Fall

= pumpkin spice coffee.

Oh yes.

Pressure

As mentioned in my previous post, students here are very grade-conscious: there is the expectation that they will be graded for everything that they are asked to do and if they're not, it can affect the way that they apply themselves to the task. Having seen the work some of these students produce, I think perhaps an ongoing system of assessment can, and does, help to ensure students give their best; I'd love my students back home to give as much of themselves to a task. However, the flip side of this seems to be that students here can often feel under enormous pressure. The majority of both my Honors and AP students were relieved that they were not being graded on the game-show 'quiz' (I explained the objective was to consolidate their understanding and knowledge of the topic as this will enable them to perform better in subsequent tasks). We've discussed the difference in the system and have agreed that whilst I will regularly employ the range of assessments they need in order to maintain their GPA, I will also be setting tasks UK-style where the focus is very much on the outcome of the task itself and how it will benefit their learning experience. I'll also be using AfL, which is something they do do here, just not as extensively. My AP class were especially delighted with this suggestion, I imagine because for them, the stakes are even higher.

These students are also currently under the additional pressure of applying for a place at college (i.e. university). In the US, each college-bound student will write and submit a resume to Guidance, as these will be used by both them and teachers to write references. There is an online application system called 'Common Apps' which enables students to write a single application for use with over four hundred colleges. Some colleges require individual applications. The vast majority of colleges require students to write an essay (usually on a general topic which will ultimately provide an insight into the individual) and pay an application fee. Whilst they choose a subject to 'major' in, they will continue broad studies at college (English, Math etc) and degrees usually last four years. Also, colleges here differ from UK universities as a significant number are faith-based; so a Catholic college, for example. Over the coming weeks, students can attend open days at the college(s) that interest them. The whole process is therefore an added stress in their final year.

I am therefore interested to see how my mixture of UK and US assessment methods will pan out: it could go either way! With the context collaborative presentations, the students knew they'd be getting a classwork effort grade, so if in future I assign a similar task without such grading, I will be taking note of whether they apply themselves with as much enthusiasm and dedication. Either way, they're really responding to my methods, which is fantastic.

The AP class presented their context collaborations today and they somehow managed to be even more impressive than with their previous efforts: they devised a five act puppet show on the Epic Warrior and chivalry, a cookery programme complete with eggs that cracked to reveal Saxon, Angles and Jutes yolks and accurately measured props in order to bake Angle Saxon cookies, and an amazing dramatisation on religious change. Videos of these presentations should be uploaded soon.

The Honors classes have furthered their knowledge of context - and also the key features of Anglo Saxon poetry (our warm up focused on definitions and examples) - through looking at a short Horrible Histories clip on ritual and exploring the fate of bog bodies through the analysis of some of Seamus Heany's poems (most rewarding moment of the day was a student who has now developed a love for his poetry). Somewhat fortuitously, British news today revealed a significant discovery of an Anglo Saxon treasure trove in Suffolk: one million pounds worth of Anglo Saxon gold and silver which is likely to change our view of the period entirely. We therefore read, watched and discussed the news articles (which even contained reference to Beowulf!). Tomorrow we'll be listening to the Prologue in actual Old English before getting stuck into the text proper.

The success of this weeks' lessons has also helped me to feel less pressured, as I feel as if, for this week at least, I've done what I came to do: a good job.

Here's one I made earlier...

Both Honors classes have now presented their collaborative context research pieces and overall, their presentations were as impressive as those given by the AP class (see above for examples of both their work and that of the AP class). I was treated to a Town Crier, a poem, recipe, map, several timelines, a menu and 'Did You Know?' lists. Even more unique was the 3D warrior head, decorated with stained glass mosiac and musical notes to represent how the stories of a warrior's achievements were told, a rather realistic issue of Time magazine and a rap!

The sports-themed game show quiz (complete with opening theme music) also seemed to work well as a consolidation task: students were given ownership of writing both the questions and finding the answers beforehand and their answers demonstrated a solid grasp of the contextual information. They seemed excited by the theme music and prizes and became quite impassioned at times! I did get several students requiring clarification on how they were being graded though, as the expectation seems to be that I would grade them for such a task (and even the word 'quiz' itself has a very different meaning for them; I had to emphasise the 'game show' element in order to enable my students to fully grasp the nature of the activity). In the end, I opted to give them a class participation grade as their true understanding of context will become apparent in their ability to apply it to their analysis of Beowulf.

Little Pleasures

I had a good day today. A REALLY good day.

Teaching here so far has been relatively uneventful. I've been pleased with my lessons and have enjoyed working with my students; I believe I'm establishing a rapport with all my classes. I've had sunshine moments (where the sun seems to shine that bit brighter), such as when a College Prep student told me he's stuck the essay he'd got an A for on his fridge, so he can feel good about himself whenever he goes to get a drink and when a parent praised me on my 'astute' observations on her son (it is usual here to have to email a parent with a brief summary of lessons and homework by a specified day each week; I have to do this for three or four students. I've also picked up the phone in my classroom to find a parent on the other end!). That said, I've also had moments where I've fretted over all the forms of assessment I need to undertake and also how to plan using textbooks and an entirely different curriculum.

I'd therefore been worrying about how to approach Beowulf - specifically the ten or so pages of contextual information at the start of the unit in the textbook - with honors students when I've only previously taught it to twelve year olds, and British twelve year olds at that (I do think there is a difference in terms of contextual knowlege, due to cultural differences). I'd mulled over approaches for days, setting the reading as homework before I'd made a final decision on the route I wanted to take. So today, I was delighted when the route I took seemed to be a resounding success.

