home. We could not find a lot of things with twenty one written on them like shot glasses, cups, keys etc. so this for me is a big cultural difference. We managed to pull off a jungle themed party in our kitchen and I used my skills at face painting to make everyone look like a jungle animal. It was a

lot of fun for everyone and it was a strange feeling looking around the diverse group of people how much we know about each other now and how our opinions have all changed from the first meeting, I understand more about each person and where they come from, I have a new respect for everyone and have definitely made friends for life. Any prejudices or stereotypes that I may have had on a conscious or sub-conscious level have disappeared and I can now tell others a little bit about the different cultures that I have met, I know how to greet people in Dutch, Basque Portuguese, Belgium and French and that is something not a lot of people unless they have been on Erasmus can say.

I was researching on-line why I was feeling so strange all the time while being here and it seems that I am experiencing what is known as ‘Culture shock’ it had never really seemed like a real thing to me before but the more I read about it the more I thought that this was something that I was experiencing more than anyone else. I think I have definitely moved out of the ‘honeymoon stage’ When you first arrive in a new culture, differences are intriguing and you may feel excited, stimulated and curious. At this stage you are still protected by the close memory of your home culture. I never thought that this would affect me as much as it did, but it is a huge learning experience and one which I will definitely appreciate in the future.

I got an interesting phone call from home this week where I learned that my sister was getting to go meet president Obama and listen to a speech by both Obama and Michelle. It was very exciting for me and I am immensely proud of her getting to be one of six picked from her school for her academic achievement. I am a

little disheartened that I wasn't there to see the TV coverage but I can see all the pictures when I get home. It seems while I have been away a lot of things have happened and changed both in myself and at home, it will be interesting to catch up with people and adapt back to the old way of life after being in the Netherlands for so long.

Quote found at ; http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/info_sheets/culture_shock.php

Week Eighteen

Personal

This week was my last week of placement in my practice school, it was a wonderful experience to have and I learnt a lot from my time there that will help me grow as a teacher. It was brilliant to be welcomed into a school and made to be part of a class, even if we didn't speak the same language I feel that my few months in the school taught them a lot. I enjoyed telling them about my home and what life is like there and how different and also similar it is to life in the Netherlands. I will have a lot of memories from my time there especially the children laughing at me saying the names of the day of the week in Dutch and also them mimicking my accent.

On the last day I taught them the game heads down, thumbs up, and Silvia brought them outside to play a few games in the sunshine, they had a lot of fun running about and climbing on things. We made popcorn for them and had a class party, then they presented us with wonderful and thoughtful gifts and each of them said

thank you to us.

Also our two friends from home came over to visit us; it was brilliant to see Shonagh and Rukaya it was like having a little bit of home here. We caught up on all the gossip form back home and the different things that had happened while we have been living in a little bubble in Nijmegen. We spent on day in burger zoo in

Arnhem which was massive and was absolutely amazing, they had an indoor Australian outback and aquarium, it was like being a child again running around, climbing over things, crawling into caves and swinging over streams, I would love to go back again and explore some more. On their final day here we went to the lake which has a beach and water sport facilities, it was a beautiful sunny day and it was nice to relax and take a break before the final assignments and packing to go home.

My week ended with a trip back to Den Haag to retrieve my emergency passport, myself and Michelle celebrated by trying lobster croquettes and iced coffee by the beach and then taking a walk along the pier, it was nice to see the city again as it is one of my favourite places in the Netherlands. I found it very strange sitting on the trams and hearing English being spoken in several accents, it reminded me of how well we have become accustomed to the Dutch language and how easy it is to pick up on certain words and have
a rough idea of what is being said. It was sad to know that travelling to The Hague would be one of the last trips I would make while on Erasmus here, the last four and a half months have flown in as it seems like just yesterday we arrived here preparing for snow and excited about the experience that we would have here it scares me that in just two weeks time we will be leaving in the sunshine, bringing a suitcase full of memories home.

Week Seventeen

Professional

This week in my placement school I had the opportunity to observe a group four class (primary four), it was an interesting experience because I have seen the youngest class in the school, have been working with one of the older classes and now have looked at the middle class, this gives me a good range of comparisons for the education throughout the whole school.

The experience highlighted to me the importance of the role of the teacher and how his/her methods can really shape the way the class responds and interacts with one another. My mentor on practice in the Dutch school has shown me that having a good relationship with the pupils really affects the behaviour in the room.

The primary four teacher used the tone of her voice to command attention, she raised the pitch and tone of her voice to make what she was saying more interesting, she showed great enthusiasm for what the children were saying and then that in turn kept them engaged in the lesson.

In the Netherlands they also have a lot more freedom in what they teach and organise in the classroom. The group four children had the opportunity to watch the news or sports on the smart board and break time while they were eating. In P.E they were engaging in a gymnastics lesson, this was a continuation from the week before where they had been learning to balance with a partner. There were three stations set up for them to work through and one included a small trampoline and a crash mat, the other involved the children balancing on each other’s knees, backs and shoulders to create different symmetrical shapes. Needless to say I was very shocked and intrigued by this as at home this would be a nightmare to do due to the health and safety issues.  The Northern Ireland curriculum (2007) states that within gymnastics at key stage one children should learn to explore a range of movement skills, including travelling, jumping and landing, rolling, climbing, transferring weight and balancing. The children in the class were definitely achieving all of these but it made me wonder if I would be confident enough to use a trampoline with children back at home during a P.E lesson, therefore I was very impressed with the teacher and how the class was managed.

