Week 5 – Professional

‘I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ (United States Code, 2006)

For part of one of our modules we must partake in 30 hours of observations which began this week. Kelly and I are observing a kindergarten class of 3-4 year olds in an on campus school called ‘Willie Price’. We are in the same class which was strange for both of us as we are used to having our own class. In the near future we may also have to co-teach some lessons which will also be in a new experience. The school looks very much like a typical primary school back home with its colourful tiles and displays of students work collaging the corridors. However one big difference was seen on one corridor which displays the children’s handprints in red. With them between white lines and beside the stars in blue, the combination represents the American flag as shown in the picture. This, along with the children standing with their hands over their heart and quoting the pledge of allegiance (shown above) every morning further reminded me of how patriotic the American people are.

Kelly and I were lucky enough to begin our observations on 14th February, also known as Valentine’s Day. I had predicted that the children would possibly produce a card each to send home to their parents which is what commonly happens at home but what we observed went further than any of my predictions and expectations. Firstly each child brought in small presents/cards to give to every other member in their class resulting in each child going home with a bag full of presents! The day was filled with free time and parties, some of which were organised by the parents who also came in to join the fun. What amazed me was just how enthusiastic the parents were. The mums especially, seemed to be very involved in making this a memorable Valentine’s Day through providing activities such as making heart shaped bird food holders and providing heart shaped cupcakes and sweets. They had everything organised right down to the very last detail. For example the table cloth was bright red and held red cups and heart shaped plates for lunch. I found it so surprising that such a fuss was made, especially for children who are not fully mature enough to understand what it all means.

The children are very outgoing and even within the first 15 minutes of Kelly and I being in the classroom they were jumping over us and getting us to read story after story. Back home there is such an awareness of the restrictions with regards to even picking the children up or giving them a hug. Here the children have a very strong relationship with their teacher as she is able to hug them and sets them on her lap if they feel upset which is rather unheard of at home. Furthermore I had expected to be called Miss Doone as this is the normal procedure in schools at home. But I quickly learnt that the children call you by your first name and I had to learn to respond to Miss Sarah. On our second day we witnessed more structured plan which included a Spanish lesson. Their level and ability in speaking Spanish was incredible which further emphasized the fact that young children are like sponges as they can absorb and retain so much information. I have learnt so much in the first week of observation and I enjoyed observing the comparisons and similarities between education here and at home. I thoroughly look forward to growing professionally during the time I spend at the school and not only will the children learn from me but I also hope to learn from them!

(23/02/2012)

References Title 4, Chapter 1 of United States Code (2006) The Pledge of Allegiance, available http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/4 (accessed 21/02/2012)

Week 4 - Cultural

It’s hard to believe that Kelly and I have been here now for almost a month. We have been kept so busy with classes and seeing all the new sights that we don’t even realise how fast time is going and this week has been no different. Classes have now started to pick up in work pace and over the next week we have a number of tests to complete. However unlike home, we get to do these tests online and there doesn’t seem to be as much pressure and stress to coincide with them which makes a nice change!

But the most exciting events of this week took place in a Mobile, Alabama which is where we were fortunate enough to spend the weekend. Ava (global ambassador) and her family were kind enough to open their home to us and we learnt more about the southern culture. It was a 5-6 hour drive to Alabama from Oxford, which despite being very long, was a pleasant journey with the help of good old country songs to sing along to. I still have not got used to people driving on the opposite side of the road and on the left hand side of the car over here. As I am a passenger I occasionally forget about the differences and have attempted to get into the driver seat before realising I’m on the wrong side!

On Friday night I went to my first Mardi Gras Parade. Mardi Gras is a carnival season and represents the time of celebrations before begin people begin to fast for Lent. The parade was filled with all different kinds of brightly decorated floats and very entertaining bands. In addition to having captivating appearances, the floats also carried people dressed up in costumes with masks who would throw colourful beads and cuddly toys out to the crowds who gather to watch them. In order to try and secure some of our own beads, we had to stand with our arms up in the air shouting and waving at the floats passing by. The entire parade was fascinating and it was impossible not to get drawn into the enthusiasm and excitement that overcame the crowd. During the parade I also noticed that the police patrolled the streets by horse which is something I have not witnessed at home!

On Saturday we had the opportunity to go shopping in Mobile in preparation for the prom party that we were attending that night. The prom is very similar to the formals which we would have back home although Americans do seem to put more effort in and go all out with expensive dresses and make-up. The party was more of a reunion of some of Ava’s cousin’s friends and represented bringing back some of their memories from their actual proms. Her house was decorated beautifully with balloons and a red carpet running into the house. There was even a prom ‘king and queen’ which I thought was a lovely idea. It has inspired some discussions between us about throwing our own formal party when we return home!

Week 3

"Then I'm walking in Memphis, walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale" (Marc Cohn)

One of the main highlights of this week was the international shopping trip to Memphis and the international Market on Saturday. On our way there, I noticed a lot of police cars passing by with a number of cars in tow with their headlights flashing. We were told that the reason for this is because the police escort those attending a funeral to the graveyard. If you were driving over here and came upon this scene it would be courteous to pull over and let the cars past. I thought that this was a lovely, respectful gesture and one which again highlights the sense of community in Oxford

I really enjoyed walking around the shops and seeing the comparisons to home with regards to the style here. It is also customary here for the sales assistants to bid you welcome upon entering the shops and to constantly ask to make sure you know where to find everything. Upon leaving they also make sure to wish you goodbye, with the common phrase ‘ya’ll have a nice day now!’ The day was finished with a trip to the international market. It was fun walking around, trying to guess some of the foods as they were in all different languages. The thing that amazes me with regards to food over here is just how many types of the same produce you find. This makes it very difficult for me to decide which one is the closest to the type we get at home!

We finally got our fourth class sorted this week after much debate and patiently waiting. It is not the class we were originally meant to be in but rather a backup plan which turned out to be a rather interesting choice. The class is called Nature and Needs of those with Severe Disabilities. I have always ventured towards teaching those with Special Educational Needs and this class is giving me an even deeper insight into those students who have severe disabilities and how we can help them. I have enjoyed learning about the brain and what different areas do. We were also taught a little history in the videos we watched in class and I discovered that the first gas chamber build was in a hospital, in order to commit mass genocides of those who were classified as being ‘disabled.’ It was also heart breaking to learn of a man who had cerebral palsy being locked away in an institution by his own father for over 40 years. This was due to the lack of knowledge at that time about people with disabilities and the attempt to keep them separate from the outside world.

Towards the end of the week we were also taken to Ya Ya’s, a local frozen yogurt shop on the square. They have many different flavours of frozen yogurt, my favourite being the triple chocolate and birthday cake. It was delicious way to take a break from all the work we have been doing for our classes and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to relax and chat.