In addition to writing the lesson objectives on the board, I also wrote up two columns: A and B. Column A contained a range of presentation methods, such as a recipe, flow chart, images, etc. Column B listed the five key areas covered by the contextual information in the textbook. After a brief starter, I explained the class was to be divided in two and that the two teams would be competing against each other (this always ups the ante!) for a prize. The teams were told that they should decide amongst themselves who would work on which area but that by the end of the lesson I wanted all five pieces of work from Column B, presented using a range of methods from Column A (one of which was 'other', so that they could be as creative as the bounds of their own imagination). The teams will be presenting their work next lesson, enabling them to further consolidate their understanding of the topic (as they are more likely to retain the information if they have to explain it to someone else) and me to decide a winner. In both classes, all the teams threw themselves into the challenge with gusto and the standard (and creativity of the) work they produced was phenomenal. I even got asked by several pupils if they could do further research and add to their presentations for homework! Additionally, the students were very vocal in their praise of the task, which was satisfying to me.

I'm looking forward to the presentations and intend to consolidate the introduction to the unit by getting them to submit their own quiz questions (of the game show kind as opposed to the US school kind) and we'll culminate with a version of the Talking Football game, adapted to suit the rules of American sport (as most students here are very sports-focused).

My AP class also blew me away today with their presentations on mythical allusions. Even when I taught A level students I don't think they ever gave so much of themselves when presenting work - or allowed themselves to be quite as creative - as these students. Some had made actual children's story books, complete with illustrations, and delivered the story in the form of 'circle time'. Others made huge poster boards or professional PowerPoints (in one case, where each slide had been physically drawn by her on the computer too). The highlight of the lesson though was the presentation given by the token male of the class, who'd made a series of masks (see above) and acted out the tale of Medusa, playing every role.

Having worked in schools, and with classes (and I'm not talking about Fairfield here) where even the most interative, creative, 'bells and whistles', lesson seems to have little effect, even on the able, to be able to harness the creativity and enthusiasm of these students is in turn infusing me with possibilities: this could be fun!

Black Sunshine

Last weekend I was joined by a fellow UK Fulbrighter, Matt, who is spending the year at an elementary school in Washington DC. Matt flew in to Boston Logan Friday evening, so collecting him from the airport was my biggest driving challenge to date. I managed to get there without any problems and even persuaded the surly police man to let me stop at arrivals for, "two minutes" (how one is meant to collect anyone from the collection point if they're not allowed to stop is beyond me). Fortunately, Matt was able to get to the car within the allocated time slot. The journey back was slightly more eventful, as the SatNav I was using (yes, *me*, using a SatNav!) took us into central Boston, instead of out to the Mass Pike. This was rather daunting, to say the least, but I kept telling myself if I could drive central London at rush hour (which I have done, albeit many moons ago now) then I would be just fine. And I was. Just.

Saturday started with a drama, but thankfully not a crisis. We'd decided to get the train to Boston from a nearby station but alas, on a Saturday, we had a choice between 9.38am and sometime between two and three in the afternoon. Neither of us are natural early risers, so the former didn't appeal, but the latter wouldn't have afforded us enough time. We made it to the station, or rather, platform (as passengers must buy their tickets on the train) with only minutes to spare. Expecting to have to place a parking ticket inside my windscreen, I left the driver's door of the car open whilst we went to pay. The system for payment, however, was so strange to us both that I decided it warranted a photo (see above). Basically, there was a metal plate containing lots of teeny tiny metal slots. To pay, we had to insert $4 (either in coins or notes) into the teeny tiny hole that corresponded to the number of the parking space we'd parked in. A metal implement on a wire was provided to help jam everything in. To take said photo, I placed my purse and bag on a top of a handy bin. I then dashed to lock the car and we headed to the platform. We quickly realised (by the fact everyone else was facing us) that we were actually on the wrong side of the platform and legged it across the bridge, making it on to the correct side just as the train drew to a halt. Relieved, we boarded.

Saturday was a beautiful day; unadulterated azure skies and pleasantly warm. We settled back in our seats and chatted away happily. That is, until the ticket collector arrived and I discovered my purse wasn't actually in my bag, or anywhere else about my person. I imagine I must have looked just about as distressed as I felt as the ticket collector told me to take some time to decide what I wanted to do, talked me through my options and left us to mull it over. He'd mentioned calling Grafton police and it was at that moment I realised that I didn't have a clue how to do that, or even how to find their number. I decided to call Christina, who's been a good friend to me since my arrival and who is a colleague at my school. She lives fairly close to the station too. She was fantastic, immediately leaving to see if it was still at the station. Waiting for her call seemed to take forever though - I felt sick, scared and very, very stupid. Luckily for me, the purse was where I'd left it - on top of the bin - complete with all its contents. As Matt didn't want to miss out on the full Boston experience, Christina agreed to hold on to my purse so that we could continue our journey.

Rather ironically, I was to be Matt's tour guide in Boston. Luckily for me, I have been there several times now with Michelle and Michele, both of whom have told me about the various sections we've been walking around and we've also taken a guided tour of part of the Freedom Trail. We began our day at Boston Common and then followed the Freedom Trail to its end. As we walked, all the snippets of information and history I'd gleaned began to slot together and I was able to tell him a fair amount, I think. We also ventured onto parts of the Trail which were new to me too: we climed all 294 steps of the Bunker Hill monument and boarded the USS Constitution, which at almost 212, is the oldest commissioned battle ship in the world (HMS Victory is older but she's permanently docked).