In our own classes this week we worked on the topic of teaching children how to deal with diversity, we looked at many techniques in which to do this, however the one that stood out the most for me was the line game, we watched a clip of the film 'Freedom writers', which is based on a true story, and watched how the line game works. We then did the game for ourselves, asking various questions, if they applied to us we stepped up to the line, if they did not we stood away from it.

We discussed how to use this technique at home and why it works, I find it works because everyone can see each other and can feel a sense of community with those who they are standing on the line with, they can see that although other people are from different places to them and have different backgrounds, they can go through the same emotions and experiences as each other. I find it would be a brilliant activity to bring back home it could be used as an ice-breaker and also as a way to ease tension and probe discussion into heavy topics, especially in a PDMU lesson as the PDMU framework states that children should develop an awareness of the experiences, lives and cultures of people in the wider world and in their own community. Northern Ireland curriculum (2007)



CCEA (2007) Northern Ireland Curriculum, Belfast, CCEA.

Week Sixteen

Cultural

This week was our long awaited trip to Brussels to visit the European parliament, as I have already been to Bruges I was excited to see what the French speaking part of Belgium was like. I also wanted to know a bit more about the European parliament and how it affects me.

After a early start and a short nap on the bus we arrived at the parliamentarian, we went through security and were given a tour of the building using a smart phone and headset, it was very interesting, there was a room set up in a circle to look like a mini European parliament, we watched a video which spanned 360 degrees of the room telling us about the parliament and how it worked, it was very interesting  and with the surround sound  it felt like you where actually in the middle of the parliament.

The European Parliament is the only directly-elected EU body and one of the largest democratic assemblies in the world. Its 754 Members are there to represent the EU's 500 million citizens. They are elected once every five years by voters from across the 27 Member States.

Interestingly the European parliament is divided not by country but by your political beliefs and party. There are several translators constantly working making sure everyone understands each other  as the member addresses the parliament in his or hers own native tongue. The legislation and amendments are made by the parliament and council; the council can either reject the amendments or pass them on to the European commission who draft a bill before it can be made into law.

This means each party has to get a majority before a vote, and the process means a lot of talking, lobbying and persuasion, this can take at least a year. The European parliament deal with issues like healthcare, economy, welfare, crime, education and the environment, so what they do really does affect people all over Europe and therefore although I didn't think before, it has an effect on my life.

After a talk about more details of the parliament we had a chance to experience the European parliament for ourselves through a role play game, we were given a smart phone with the name and party of an actual member of parliament, I was Isabella from Belgium and a member of the environmental party. We then had group meeting and had to decide which of the two issues we wanted to work on, half our group choose water management as they were Dutch this topic appealed to them, my group choose the issue of using micro chip on humans. We then had to run around the centre and gather information to help us form an argument, at the meeting with all the other parties we discussed the topic and used our argument to gain a majority. At the end we had to present our topics and then had to comprise to get our amendments made into law. It was a wonderful afternoon and because the whole game was interactive it made it more interesting , meaning that I now know more about the parliament than before.

Quote found at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/0025729351/Organisation-and-work.html accessed on 30/05/2013

Week Fifteen

Personal

Me and Jodie

This week we really felt the loss of one of our group members Jodie, she was only on Erasmus for three months so she had to return to France. It was not as apparent until people started retuning from their trips back home, it has been strange being in her flat and not having her come and entertain us with her random chat and laugh with us. It brings to mind how hard it will be to leave everyone else here in a month’s time. However the aftermath encouraged us to book a trip to Bordeaux to visit her before returning home ourselves.

Placement is also coming to an end for us, it is sad because I have learnt so much and have been inspired to think of ways of improving my own teaching when I return home. With the end of placement also signals the beginning of assignments, I wasn't prepared for the amount of work we have, so far it has just felt like a long exciting holiday, but I will be keeping on top of it. I will also be glad of the lie in I will get on a Monday and Tuesday morning, as I will not have to get up at six in the morning to travel to school.

I taught the children a little bit about the school system back home and how we all have had to wear uniforms all through our school years. I asked them to design their own uniforms for their school; they came up with some wonderful and unique ideas. It also got me thinking about the differences and similarities between schools and education here and at home, some of these ideas I will have to explore for my placement assignment.

On a personal level I compare a lot of things to home especially what I like and what I think I could bring back home with me and certain things that I don’t like so much. I adore the food here but I would love to be able to get a proper lunch and not just a sandwich or McDonalds, I also have a love hate relationship with cycling, I enjoy how casually you can dress so casually for a night out and how laid back most things are. I am not enjoying the weather though, it is very similar to the weather at home and is often very windy but on the days that the sun is shining it is wonderful.

Sunshine by the Canal

Although I have lived in Vossenveld for three months now, I have just discovered a new park and also a centre for people with special needs to undergo sports therapy, this includes horse riding so we got to see the horses and walk around the beautiful park, it is nice to know that after all this time I can still find new things and be pleasantly surprised.

New found friends 

In class this week we had a very deep conversation about how to deal with diversity, one of the ways is to tell your story, invite questions  from others about your past ,present and future .You don’t truly know someone until your know their story and a lot of the time the stories can be very similar. It was good to have to think and empathises with others and was a new technique to deal with tough issues.