A Twist in my Journey

This week has been a rough one.  I was home sick from school a couple of days, and when I came back to the school I found out that I won't be working with my cooperating teacher anymore.  Things just weren't going to work out.  I was extremely upset as you can imagine.  I've spent the last 2 months getting to know these students and now I was out of a classroom again.  There will be a plus side though.  I'm going to be getting out of an environment that was full of tension and where I was not ever feeling good enough.  I loved the students and am disappointed that things have turned out this way, but overall I think my mental health will improve immensely for the last 3 weeks of my trip. 

 

I'm going to be observing in several classrooms where I can see the higher and lower level math classes, as well as some science lessons.  Along with those, I'll be visiting some regular classrooms. It's great to move around for the fact that I'll get to see many different methods of teaching and behavior management. 

 

Today (after the initially heartbreaking news), I was placed in a classroom with a woman whose teaching style is different than my original CT.  They are both wonderful teachers, but do so with vastly different methods. 

 

I was lucky to be able to share some things about myself and my family with the class.  My grandparents Skyped the class from Times Square in NYC! You can imagine the excitement from these students and the teacher that they could virtually see Times Squares first person from halfway around the world! It was a great experience and I'm so glad that my family and I were able to bring such joy to that classroom. 

 

Again, it is so important for me to be finding the positives in each of these trials here.  I'm only 3 weeks from finishing my degree! I can't let something that I have no control over stop me from accomplishing my dreams. 

Funny Animals

The students in class today were creating new animals on a site: www.switchzoo.com It was hilarious walking around the classroom seeing the different animals that the students were creating.  I came along to one that was a giraffe-flamingo-fish.  This animal was just extra funny.  As I walk by and make the comment about how funny it was, the student just says, "I wish this was real life".  I couldn't have said it better myself! Hilarious! You should try the site yourself.  It's a hoot!

A Bright Light in a Dim Day

Sometimes we just have a bad day.  Recently, I've been having a hard time in my student teaching placement.  It started with an observation by my coordinator down here, and ended with my cooperating teacher basically demoting me.  I was told that I would get to teach full time for two weeks.  This last week was one of them.  Now, instead of teaching full time, I'm basically back to just teaching math (apparently I can't do that right either).  It's been a really emotional several days, but I have been able to see something positive in each of them.

 

On Monday, I was on the verge of a full mental breakdown in the middle of the school day.  Luckily, I have some amazing students who can make even a horrible day better. 

 

One student makes sure to say "Good Afternoon!" to me everyday before he leaves.  Not a lot of the students make sure to say goodbye each day.  Today, that little moment reminded me that I am important to these students.  Even if I'm not teaching anymore, they know I'm here and they appreciate what I do.  It brightened my entire mood, which I can tell you has been little more than bleak.

Another student asked me what we were doing for the day.  I couldn't tell them specifics since my CT decided to do all the new planning.  I let them know that she was going to be teaching most the day now.  To my surprise I got several groans and upset comments.  They truly wished that I were teaching still this week.  It was another bright light in a very dim day!

It's so important as a teacher or student teacher that we train ourselves to find something positive in each day.  This job can be trying and exhausting.  There will be days that we feel like complete failures and that nothing is going right.  If we don't take time to pick out those positive moments, we will forget why we chose to do this in the first place.

Daily Golden Nugget

I think that each day I'm going to try and find something to share with you all.  This could be a quote from a student or something funny to happen in the classroom.  Everyday there is something that reminds me why I love my career path.

 

Today, I'll share a funny conversation I had with a couple of my students!

So somehow we got onto the subject that I don't do much after school.  The two boys I was talking to were wondering why I didn't go to the movies with another teacher or even just hang out with them that much. 

Me: "Oh yea, most of the teachers are spending their time with their boyfriends or just have a life.  I can't really drive anywhere, so I'm not busy."

Student 1: "So, you need to find a boyfriend"

Student 2: "OH! I can hook you up! I've got a couple of guys in mind"

Me: looks at him skeptically

Student 1: "oh yea, I bet one of them is you!

Then I walked away almost cry-laughing.

 

The joy of working with intermediate level students!

Cravings for Home

As you may guess, being in an unfamiliar country, I am craving the comforts of home.  This comes as a variety of different foods and activities that I either miss, or that just aren't the same here.  Below, I will list both.

 

Food

• Athenian: a delicious gyro with tons of feta cheese!
• Chicken bacon artichoke pizza (really any pizza)
• A cheeseburger from the grill with real ketchup and potato salad
• Chinese food, specifically crab angels and honey walnut shrimp
• Taco Bell: yes, this is an especially unhealthy craving

 

Now that I'm drooling thinking about food, here is the other list.