The afternoon was entirely pleasant: we talked, we laughed and we ate ice cream. We'd decided to take the eight thirty train home but I'd somehow not read the train timetable properly and we discovered that train only went part of the way back. We therefore had a further four hours to kill before our train home (which also happened to be the last train home). Matt suggested the cinema, so we navigated our way to a rather lovely one near the Common. Alas, our film choices were limited to three films which fell within our time slot and the best of these appeared to be the latest Matt Damon offering, The Informant. If you were thinking of going to see this, don't bother. Seriously. Experiencing a cinema in America was, however, interesting as it made a cultural difference apparent that never would have occured to me: the audience react far more to the events unfolding in front of them. The film was peppered by loud, hearty laughter from a fair proportion of the audience and several people even shouted out comments to the screen! Despite the film not being to our taste, it passed the time (and I discovered a fab white cherry slush drink) and we made the final train without further incident.

Sunday mainly consisted of a leisurely brunch - blueberry pancakes for me, cheese and ham omlette for him - and then a return to Logan. And yes, I *did* end up in central Boston on the way home. Again. I really need to figure that one out by the time Ry arrives! Despite the dramas, I thoroughly enjoyed both Matt's company and the weekend. Good times!

School Daze

Win!

'Leadership is a quality of those who earn the respect of others through the wisdom of the combination of their words and their actions.'
Walter Grant IV

A school is only as good as the people who lead it; I have, in my time, taught in many schools with fantastic staff but weak management and making any form of progress is virtually impossible. Part of the reason I knew Fairfield was for life and not just for Christmas was because of the exemplary leader we have in Chris Barker. As a teacher there, I feel supported and enthused with possibilities.

Northbridge High School has a shiny new leadership team - here known as 'Administration' - and thus even to those who work here permanently, they are still a relatively unknown quanitity. I was therefore pleasantly surprised today, upon being asked to meet with the Principal, to find that they are also both strong and supportive.

In my previous post, I told of my anger at being called out of a lesson by the local intrepid reporter. As it turns out, he had neither the permission nor the blessing of Administration to do so and furthermore, they will ensure this does not happen again - to anyone. I was told that they support me and if this instance should reoccur then I simply have to make a call and they will deal with it. It was reassuring to hear that they too feel the most importance place for me to be is in the classroom. Additionally, they are highly visible within and around the school - the Principal often 'walks through' lessons and this too is a sign of good leadership.

I shall now relax, breathe and return my focus on the most important people in my working life: my students.

Seri0sly* Tamping

I actually got genuinely angry today, which is a rare event for me. What was that? A difficult student? Nope. An annoying colleague? Absolutely not. Red tape? Not even close.

As I was teaching a class of seniors, the phone in my classroom rang. Upon answering, I was asked to go to the school office. I explained that I was teaching but the secetary insisted I was to report there immediately, suggesting I ask a colleague to watch over my charges. Cold fear began to trickle down my spine: I was sure only bad news could await me.

My mind racing with potential scenarios, all of them horrific, I left the adjoining door between my classroom and Matt's open and hurried to the office, only to find...

....the local intrepid reporter.

As aforementioned, this gentleman has been after me since day one. I have evaded his attempts to photograph me to date, as is my right, but as I am aware that it's good publicity for the school and how prestigious the Fulbright scheme is here in the US, I have maintained that I will co-operate with him in every other respect. He's twice been provided with my contact details with the promise of an interview if he is to arrange a convenient time yet, until today, I'd heard nothing.

Evidently he has no awareness of the professional responsibility of a teacher or respect for the job that we do, as he had the audacity to ask me for quotes he could use in his feature and a photograph - right there and then! He'd refused to take no for an answer from the office staff, insisting he see me immediately. I explained to him, as calmly and politely as I could, that should he wish to arrange a mutually convenient time to talk I will provide him with anything he wants to know...except a photograph. I instead offered him a number of equally relevant photographic alternatives, none of which he was prepared to accept. Clearly, he was determined to go round in circles so, eager to return to the purpose of this whole exchange, I firmly told him if he really wants the feature, he needs to arrange a more suitable time to talk. Honestly! The cheek of the man.

* I do know how to spell 'seriously' - it's deliberate corruption for use on the interwebs and 'tamping' is Wenglish for really angry...or heavy rain...

Life Is Peachy

School life, that is. As I write this, I have completed my second week of school and I'm really rather pleased with myself. All my lessons to date have gone smoothly (here's to them staying that way) and I've even mastered the discombobulating rotation of classes and strange end- times to lessons: I've finished each lesson bang on time.

Aside from having to bombard Kristin with questions about the way she assesses the tasks she sets (to ensure that everything's the way she wants it upon her return), I think I've managed to ask the minimum of my colleagues - or at least I hope I have. They're incredibly supportive but I do like to be independent and am perfectly used to hitting the ground running, in a strange system, and just going with it. Also, as teachers here can really pretty much do as they please, lesson-wise, many of my colleagues haven't used the same tasks or texts. Assessment is definitely the only area in which my confidence wanes: it's become clearer over the last week but I still get confused over the exact difference between a test and a quiz and when you use them. The fact that students can and do get graded on doing work in class (basically, staying on task - American students expect to be graded for literally everything they do and are highly unlikely to produce anything if they're not getting credit for it) is also confusing to me as deciding on a mark out of one hundred for each student for classwork feels a bit like I'm basically pulling a grade out of the air!

I'm still stuggling with the early starts too: I've been early for work every single day but I really do feel very ill until around half way through the morning. The actress in me (the one that only comes out when I'm in a classroom...I think) has enabled me to do what I believe is at least a passable job at my usual enthusiastic delivery of content, even if I'm actually feeling below par. Even though school is over by two in the afternoon, I'm not really making the most of the rest of my day: to me, it feels like about 8pm. I've actually been going to bed here much earlier than ever before during my adult, or even teenage, life.

