Competition time

Today I took six of my Spanish group to the Bremen languages competition.

They were really nervous but they did me proud. There were better and worse groups but despite some technical difficulties, mine represented their groups and the school well.

We were really impressed with the entertainment from the school and with the competition.

All groups received prizes and certificates, which was nice. There were lots of exciting prizes so we've agreed to go back with an English entry next year!

I think both the pupils and I am more prepared for the next time and it's so important to do these 'extra' things for languages.

Children's First Aid

Last night I took part in a children's first aid course. It was through the baby club at Werder Bremen Football Club.  Their events have been quite mixed so far but this was definitely the best.

It always surprises me how different things are here in comparison to the UK and usually, things here are much more logical.

For example, in Germany you have to pass a first aid course in order to get a driving license.  Also, in stark contrast to the UK, the only thing you can be sued for in terms of First Aid here, is if you do nothing to help.  I remember being told as a teacher in the UK, NOT to help injured pupils as parents have been known to sue teachers who have done the right thing and helped their child.  As a parent, I know which system I prefer.

Anyway, as to the course itself, while I have taken first aid courses at school (compulsory every three years for teachers), this was the first one I've ever taken aimed at young children and babies and there were lots of new tips and pieces of advice.

We covered the big things like CPR and the recovery position.  We covered preventing accidents and injuries as well as the treatment of a range of problems, from burns to bandaging cuts.

We received a free bandage pack for our bags and I bought a small guide.  It's so important to refresh and add to first aid knowledge when you have little ones running round, but in can be useful in any situation.

We were a little sad to hear that only 20% of people who receive CPR survive but as the trainer pointed out, those 20% are very grateful and make it worth it.  It also makes it all the more amazing that a friend of my family has performed CPR on and saved the lives of not one, but two people.

It's something I hope I never have to use, but I'm glad I'll be able to.

Ristedt

This week we have been in Ristedt with my class.

It's my third time taking them there but the first time without my co-teacher who is still on maternity leave so I took Nico, Isabella and a colleague with me.

On the programme we had - swimming (out- or indoor depending on the weather), cooperative games, an English rally, a group quiz, cooking, baking, barbecuing, a disco and a night walk.

It turned out to be a chaotic but fun time and a steep learning curve for me. I'm looking forward to London next year where the kids will be in host families at night.

I was writing to my penpal about the trip and realised I only went on one residential trip with my high school class - in the first year. I went on lots of other fun trips and loved them but they were all optional.

Here, it's normal for every class to go away together every year and apart from the stress for the teacher, I think it's a great way to get the class to bond.

Spanish Tip

Even though I won't be teaching for a while now, I'm always on the look out for new tips and resources. The same colleague who put me onto Babbel for my Turkish, also put me onto this teaching resource for Spanish.

It's a series set in Barcelona about an American learning Spanish. It's very visual and the actors don't talk too fast so the pupils really had understood a lot when I questioned them after the first episode. 

It's designed for English speakers but it's simple enough for our German pupils too. Have a look!

Brutal Honesty

One thing about my job is that you can always rely on pupils to be brutally honest with you, especially the younger ones.  This week it's been nice to have some positive comments on my new haircut.  (Only one pupil said just 'but why?'!)  Sometimes though, you have to develop quite a thick skin to last long in teaching.

One particular pupil was astounded to learn I was pregnant this week despite seeing me every day.  When we asked her if she hadn't noticed, she said 'I haven't seen you with your stomach lately...'  I almost pointed out to her that I hadn't been anywhere without it lately!

I don't mind that though - I did mind when the pupils thought I was pregnant last summer.  Cue crash diet!  No, seriously though, it is one of the joys of my job to collect some of their little comments.  I think the following may be my all time favourite:

Pupil 1: 'Miss, are you married?'

Me: 'No.'

Pupil 2: 'Do you have children?'

Pupil 1:  'Are you deaf?  She just said she's not married!'

I will miss this when I am on maternity leave.  The pupils are really the best thing about the job.

Teaching Tip - Lesson Planning Box

I'm one of those teachers who comes back from a training course and goes crazy carrying out a new idea with every single class I have, followed by forgetting the said idea and not using it again.

To prevent this, I decided to set myself up with a new filing system that I can refer to whenever I'm stuck for ideas.  I filled it up over the weekend with ideas from various courses and training sessions I have been on over the last five years, and plan to keep it up in the future.

It's great to have all these ideas in one place and they'll be accessible on my desk as of today!

