"We Are Living Like Fuel On Fire!"

I have one month left in the UK -- where did the time go? I could have sworn I just got here. Here's the 411:

01) "Where's the pleasure in Pleasure Beach?" After weeks of being cultured individuals, we decided to take a weekend off of sightseeing and spend a day with our English friends in Blackpool, which is on the Northwest coast. When asking what Blackpool was like, my friend Lisa replied: "Blackpool is the skid mark of society!" The city's main attraction is a theme park called Paradise Beach, built next to the Irish Sea. The English kept warning us that we were going to be disappointed if we were expecting Disney World, so I came in with little expectations. Somewhere between the misplaced Aloha signs and the lack of safety regulations, I found myself having the trashiest, cheesiest day in the UK, but it was a dead good time. Our most memorable moment had to have been when Whitney, Florian, Philipp, and I waited in the queue for the best rollercoaster in the park for over an hour, only to have the ride close on us as we were next in line. After the initial shock, we all had a good laugh and let Blackpool make it up to us by offering the best fish 'n chips and mushy peas we've ever tasted at Pablo's on the South Pier. By the end of the day, we were whip-lashed, wind-burned, and all smiles. Another great weekend in a great country...

2) Sweet Summertime? Although the daffodils have been in blossom for about three weeks now, they are completely out of place with the overcast, crummy weather. However, the clear skies and sunshine have made a few appearances in the past week, and we've had a few 58-degrees days, perfect weather for shorts and flip flops? Apparently so, because that's what everyone has been sporting in Liverpool, while I'm still bundled up in a jacket and pants. What on earth are the Scouses thinking?! I was discussing my outrage with another student teacher at my school, and he laughed, admitting that he too is one of those walking around in shorts and flip flops. He explained to me that 58 degrees is practically summer for the UK. I was astounded, because Summer for an American consists of bathing suits and, most importantly, 85 degrees. I can't imagine a summer without these two factors. No wonder there are so many "sun beds" in this city...there's no sun!

3) "Mr. Pratt, are you and Miss Fisher married?" The past three weeks have been my assessment period, meaning I'm evaluated to see if I'm either going to be teaching in the fall or taking the easy way out and becoming an actress. I wasn't afraid of the latter, but I wanted to challenge myself, so I took on some "difficult" tasks. Two weeks ago, my students were in Wales for a camp focused on leadership and teamwork. When my students asked me why I wasn't coming with them, I told them Miss Fisher had to stay behind and water their sunflower plants. Although there was some gardening duties, I was actually going to be teaching supply (subbing) in Year 4, as Mr. Roberts was going to Colomendy with my students as well. Since there was already another student teacher in there, Mr. Pratt, I ended up tag-team teaching for the week, having Mr. Pratt teach Literacy in the mornings and me teaching an art unit for the rest of the school day (we took chairs from the infant hall and made them into "Liverpool vs. Everton", "High School Musical", "Springtime", "Technology," and "Hannah Montana" chairs. It was chaotic and messy, and I cannot wait to teach the unit again). By that Friday, the students were calling Mr. Pratt "Mr. Fisher" and asking us if we were married -- it was out of control and by far one of the most fun weeks I've had teaching at Northway. Seeing that I could handle supply, I also asked to teach full-time last week, seeing that I will be doing just that in the fall. It too went very, very well, and now I know I'm more than ready to have my classroom...so bring it on, September!

4) "We are SO proud of you, Miss!" Last Monday I got a 48-hour notice that I was having my final assessment done Wednesday at 1:30 P.M., meaning I was being observed as I taught Design and Technology aka a subject I know virtually nothing about (cams, followers, rotary and linear motion...I'm about as familiar with these concepts as I am with Astrophysics). If that wasn't bad enough, my students didn't do their part in bringing in their "moving toys", which was crucial to my lesson. I ended up throwing out the plan altogether and scrambling during my lunch hour to come up with a new lesson. After running around the infant hall and rummaging through baskets of toy trucks for 20 minutes, I found the necessary inspiration. The lesson went better than expected, and I am proud to say that based off of my evaluations, I will be able to teach in the fall! When I told my kids, they cheered. I'm happy they're as excited as I am.

So what's next? I still have two more weeks at Northway, wrapping up the Literacy and D&T units as well as directing the Easter Play, which will be performed on my last day. Then it's off to Madrid and Barcelona with Luke Boote for one week, followed by a Fisher Family Reunion (minus Brother Brian) in Liverpool, followed by as much fun as we can possibly squeeze into six days before Whitney and I take off for the Motherland. So much to do, so little time...