I love my classes though. Even the surly College Prep class are now responding to my greetings and my teaching. They've tried it on a few times, so I've reaffirmed my expectations and even the lesson which crossed both sides of lunch today - Friday - wasn't a problem. Drama games work well as starters and plenaries and I even got them to adhere to a period of silent individual work. The other College Prep class are sweeties. My seniors and AP students are simply delightful - as much as I love Fairfield, I've missed having A Level students and so it's been nice to teach at that level again. They're providing me with a brilliant insight into local culture in addition to enjoyable lessons. Diligent and enthusiastic, they produce high quality work on time, every time. This week we've been working on resumes and college application (read 'university') essays, which has been an enlightening process. Most rewarding of all, several students in every single class that I teach have repeatedly asked me to stay for the year! It's probably just talk, with an agenda, but it's still nice to hear. That said, I do miss my younger students, my form class and all the bouncing around in my socks that would usually be an integral part of my teaching.

I'm also on top of all the grading - marks get entered in a 'rankbook' on an application called IPass - and hope that I can remain so. I've been using my prep time effectively: I've also put up a display of the bio poems produced by every class and planned and prepared resources for the next week. The computers in the library are booked (another unfamiliar system successfully navigated) and I've begun getting my head around the Literature textbooks. Teachers here don't routinely get taken for cover for most of the year (though that's now also true of the UK too, except for Fairfield where the teachers have less classes on their timetables than the national average, so any cover isn't actually eating into the preparation time they're entitled to) though their 'duty' is an entire 67 minute lesson every seven days, as opposed to a fifteen minute break duty once a week. My duty is in the foyer, which I'm told is a good location. I must sit at a desk and check on any students who pass/ try to leave the building. Staff on duty can use the time to mark or read, though they will most likely be routinely interrupted. Mine seemed very long indeed, and I'll be sure to have a fleece with me for the next one: it's cold down there!

Teachers must also attend an hour-long after school meeting once a fortnight on a Tuesday. Our first one was this week. Facilitated by the local police, we received a presentation on 'lock downs'. Since Columbine, American high schools all have a lock down system where, upon a tannoy announcement, teachers must check the corridor, gather in any straggelers, lock their classroom door and herd their students into the corner furthest from the door and windows. Lights and any equipment must be switched off and everyone is to remain in this position until a signal is raised. In the event of a real scenario, local police would not wait for a SWAT team, as was the case with Columbine. Instead, they would immediately enter the building in search of the attacker(s). Disturbingly, we were also shown a video of the weapons high school students have brought into schools and where they've hidden them. The guy in the film had a grand total of one hundred and twenty concealed about his person, including a pen that has a blade concealed within it. I really hope that these precautions never become necessary in the UK.

I will end with an observation that amused me when travelling home one day this week. I've been staying after school most days, but on this given day I left at quarter past two. As I reached the junction for my street, I discovered I was behind one of the yellow school buses (which cannot fail to make me think of South Park, for some reason). It turned right, as I needed to do, and then immediately stopped - literally at the end of the road, meaning I could not make the turn. Initially puzzled, I watched as a little red 'Stop!' sign popped out of the driver's side and the students begin to disembark. As there's no public bus service here, there are no bus stops. Therefore, the bus has to stop in the middle of the road and the 'Stop!' sign becomes necessary. I aim to capture this digitally before my exchange comes to an end: it's a must-see!

Marmite: you either love it or hate it....

...most people here seem to hate it!

On Labor Day itself, I attended a cook out (that's a BBQ to you and I) at my friend Michele's house in Worcester. We were asked to bring something to share, which I did, but I also decided to take along a jar of Marmite as it was something Michele and I had discussed and she was up for trying it.

As it turned out, several people got in on the act. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be none too popular on the whole and the jar ended up accompanying me home at the end of the night! The consenus seemed to be it'd be better as an ingredient in a soup or some other concoction, as opposed to spread on toast. Watching the expressions as each person had their first taste of the rich, yeasty goodness was a joy to behold: I captured them all on camera. I think Marmite-tasting sessions may well become my entertainment option of choice at times when there's not much else on!

Aside from torturing my new friends, the day was really rather pleasant: good food, good company and lots of laughs. Michele even made me a special garlic-free dip so that I could join in with the eating-of-nibbles, a gesture that really touched me.

All-in-all, the Labor Day weekend was a good un'; definitely a good alternative to a British bank holiday (which don't exist here). I look forward to the next one, Columbus Day, with eager anticipation...especially as Ry will be here then, experiencing it with me *bounce* :D

G33k H34v3n

'There are only 10 types of people in this world; those who understand binary and those who don't'


(I don't know the original source, so I'll instead credit Mr Neil Lewis for that one ;))

Last Sunday, Michelle and Ronnie took me on a tour of Boston. We parked under Boston Common and embarked on a tour of the Freedom Trail (a brick line that weaves its way round all the historical places in Boston - what a fantastic idea!) led by a costumed guide. Finally, all the snippets of American history I'd been hearing slotted together. The tour only took us through a section of the Trail and I fully intend walking the rest at a later date. A Duck Tour (which takes you around the city in a vehicle that travels on both land and water) is on the cards, too.

The highlight of the day, however, was a trip to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - aka the MIT. My primary reason for wanting to see the campus was not because it's known for producing some of the greatest minds, possibly in the history of ever, or its technological prestige: I'd promised my very good friend, Tom (mykins) that I'd go there and provide a pictorial tour. The campus has some amazing architecture and interactive glass-walled buildings which could keep me occupied for hours (I'm easily pleased!). I fully intend returning to the campus to spend some time at the museum: so expect more on this place in the coming weeks.