Rory's Story Cubes

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My friend Loreto recently introduced me to these little gems when she bought me a set of the original dice (the orange box above).  They are brilliant!  We happened to have them on a training day we were at so got lots of ideas and tips on how to use them with classes and I've already started putting them into practice.

Basically, the pupils or students use the images on the dice to give them speaking ideas.  It can get very creative!

I was so impressed with them, I bought us the green (voyages) and blue (actions/verbs) sets.  Can't wait to use them too.  

My pupils always know when I've been on a good training day because I come back with balloons and new games, I hope they enjoy this one too!

London - part four. (The London Eye)

 On Monday evening, we took all three classes up the London Eye for a view over London.  I've been on the Eye before with my Dad so I knew what to expect but it was great to do it again with twenty-four interesting little people, spotting MI6 and all the sights we would visit in our trip.

 We got some great photos - of course I can't share any photos of pupils on here but here's me and Henrik, the class teacher.  I love this class and it was great to accompany them to London after three years of teaching them English.

Inspire Me.

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I have to admit, I'm finding it harder than expected to get through this last week at work.  I thought it would be easy until my colleague called in sick and left me with a class I don't know.  To be fair the kids were really well behaved (I hope that doesn't jinx it for the rest of the week...  One thing made me a bit sad was when they told me they won't achieve the leaving exam...being the 'bad' class.  I was talking to a colleague about this later which was coincidental because her class graduated last week and one of the girls mentioned the same thing in her speech, thanking the said colleague for never giving up on them even though they were the 'bad' class.  It really got me to thinking about where they get this attitude from.  As a teacher, there are certain classes that I dread teaching but I would never tell them that.  It just goes to show how much kids actually pick up on and it's something I need to work on - body language and being more positive.  This also struck me last year when I took a class I had been teaching for over a year on a class trip and they said it was the first time they had seen me smile!  It makes me sad to think that that's the impression I give off!  I think it's because I find it hard to strike the balance between being nice and being a pushover.  Being young and female already has it's disadvantages, especially in a school with so many Muslim boys!  So my target for next year - smile more and be nicer to pupils!  Actually, I'm going to start today when I am doing the game of life project with the same class again.

By the way, if you need a pick me up, try this.

Interview!

This week my old school friend, Leanne has answered my questions to let us know a little about her experience moving abroad. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Leanne, I’m 27 and I come from Yorkshire. I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2007 with a degree in Political Studies. I currently live in Gliwice, which is a city in the South West of Poland. I have been teaching English since my arrival in January 2011.

Which countries did you move from and to and why?

I moved from England to Poland in January 2011. After years of wanting to experience living abroad, I finally applied for a job in Poland. I had never considered Poland as an option prior to applying, but it seemed like a good opportunity to try both teaching and living in a foreign country. Three weeks later, I arrived at a very cold Krakow airport (thinking ‘Why did I decide this would be a good idea?!’)

What kind of expectations did you have before you moved?

My knowledge of Poland was limited before I moved here, so I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the country. Although I was apprehensive at first, my initial contract was only for 5 months, so I was aware that if I hated it, at least it would be over quickly!

Despite these early worries, I was very excited to try something new. I expected to learn a lot about Polish people and culture. I also hoped I would be able to learn a little of the language, and meet some interesting people.

Did your new country live up to these expectations?

Yes. And much more. After arriving and having a two-week orientation in Krakow, I moved to Gliwice. From the first day, I felt at home. The people were very welcoming and friendly. The city is fantastic. The students were lovely, and were keen to teach me about Poland.

What was the best thing about moving?

The people I have met and the things I have done. Moving here opened up a lot of new things to me and I have tried to get involved with as many as possible.

What was the worst thing?

It can be frustrating living in a country and not having a good grasp of the language, although I have never had any real problems with communication. Small things can also be irritating – such as Post Office etiquette! However, I wouldn’t say there are any really bad things about moving. My experience has been extremely positive overall.

What has been your favourite experience since you moved?

My current location means it is easy and cheap to travel. So far, I have visited Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia, Austria and Czech Republic. I’d say my favourite experience was going to lunch one day with a friend and just deciding to go to Prague on a whim. An hour later we were packed and on the bus to the border.

What steps have you taken to accustom yourself to your new country?

I have started Polish lessons and am trying to study at home. It is a very difficult language to learn, but after a year of being completely baffled by the grammar, I am slowly starting to understand! Polish people are proud of their country and customs, and a lot of students and friends have taken me to visit the mountains, museums, lakes, castles and even a salt mine. They are very keen on sharing traditions, too (many of which revolve around food and alcohol). This has made it incredibly easy to settle in.