 

Things to Do:

• Go to Target: I am having withdrawals!
• Go to Costco, because really, who doesn't like Costco??
• Watch the entire Harry Potter Series: again having withdrawals…
• Drive.  Yup. just be in control of where I am going and when.
• Sleep in my own bed! It's amazing how much you miss the comfort of familiarity.
• Make cookie dough: this isn't on the food list, because I actually miss the ability to make it.
• Walk the dogs.  I miss having my pups around all the time. Misty is great, but no doggy can compare to mine. 

 

I'm sure I'll have more to add to my list as my trip continues and I count down the days to go home. 

Video House Tour

 

 

 

 

So, here is a video tour of the house I'm living in while I'm down in New Zealand.  This video isn't very good, and I know that my fingers appear in the top left corner for half of it.  Otherwise, it does the job! Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

School Uniforms: What do the kids think?

Today, I asked my class to write down a quick thought about school uniforms.  It seems that the overall consensus is the same as the States.  They don't like them.  There are a couple of students though who admitted that having a uniform makes getting dressed in the mornings a lot easier.  You may notice a couple of these quotes have the word "mufti" in them.  This just means the plain clothes of a person who normally wears a uniform to a job or school.

 

Here are the opinions of most of my Kiwi students straight from their pens and pencils:

 

"I think school uniforms are a waste as your wasting your money on buying it when you have perfect clothes already"

 

"I think you shouldn't wear uniform But I think there should be some things that you can't wear and some stuff you have to wear!"

 

"I think school uniforms are okay.  They mean not as much washing but most uniforms are not very pretty!"

 

"My honest opinion is that kids shouldn't have to wear school uniform but keep in reason like for example no face piercing and so on."

 

"I think school uniforms are ok because if we wear mufti because we would have to pick your clothes for school"

 

"I think in honest opinion that we shouldn't have uniforms as were some family may not have $$ to be spending on uniforms.  This may be the cause of wrong uniform in our school."

 

"thay are cool and I like them :)"

 

"I think uniforms are Bad- I think wearing mufti means u can Exspress your style. U look like a clone wearing uniforms."

 

"Uniforms are okay, but I would defenitly side with no uniform and MUFTI!"

 

"School uniform makes the mornings easier.  Even though they are not the most comfortable thing in the world they work.  Also for P.E. you don't need to worry about them getting wrecked or dirty."

 

"I think uniforms are stupid because you get told off whenever your sock is a millimetre too low.  Although wearing school uniform when not in school grounds is a good idea."

 

"I don't like school uiniforms because it is really anoying that you have to change out of you uniform every day and back and ford and it dosnt give children a chance to expres themselfs "

 

"I think we should get mufti everyday"

 

"I think that uniforms are so silly well not silly but you no if we could all whare a uniform that we like I would be Happy to come to school.  I hate uniforms!! P.s. if you read this dont sue me"

 

"I hate school unefform because you have to wear the same thing 5 days a week every week!"

 

"I don't like them at all beause it is green and I don't like green but the good thing is that you don't need to look for somthing  to wear in the morning."

 

"I don't really like wearing uniform Because Sometimes you can't find certain Parts of it and my clothes are actually nice and comterble."

 

"I think school uniforms present your school"

 

"I think School uniform is a waist of time.  What happens if you only have one set of uniform and it is in the wash. You have more muftie clothes"

 

"Uniforms make it easy to get ready for school instead of choosing a whole costume to wear."

 

"Uniforms make school easy.  Especially in the morning. Instead of stressing"

 

"I don't like skchool uniform! Uniforms are boring, Itchy and uncomfortable we might as well come to school naked for more comfortbility.  No don't take this sereasly I don't really want to come to school naked It's just a azacharation [exaggeration].  But every kid in the world would rarther where mufti because on normal days kids are depret and on mufti days kids are super happy and all grateful about life.  So in connclusion I think that we should keep mufti day for everyday and uniform for no days."

 

(Can you tell by the last "short answer" that we've been working on persuasive writing in class?)

 

Throughout the responses I colored the positive ones a dark green and the negative ones a bold red.  Some students could see both sides, but let's see a total count of each side!

 

Keep Uniforms: 7

Mufti Days: 15

 

Is anyone else surprised with the results?  It's amazing that more than even a couple kids like school uniforms and can find the positive in them!