WaterFire #2

WaterFire #1

WaterFire is an event held in Providence, Rhode Island several times over the summer season. Once dusk falls, around one hundred bonfires are lit on the canal system. Music is played and visitors can take a gondala or boat ride past them. There's also a fire juggler (he's above and also in #3). Whilst I'd have liked more of a history to the event, it is pretty magical and smells just like Bonfire night!

Press play on the eye before you start reading...please:

*assumes best Geordie accent*

Day One - 06.50

Day one teaching at Northbridge High School. Having been told by a colleague to aim to arrive before 7am as the traffic situation isn't especially easy to navigate once the buses and parents are there, I pulled up in the 'parking lot' with ten minutes to spare. Despite it being early September, my alarm had gone off when it was still dark, and, being a night owl, I was feeling far from my best...unfortunately for me, this is to be my life for the next sixteen weeks.

The high school system here is very different to the UK equivalent. School starts at 07.20 (aka stupid o'clock). There is no registration (the electronic attendance taken at the start of period one counts for this purpose) and so teachers here are teaching by 07.25. I'm pretty sure most of the students are struggling as much as I am to function on any level at that hour, so just how productive this start time is remains to be seen. Being the first day, the timetable was a one-off seven period day, meaning lessons were on average around 45 minutes. As there's only a ten minute break after lesson one (for this teachers remain in the corridors or with students - I'm missing Kath and her flapjacks already) and a twenty five minute lunch around 11am (yes, 11am!!!!! That's technically breakfast, not lunch, if you ask me). Lunch also forms part of an extended lesson, based on a rota according to the floor you're on. So I have students for twenty minutes, then we go to lunch and after twenty five minutes they return and the lesson resumes for a further hour. Teachers here teach pretty much straight through from 07.20 to 11.23 without any sort of break! Lesson-wise, the seven period day was like a weird form of speed dating (minus the dating part, of course).

Being used to Fairfield, I was initially surprised by how rude the students seemed: they wander into classrooms without knocking or even acknowledging the teacher; no one lines up; chewing gum is generally accepted (although staff *are* free to make their own rules - the words 'fighting', 'losing' and 'battle' come to mind) and, with my first college prep class, only one of the 17 or so students responded when I greeted them at the door. Also, when I invited said class to note down a stereotype and/ or question about Wales or the UK and post it under a series of magnets on the board, I had zero response. Not one student wanted to know anything. They did, however, sit in silence and followed my instructions without any problems.

As the day progressed, I realised that that class were not indicative of all US students. Most are genuinely interested in the culture difference and pleased to have me teaching them: I have some lovely classes. The youngest students I teach here are sixteen years of age, so it's a little different to what I'm used to but I'm really enjoying having 'A-level' students again. I was also pleased that nearly all my seniors responded to me greeting them at the door! The rest of my classes seemed pleased to have the opportunity to ask questions about my country. The stereotypes were interesting: having tea and crumpets was a frequent one but I also had the 'bad teeth' stereotype cropping up - again. One student even wrote that Brits don't have much need of electricity as we mainly live in huts in the hills! Most heart warming were the comments that appeared, several times over, from each class ' 'it's true that you have cool accents'.

Each lesson passed quickly and by the end of the day, I felt I'd started to gain an insight into the students who will be in my charge until Christmas. The school day ends at 13.55, but to someone who's only had a twenty five minute break in seven hours, it feels more like 20.55! Goodness knows what coming home to hours of marking every night is going to feel like.

Day Two - 12.50

My timetable is somewhat jammy, in that I have a free period every afternoon, after lunch. Teachers here have one - sometimes two - free periods a day, though the timetable runs over a seven day period so the total number will vary each week. Lessons last for sixty-seven minutes and one of these free periods will be spent on duty, supervising the foyer, but for now I have been able to enjoy the time to prepare for the next day. As there is a four minute passing period between each lesson, they all end at really weird times - like 10.48, 11.23 and 12.56. Today was the first day of a 'proper' five period day (which has entirely different times to the seven period day) and although I am still bemused and confused by the times on the schedule, I successfully managed to end each lesson right on time!

Having only taught my Honors and AP students, today was really rather pleasant. Which was fortunate as I'd had even less sleep than afforded by the ridiculous start time due to a rather horrific non school-related nightmare. We worked on letters of introduction and chatted about cultural differences. I'm starting off doing pretty much excatly what Kristin would do, though I did build in some of my own activities and a smidge of AfL, which seemed to work well. Within the first two lessons,the Superintendent of the district and both Principal and vice Principal came in, at various points, on a 'walk through'; they were doing this to everyone (I did wonder!!), I later learned. The Administration seem very supportive, which is nice.

One thing I simply cannot get used to is the tannoy system. Every classroom has a speaker built into the wall and every morning at the end of lesson one, the call will come for us to all stand and face the flag to pledge allegiance. This is followed by announcements. However, the tannoy frequently crackles into life, mid-lesson, to make an announcement, meaning the teacher and students have to pause in the middle of whatever they're doing/ saying and listen. One tannoy message instructed us teachers to check our emails! My students tell me sometimes a message will be delivered to individual teachers this way, too. Personally, that's a little too reminiscent of the telescreens in 1984 for my liking! Similarly, teachers can be contacted mid lesson via the phone in their room, even for matters which do not relate to the class that they teach.

Day Three - 15.30

I am pleased to report that my first week ended smoothly. I had the vice Superintendent walk through with the Principal today and she commented that she liked my lesson objectives; she also seemed impressed with what we'd been doing. Good times! I am aiming to keep the grading systems here in place but introduce more AfL too, along with my own style of delivery, as it's worked well thus far.