What tips would you give someone else thinking of moving abroad / to your country?

Do it! In my experience it has been the best thing I’ve ever done, and has given me a lot more confidence to just go out there and try different things. I have seen people move and decide that it wasn’t for them, but I think they all took something positive away from their experience. I also think that you get out what you put in. If you’re willing to make an effort to get to know the locals and the country, you will be rewarded. Talking more specifically about Poland, I would say that whatever preconceptions people have, they should leave them on the plane. It is a beautiful, interesting and very safe country. The people are some of the most welcoming and friendly I have ever met.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

Cooperative Learning

Five and a half weeks of holidays flew by and in that time my brain did take a complete break.  I had completely forgotten everything that was said at school in the last few days, even down to the time we were supposed to be in yesterday (luckily I checked that with a colleague on Saturday).  This is why it was a really nice surprise to find out yesterday that not only did we have a later start of nine and an earlier finish of two but in between we were training on one of my favourite topics at the moment - Cooperative Learning.

I say my favourite, I first came into contact with this concept at my first school where it was a really big new idea that everyone was expected to adapt to.  We were given plenty of training and I really like many of the concepts but being a typical Aries, I don't like being made to do anything.  There have been times, up to and including last week when I have cursed the whole theme bitterly, it being the basis of my dissertation for my MA.  However, yesterday was really inspiring.  As well as a reminder about all that is good in Cooperative Learning, it gave me new ideas, lots of useful related German vocabulary and the inspiration to start afresh and really get cracking with my dissertation project so it's about to be a busy two and a half months!

On Dating Fellow Teachers

I've read articles on it in the TES, I witnessed it as a pupil and now I'm actually part of the trend that is teachers who date teachers.  According to the article I read, it is far more common in our profession that many others.  Indeed, at my former high school there are now three married couples teaching there as well as others dating other teachers there or teachers from other schools.  

It's my (rather subjective) opinion that teaching is quite a unique profession and despite the "ridiculous amount of holidays" we get, actually quite stressful.  I think this is one of the reasons we teachers cling together.  When you have been on your feet teaching groups of 24+ kids all day, marking a stack of homework and planned all your lessons for the next day, you need someone at home who understands that you are mentally and physically exhausted.  Of course it's not as bad as this every day or we wouldn't do the job but it's really nice to be able to go home and talk about your day to someone who understands exactly what you are going through and can lend a supportive ear. I've talked before about how we share ideas for teaching and that's another thing I love about our shared profession. 

However, sometimes dating another teacher can take its toll.  Over the last month both of us have had exam classes and marking and end of year reports and a whole host of other stresses at work and while it's great that we understand each other, two of us so stressed at the same time is not always productive.  The lack of energy between us meant that some things like cooking together went out of the window and we have been living on fish fingers and chips for a while! 

Which is why this week has been so great.  The school year is almost over, lessons are finished, reports are written and there's no more planning or marking for six weeks.  We're almost ready for our big move and just need to pack for our trip to England.  The last two or three days, we've cooked together, had time for each other and been out and about in Bremen sightseeing.  It's just like when we first got together nine months ago and I love it!

Cups!

Both the high point and low point of my working week last week stemmed from a new idea I have been trying out with my year six classes.  In my first school, there was a big focus on Cooperative Learning and one idea was the use of cups.  Classrooms were generally set up in group tables of four and the idea was that three cups were stacked in the middle of each table - red, yellow and green.  At the beginning of the lesson, the green cup is showing and the idea is that as the lesson progresses, pupils can change the order to show how they are understanding the learning of the lesson.  I chose to start this with year six because my best behaved and lovely English class is in year six and my year six Spanish class has only 15 pupils.  

So, first came the Spanish class ... and the low point.  The pupils thought the cups were wonderful - especially when they had a problem as they then placed the whole stack of cups on their heads and made siren noises - fantastic.  They may be my smallest class but it is incredible how much noise 15 pupils can make!  Needless to say that I won't be trying the cups out with them again.  I dread to think what they would have done had I not threatened a one Euro per cup fine for any damages!

Luckily, I still persisted in trying them out with my English group too.  This wasn't exactly problem free - Pupils insisted on putting the red cup foremost even if they weren't completely stuck (the rule was, green when it's all good, yellow if you have a question but can move on to the next exercise, and red if you don't understand at all) and then shouting when I didn't go straight to them and five or six red cups were showing!  However, I think with a bit more training, this will really work with this group...and my highlight?  The weakest pupil in the class coming up to the front after the lesson..."Well done Miss Shires, I think the cups were a really good idea"!

I love my job!