Intermediate vs. Middle Schools

I'm working in what is called an Intermediate School.  It is our equivalent to a Middle School or Junior High.  The school has Year 7 and 8 students. Their grade levels are slightly different to ours, because our 5 year olds are kindergarteners, whereas their 5 year olds are in Year 1.  So, you could say this is a school with sixth and seventh grade students.

 

The slight age difference isn't the only change from our middle schools.  The students in this school have one main classroom teacher, much like our elementary schools. They associate themselves with their classroom number and then a house.  The house is just a team of teachers that collaborate.  The middle schools that I have known also have teams, but they don't collaborate between grade levels like they do here.  It is also interesting that they associate with a room number instead of their teacher.  This is something that I had to explain to the students in my classroom here.  They kept asking me what the room numbers are in America, and it took me awhile to realize they were asking about what we called our classrooms. 

 

The students may stay with a classroom teachers for everything from math to writing, reading, and PE, but they still get out a couple times a week.  There is a Technology block at least once a week.  What they call tech here is not just learning how to use a computer.  It is everything from cooking to woodworking to media studies.  The students also have electives on Thursday which are anything from sign language to dance or Minecraft.  I love the variety of subjects that students have the option of choosing from.

 

Lunchtime is also very different than I am use to.  They have an entire hour for lunch, because it is a time that most students have sports practice.  The first 10 minutes is designated for eating, and then the children have free reign for the next 50.  I help with gymnastics on Wednesday and Friday and cheerleading on Thursdays.  Many teachers spend their lunch hours coaching a sport or activity for students.  They have teams for any student who wants to join, not just a JV and Varsity team. 

 

The whole school also has morning tea. This is a half hour in the morning that is the equivalent to snack time and recess.  The first 10 minutes are once again put aside for eating; students then can do whatever they want for the rest of the half hour.  Teachers spend this time doing guess what?? Drinking TEA! Or coffee if that is your preferred drink of choice.  Snacks are also provided for the teachers.  This is one of the best parts of the day, as it tides you over until lunch. 

 

The last main difference between American public schools and theirs? Nearly all schools have school uniforms. What might the children think of this? I'll explain this highly debated topic in a different post.  I have to say though, it certainly is interesting to hear the opinions of students who don't even question the idea of school uniforms. 

Introducing...

Hey Everyone!

I know that most (if not all) of those reading this blog are my friends and family, but I thought I should introduce myself nonetheless.  Below is a list of mundane things that people may want to know about me. 

My name is Leah Wright and I'm in my early 20's. I'm finishing up my university days right now in New Zealand. What am I doing here you may ask? The simple answer: student teaching.  The more complicated answer: getting away from home to overcome my anxieties, introducing myself to another culture halfway around the world, traveling just to say I did, revisiting a country that called to me as a child, learning a different approach to teaching and learning, finishing my degree early, and finally student teaching.

• Favorite color: Orange
• Favorite animal(s): Cow, monkey, narwhal in that order
• Favorite food(s): Ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, and gyros. 
• I'm one of the biggest book worms you will ever have the pleasure of knowing. 
• I've read 25 books in the last 2 months…
• I watch the entire Harry Potter series once a month.  I'm on withdrawals right now because I couldn't bring them with me!
• I'm a Montana girl through and through.
• Growing up scares me more than anything else in the world.

Behind the Title

The first definition that Google comes up with for lumbering is, "moving in a slow, heavy, awkward way."  This was my first 'Aha! Moment' for my blog title.  I wanted something catchy (alliteration always helps), meaningful, and encompassing more than just the trip to New Zealand.  Being in New Zealand has sparked this idea to blog, but I know that this will become a journal of sorts explaining more of my life in general. 

 

Growing up I've always be an extremely clumsy child.  I could have grace on a dance floor, but I can't even walk up a set of stairs without tripping over my own feet. My parents always joked that we must have a "Harry Potter house" because I run into walls that have not changed in the 15 years I've lived in my childhood home.  They try to make me feel better by saying the walls and furniture move just like the magical stair cases in Hogwarts.  I feel as though this clumsiness has given me a right to an adjective like lumbering. 

 

The second definition on Google is for lumber, "burden (someone) with something unwanted."  This I also feel is very appropriate.  I'm not saying that my trip to New Zealand has been a burden, but my path to this very moment in life has been full of them.  I'm not complaining; the winding road has made me the young woman I am today.  I'm proud of my accomplishments, but these burdens have made me feel weighed down and heavy, exactly like I'm just lumbering through my life at times. 

 

Everyone has challenges and struggles in their life.  I think this is something that each and every one of us can agree upon.  People tend to feel very alone when they are going through hard times, I know I have. Hopefully, some of you out there will relate to parts of my journey and feel less like you are alone.