All the lessons went well - even with *the* college prep class. They did try it on initially but I reiterated my expectations and remained calm and consistent, despite the best efforts of one student who was really quite rude. Gradually, they began to meet my expectations (at least, for now!) and they ended up being the first, and only, class to applaud my letter of introduction to them! I don't believe they were employing sarcasm, either: they've finally started to ask questions about my culture and the difference with schools. Bizarrly, the turning point seemed to be when I told them that when I'm happy, I bounce. Go figure!

The rest of my classes were as lovely as ever. I was touched when reading through the letters of introduction written by the honors classes as many had said how pleased - more than one even used 'honoured' - to have me here, teaching them and that they hope I have a fantastic term. I'm encouraging them to dare to be an individual, injecting originality and creativity into all that they do, and their letters showed promise. I've also had several students imploring me to teach them for the whole year!

My students have given me the best insight into the school system so far. UK students have it so much better, I think. High school students here have to pay a sum of money at the start of each school year to entitle them to participate in any school-run activities. Those who play sports pay an additional fee - and it's not cheap. They are also expected to equip themselves with notebooks (in place of exercise books) and for some courses, they must buy textbooks also. And this is the comprehensive system, not private! Many of them work, meaning they finish school around 2pm and then work from 3 - 9pm. Only then can they start on their homework. Due to the grading system, where *everything* counts, if they are late submitting their homework they will probably get a zero. Homework has a much lower percentage in terms of their grade point average but it is still a tough penalty. I'm interested in how much of an effect it has on the sort of students who are perpetually in detention in the UK for not having their homework.

So it's all been good so far, but I've not yet had to really get my head around the multiple deadlines for each class each week: vocab tests, pop quizzes, tests etc etc...that bundle of joy awaits me after the Labor day weekend (like a bank holiday weekend, though I'm still trying to find someone who can tell me the background behind it).

Will I manage to cope with the amazingly complex grading system? You decide!

Professional Development. Ish.

Today was my first taste of professional development for teachers in the US. The District has employed Teacher's Consltant Dr Jerry Goldberg to facilitate the next three PD days (there will be follow-up days in October and November too). Goldberg's theme was the District's focus for this year: High Expectations and Active Engagement for All Learners. Teachers from the middle and high school gathered in the Media Centre for an 8am start. Upon signing in, we each received a packet (booklet to you and I) containing information and activities on: high standards; VAK strategies and learning styles (called modalities here); building context and prior knowledge; using the 10-2 rule (basically breaking down lesson content and allowing time for processing); having whole class, group, paired and individual activities in lessons; self reflection and assessment; student engagement (and what it looks like); Carousel Brainstorming (it's ok to say 'brainstorming' here (!)); differentiation and the jigsaw technique...pretty much, in fact, everything a UK teacher covers as part of their training (I know I did back in 2000 - 2001). I imagine it's the same for US teachers too...though some of the terminology differs: no one here has ever heard of a plenary!

Goldberg took us through each of the aforementioned areas, probing us with questions and asking us to complete the exercises in the packet. I did rather like the exercise he used, which he himself got from a course, where he asked us all to fold our arms and then look at whether our right or left arm was in front. He then asked us to try and fold them the opposite way, which, for most, is more difficult. Try it! As a general rule, those who have their left arm to the front (like me) are visual learners (correct), those who have their right arm to the front are auditory learners and those who have no preference or who didn't agree with their category are usually kinesthetic learners. We were then allocated a number and asked to stand next to a sheet of flipboard paper. The paper contained a question. Two groups worked independently on each question (there were five in total), writing in a particular coloured pen. Every five minutes we were asked to move in a clockwise direction (this will sound familiar to some of my colleagues and students, I'm sure) and add to the ideas on the next question...and so on, until all five questions had been answered. The questions were all based around the theme and I was surprised at my level of input: everything we do in the UK, daily, basically addresses them. After a short break, we then teamed up with the group who had been working on the same question as us with the aim of summarising the content into three key points, which we then had to present to everyone.

Goldberg encouraged us to use his praise system, which involved counting to three and then giving a single clap, after each presentation. We were also encouraged to provide feedback on what we'd liked about the presentation, much like Fairfield students habitually do, especially in Drama.

After another short break for lunch (which, for me, was spent in my classroom, frantically trying to prepare for my students' arrival tomorrow), Goldberg continued to take us through his packet. The main focus of the afternoon was differentiaton (again, I was reminded of my PGCE as it was definitely a buzz word then too). This time, we were divided into home groups for a jigsaw activity. We chose numbers and then moved into expert groups, with the aim of reading a page of text on 'Differentiated Instruction' and synthesise the information so that we could feed it back to the members of our home groups. Each 'expert' was given four minutes to provide feedback...I managed it in one minute and four seconds. Read into that what you will!

Finally, we were again assigned a number and put into one of fourteen groups, each working on one of seven tasks (it was, I think, meant to be competitive, though this wasn't really followed up, possibly as we ran over time). The tasks were all meant to show us what we could do with our students to get them to synthesise information. Our objective was the same: to summarise what differentiated instruction is and isn't. The tasks ranged from making to columns of bullet points, to making an acrostic poem, drawing images, writing a recipe and providing a 3,2,1 of features. My group were asked to divide our paper into four and think of four common objects. We chose: a pencil; a chair; a car and a shoe. We were then asked to think of similes we could make using these objects and differentiation, such as 'some pencils are sharper than others' or 'everyone needs a different kind of shoe'. Once again, we had to present our work to everyone and by the time we'd all finished, we were almost fifteen minutes after our scheduled finish time of 2pm.