Cheers.

"Why Do I Know This? Because I Am A Dancer!"

I might be great at completing my lesson plans on time, but I have failed miserably at updating my blog. In my defense, it only means I've been busy, and I have been posting photos frequently (so I'm not dead to the world). So much is going on in my life right now. Here's the sparknotes version:


1) Miss, Miss, Miss, Miss...Miss! I have just completed week seven of my student teaching. Only five more weeks to go...wow, that was fast. I'm currently teaching 75% of the time for the next four weeks, and then the last week will be me giving the teaching time back to my teacher. So far, I have taught one art unit ("talking textiles"), two literacy units (Greek mythology and a poetry/fairy tale unit revolving around Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), swimming (yes, you read right...we go swimming every Wednesday. By law I cannot get into the pool with the students, so I instruct from the ledge, something I find very difficult after three summers of being a hands-on swimming lessons instructor), and a religious education unit (perspectives of the Bible). For the rest of the term, I will be teaching maths (metric mass, data, application, calculations), science (the life cycle, which includes reproduction...yes...I will be saying sperm + egg = a baby), more literacy (recounts), and design and technology (toy-making).

If you ask me, teaching is a challenging occupation. No matter how much work I get done in a day, there is always something else on the do-to list. Lesson planning, differentiating (I have a huge range of abilities in my class: some of my students are working on properly using quotations while others are still learning how to begin each sentence with a capital letter and end with a "full stop"), prepping, teaching, assessing, grading, reflecting...it's a "vicious" cycle. However, there is no greater feeling than seeing your students "get it", especially my low-attainers. As each day passes, I see that teaching is my calling; it's what I'm meant to do.


2) Traveling provides you with experiences that will forever remain locked in the scar tissue of your mind. Part of being abroad is seeing what's out there. In addition to seeing the beauty of Liverpool (note: if you do fancy coming to Liverpool, it can be done in about a day, or even an afternoon if you powerwalk), I've done a daytrip to Chester, Cheshire, a weekend in London, and--drum roll please--a backpacking excursion to Ireland, Scotland, and The Netherlands with two American student teachers.

a) Chester: a really old city with really old Roman ruins...that's about it.

b) London: After almost four years, I made my return to one of my favorite cities in the world. The coolest part for me was seeing a monument, site, painting, or street, and my memory would trigger to something that happened on my last visit, things I haven't thought of in years. The trip itself: there were six of us, three American girls and three German guys. We all shared a room and shower in the shittiest hostel in all of London (our hostel adjacent to a graveyard, meaning that when you opened your window and looked down, you saw about 400 headstones...I can't forget to mention the grafitti of Tina Turner on the walls). I laughed at how outraged some of our traveling companions were with our accommodation. We only paid 22 quid for two nights! I cannot forget to mention spending time with a beloved American, Mr. Ian A. Lathrop. It was so nice seeing a familiar face and walking at a pace too fast for my legs. Overall, it was a good weekend with good people.

c) Dublin, Edinburgh, and Amsterdam: For our trip, Whitney, Ali, and I each picked a city we wanted to see. Ali chose Dublin, I chose Edinburgh, and Whitney chose Amsterdam. Each city had its highlights and lowlights, but I was happy to explore each city. My favorite experiences had to have been when we traveled outside of the cities. In Ireland, we took a tour of the Irish coast and the County Wicklow ("The Garden of Ireland"). In Scotland, we traveled over 400 miles in about 12 hours, going as far as Loch Ness (Scotland will never cease to impress me with their lochs and mountains, and no, Nessie did not show her face). I'm sad to say we never made it out of Amsterdam, and no, it's not because we were high the entire time, nor is that the reason we went to Amsterdam. We were too busy paddle boating in the canals and enjoying our houseboat (there's no other way to stay). Backpacking is always an adventure, and in my opinion you learn more about your friends and, most importantly, yourself. I could go on for days about backpacking, so if you'd like to know more, schedule a coffee date now -- I've got some great stories.


I'm going to have to stop here today, because I'm sure most people stopped reading after point one (I take no offense, because I'm great at rambling). I will be sure to update at least two more times before my student teaching is over. I'm sure I'll have another story or two to tell. Cheers.