The rest of the packet will be covered in October. A quick flick through tells me the areas we have to look forward to are: higher and lower order thinking; power words; what learning will look like; tiered activities and scaffolding; KUD (which is like KWL) and cubing (for my department, this last one is on the 'Boys will be Boys' course feedback on commonstaff).

Ish

I am not a morning person. Therefore having to be in school by 7.30am for my very first day at Northbridge High School this morning (and that's late by 'normal' standards - I'll be aiming for 7am from Wednesday onwards) was somewhat of a shock to the system! I arrived not-so-bright and early, joining teachers from all over the district for coffee, pastries and a chat in the bright and airy foyer.

This was a 'teacher's day', no pupils; more of an easing-in to the new school year. We gathered in the vast theatre (of the like I've never seen in a school) and were greeted by the Superintendent of the district, Susan Gorky. She introduced the Administration team (SLT to the UK contingent) and asked the new teachers to stand: each introduction was punctuated with applause. The auditorium was then asked to stand, en masse, and pledge allegiance. Witnessing this was incredible - every person around me stood, with their hand over their heart, speaking in unison. The only other time I've ever experienced anything close to it (and it wasn't really *that* close) was when on a day's supply at a Catholic school in Cardiff a class and the Headteacher chanted and made a series of hand gestures at the start of a lesson. This was followed by a recent graduate, Susan, singing the anthem. She did so without accompaniment: a beautiful rendition. The Superintendent then spoke of her vision for the coming year. The theme of the district for this year is 'High Expectations and Active Engagement for All Learners'. She spoke of what this might look like in the classroom: an Ofsted lesson!

A motivational speaker, children's author Peter Reynolds, then spoke to us of how to engage the disengaged and generally improve our teaching. His central message was that the key to success is to really endeavour to get to know your students as individuals and use this information to bring out the best in them - which is exactly what Fairfield does best! I think this must pose more of a challenge in a larger school such as NHS than at Fairfield but I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment nonetheless! Reynolds also pressed the importance of creativity and encouraging students to think for themselves; again, exactly what we do in the UK! He read (and projected) some of his stories, one of which was called 'Ish', which emphasises the importance of being an indivdual and giving anything a go... it quickly became the word of the day and I suspect, will become a faculty in-joke for some time to come! How teacher-ish! ;)

Reynolds' speech was followed by a quick break, during which time the elementary and middle school teachers departed for their own buildings. The High School staff met in the Media Centre (aka the library) for housekeeping and a discussion of the policies for the coming year: NHS has a new Principal who, coming from the middle school, is known and respected by his colleagues. He nabbed me for the 'getting to know you' exercise on the new teacher orientation day and we chatted at length; I am going to enjoy working with him. New staff were again introduced and applauded - I was given a loud round of applause and even some cheering, much to my surprise! I think people are perhaps more openly enthusiastic here. It's nice but is taking some getting used to - especially as I hate being the centre of attention (I'm still evading the local press!). The staff of NHS appear to be down to earth, friendly and welcoming: I will be supported here.

We then moved into departments with a central set of questions to discuss and return to Administration. These were mainly focused on how to improve the school, teaching and learning - specifically student engagement. As with the UK, the consensus was on consistency and differentiation (which brings us back to knowing our students as individuals). I was asked to explain the House system at Fairfield as NHS doesn't have an equivalent system.

Finally, we were given time to prepare for the arrival of our students on Wednesday. I put together a rather hastily made display of all things Welsh, based on the most common questions I have been asked, and also a section for Fairfield. I hope to use this board to generate discussiona and dispel stereotypes!

Tomorrow we are in at 8am (a lie in!) for a Professional Development day. Which will be interesting...ish! Then, on Wednesday, the real work shall begin!

Vermont

You know what they say...

...about all work and no play, right?! I made the most of my final week of freedom, thanks to my new colleagues and friends.

On Thursday, Michelle took me to Vermont to see some of the covered bridges. Vermont ('the green state') is beautiful and reminded me very much of home. It's more open than the places I've been to thus far and predominantly farmland, with hills never far away (ahh, hills, how I've missed you :D). Some of the roads were interesting though - mainly gravel covered! We passed what appeared to be houses selling maple syrup (they tap it directly from the tree - I am to witness this process before I leave) and pretty little farms before arriving at the first of the bridges. Built in the 1800s, the bridges were covered to protect them. They became known as 'kissing bridges' as they were the only places lovers could stop and get privacy. Usually painted red, they are pretty structures and we spent a pleasant afternoon photographing them whilst eating my imported Curly Wurlys! I am told Vermont is spectacular in the fall, and that it makes great cheese, so expect more on this state in a few weeks.

Friday brought an injection of history and culture. Matt, who proved to be an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide, took me to Concord, home of the Transcendentalists (Emerson and Thoreau) and the authors of Little Women and The Scarlet Letter. Concord is also the location of several significant events from the American Revolution, most involving the loss of British infantry! Concord is a lovely little town in its own right, but enriched with Matt's knowledge, it was an enchanting place.

Michele provided me with my much-needed rock fix on Saturday; we went to a bar in Worcester where there was an AC/DC tribute band and several support acts. Touch 2 Much were an interesting ensemble, putting their own twist on playing the Highway to Hell and Back in Black albums, almost in their entirety. By the end of the show, half the females present in the audience were gyrating on stage which is something I have (thankfully) not witnessed before. Needless to say, I didn't join them!

Wheels

'Wheels,
Burnin’ down the road, hitting overload'
AC/DC


I am pleased to report that I am now fully mobile! Good times! Aside from the occasional left-hand-randomly-changing-gear tick (!) and the odd clutch pedal moment, I now cruise the roads feeling pretty relaxed. I've driven at night, in torrential rain and on the highway, too. Being on the *right* side of the road is still a little odd, but I must have adjusted as Kristin's video of driving up the hill to my house made me feel distinctly nervous...as though the car was on the *wrong* side of the road. Bizarre. I'm becoming more concerned about my driving upon my return home than for the duration of my time here!

All I needed in the end was to believe in myself. Although credit must be given to WAAF FM (www.waaf.com - check it out as you can listen online for free and it's closest thing I can get to Bogiez!) as, as my constant companion, the rockin' tunes they air have been doing what good music does best: absorbing me entirely whilst simultaneously empowering me: some old school 'DC helped me to successfully navigate a tricky junction with ease! Having only brought one CD with me (as I have an ipod and itunes on my laptop) this station never ceases to brighten my day: Tool, Korn, old school Metallica, 'DC, 'Sabbath and Godsmack are all staples on the playlists. WAAF is a piece of Massachusetts I will definitely be taking home with me!

Armed with this musical artillery (no, not the Thrash band - no capital 'A' ;)), I have ventured solo several times now, exploring malls and the local 'shoppes' (I kid you not - that's the actual spelling for a retail park near Northbridge) in a bid to do some dreaded shopping for school trousers (aka 'pants') and shoes...seeing as I actually have to wear them this term (boo!). The retail park was much the same as those in the UK and the mall was a smaller version of Cribbs Causeway (though I have since been told there are better malls in the vicinity). Shopping in Macy's, a department store, the biggest difference I noticed was that there is no tag system for changing rooms - often they're individual and you can just walk on in - and even when a shopper uses a 'manned' one they are responsible for returning any unwanted clothes themselves.

Each state is responsible for determining its own taxes and the nice thing about Massachusetts is that clothes aren't taxed. I therefore found clothes shopping relatively inexpensive. Though, sadly, still traumatic! Food shopping is much the same, cost-wise, as in the UK, albeit more confusing as food isn't taxed but other products (such as kitchen roll) are...though the prices on display aren't inclusive of tax. Being somewhat numerically challenged (tax in Mass is currently 6.something %), I am therefore never *quite* sure what I'm actually going to be paying! It's the same in restaurants, where neither tax nor tips are included in the menu price. So whilst at face value it seems quite cheap, once the tax and a 20% tip have been added, an average meal is roughly equivalent to its UK counterpart (though minus the magical refills).

The experience of shopping, especially food shopping, is interesting in other ways, too. Being in a supermarket here is like being in an alternate universe - it all looks roughly the same at first glance, but on closer inspection, it's really not. The supermarkets here are a little bigger than those closest to my house, and more equivalent to the average size in the UK. There are, however, wider selections of some products, such as processed meats, dips and boxed goods. I think the ice-cream section is larger too, and some tubs are so large that they could come in handy for washing the family car when they've been emptied! Actually, most products come in larger standard sizes - economical for families but I'm conscious of the waste factor when you're buying for one: bottled fruit juice, for example, is generally sold in huge cartons or individual portion bottles. There is a large selection of chilled bottled coffee creamer - it's like the stuff you get in small pots in cafes in the UK but people use it instead of milk here, often flavoured with vanilla or some other substance. Boxed products seem popular, notably powdered drink mixes and dried mac 'n' cheese.

Being allergic to both garlic and onions, I've really struggled as they're in pretty much anything that's been prepared here, whether that's in a supermarket or a restaurant. Not that I mind too much as I usually prepare fresh produce myself anyway and there's a farm shop nearby that I can use for just such a purpose. I've noticed other differences with foods, too: bread products taste as though they have more sugar in them; recognised brands of chocolate (like Cadbury's) neither look nor taste the same; hot dog sausages are abundant but the sort of sausage we have in the UK is harder to find and brands are generally unfamilar and those that aren't look unfamiliar. It's really interesting as I'd not really considered the differences I'd find in the minutiae of these everyday things. I'm aiming to try as many unfamilar brands and products as possible in my time here in the effort to squeeze as much out of this experience as I can!

A question I'm often asked is what food I miss and I've struggled to answer as I'm not especially attached to anything to *that* extent. However, yesterday I had a sudden craving for a Sunday roast, something I don't believe I can actually get here...except maybe on Thanksgiving! Oddly, it's something I rarely have at home...go figure!

But I digress - I believe the focus of this missive was actually being on the road, not food! Although there are parallels between the two: again, there are many differences, aside from the obvious. Speed limits frequently alter on a given section of any road and they're generally slower than those in the UK. Near a stop sign (which are frequent and cars MUST stop at them), the speed will drop to 25 miles per hour. On a highway, the speed limit is usually 55 miles per hour. As I travel have to stay alert as the speed limit signs on a stretch of road may look something like this: 30 > 35 <25> 35 > 40 < 30. Junctions have a flashing red or amber overhead light and a 'first come, first served' system. At traffic lights, cars can turn right on a red light. Pedestrian crossings are just two painted lines and there aren't any lights to mark them so drivers have to be vigilant: they're meant to stop. Town pedestrian crossings have a 'countdown' system and a white man instead of our green one. Few crossings have buttons to press to control the lights. Round-a-bouts (aka Rotaries) are seldom found but if you encounter one you *have* to keep moving...and to the right! The biggest difference for me, is, however, that using a mobile whilst driving is legal, though it's currently in debate.

Having not driven abroad before I'm fascinated by these differences...my next challenge will be to navigate the many tolls and busy junctions to reach Boston Logan when my boyfriend visits. Wish me luck!