Week 17: Personal (04/06/2012 - 10/06/2012)

Another leaving party

Ok, so here it is; the final blog. I must admit, it’s very emotional writing this, especially once you look back at all the things I have experienced in Poznan since I posted my first blog.

Although we still have some assignments to hand in, we finished all our classes this week and had to say goodbye to our lecturers. There have also been several of our friends who have left Erasmus to return home. If I wasn’t such a macho man, I’m sure that there would have been a tear in my eye!

However, looking on the bright side, we have all been trying to spend as much time as possible together and having several ‘goodbye parties.’ We have been treated to farewell meals cooked by our Hungarian, Turkish, Romanian and Croatian friends, and this was washed down well with plenty of Polish beers and guitar sessions. Although I will take special memories with me from the past 4 months, I think that this final week will go down as one of my favourites. This is because we have all reached the end together, and in doing so, we have formed a fantastic relationship with each other and everything felt so natural this week compared to the awkwardness of the first two weeks of meeting people.

Irish invasion

There has also been an added buzz to the city this week with the beginning of Euro 2012. The whole country is really proud to be hosting such a huge sporting event and you can see this with the effort put into organising it. Poznan has now become the adopted home of around 50,000 Irish football supporters as the team are playing in the city. To call it an Irish invasion would be a severe understatement. The Polish people have taken brilliantly to the thousands of Irishmen (probably down to the fact they are giving the economy one hell of a boost!!).

The first game where Poland played was crazy. The supporters are so passionate and it’s been a fantastic experience to be part of this. However, on the downside, I had to stand in the pouring rain and watch Ireland get beat by Croatia. My mood was not helped from the constant abuse I received from my Croatian friends!! One positive is that I have managed to get tickets for the Ireland vs Italy game, so it will be fantastic to see that!

Carzy Polish support at the fanzone

My Erasmus friends have also taken on the role of adopted Irish fans, and it has been lots of fun teaching them all the Irish football chants.

Getting into the party mood

The football tournament will also give me a great memory to take home with me, but it is the memories I have of the wonderful people I have spent time with that will stay with me. I plan to travel for a bit after my time in Poznan, and I am confident that I will return to this fantastic city one day. I have learned so much about different cultures and traditions, different educational systems and above all, I have learned so much more about myself.

So for one last time, thank you to the people from France, Spain, Catalonia, Romania, Turkey, Luxembourg, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Holland, Austria and Italy. And above all, thank you Poznan.

Cześć, Do widzenia, dziękuję bardzo!!!!!!

Amazing Erasmus friends

Week 16: Professional (28/05/2012 - 03/06/2012)

This will be my last blog about my professional experience in Poland. It has been a real eye opener to attend classes and also to teach here. We have now completed the majority of our classes and only have assignments and placement to complete.

G5 school trip

This week in school, I was split between the G4 and G5 classes. Both classes had started new topics. G5 had begun to learn about ‘Businesses and their relationships with customers.’ This is part of the system introduced by IB schools to allow pupils to learn about living in the outside world. This is similar to some of the ideas introduced in the NI curriculum under the ‘thinking skills and personal capabilities’ heading, where it states that, “Thinking skills are tools that help children to go beyond the acquisition of knowledge in order to search for meaning, apply ideas, analyse patterns and relationships, create and design something new and monitor and evaluate their progress. Personal skills and capabilities underpin success in all aspects of life.” (NI Curriculum)

A walk in a forest for G4

The class went on a school trip to a local clothing business and were allowed to ask questions about how to run a company and the things you needed to implement to be successful. The pupils were really interested in the ins and outs of business and several have already shown a keen interest in creating their own companies when they are older! They will get to showcase their skills over the coming weeks as they have to invent their own product and successfully market and sell it to the school.

Central idea

My G4 class have also begun a new topic named ‘A walk in a forest.’ The central idea of this topic is ‘Trees support life, therefore we should protect them.’ The pupils are learning about the different process that happens in forests that help animals, trees and humans alive. There are strong similarities between this and the Interdependence strand of WAU in the NI curriculum. In the NI curriculum, it states that:

Interdependence of people, plants, animals and place.

• the basic needs of animals and plants for survival (S&T); • to be aware of how people used plants and animals in the past for survival (H); • how people’s actions can affect plants, animals and places (G).

(NI Curricululm)

This topic will hopefully give the pupils a greater sense of appreciation for the environment and the importance that the role of nature plays in our living.

The two topics that the classes are working on are completely different, however they are bound together by the IBO guidelines of what they expect of their pupils:

IB learners strive to be:

·  inquirers

·  knowledgeable

·  thinkers

·  communicators

·  principled

·  open-minded

·  caring

·  risk-takers

·  balanced

·  reflective                     (www.IBO.org)

Away from placement, we have been getting some of our grades from our classes, and I’m delighted to say that all our grades so far have been great, even scoring an A in Polish!!!

After receiving our grade from our ‘Developing teachers critical thinking’ class, our teacher invited us to his house for lunch and to talk about the module evaluation over a glass of wine. It was quite a strange experience doing it like this, but I felt that it made a more relaxed atmosphere and allowed both the lecturers and pupils to be more honest about the course.

Lunch at the teachers house

 www.nicurriculum.org.uk

www.IBO.org

Week 15: Cultural (21/05/2012 - 27/05/2012)

Back home for the wedding

I had to leave the beautiful weather of Poznan again this week to return home to Ireland for my sister’s wedding. It was fantastic to see all my family again, and to my surprise, it was SUNNY in Belfast! This is probably the most difficult blog I will write, as I did nothing this week in Poznan! With this being the case, I have chosen to reflect on some of the differences between Belfast and Poznan that I have come across. This is mainly to give the people reading this who want to come here next year, more of an idea of what to expect!

Language:

When we first arrived, I felt that the language would be impossible to understand. After several months of frustration in classes, I can now communicate in basic terms with the Polish people. From being with my family this week, I was asked several times to speak Polish, and to my surprise, I managed to stutter out some coherent sentences! If you are thinking off coming to Poznan next year, don’t let the initial first month of not understanding anything hamper you, as Anna, DarÓma and myself found out that if you stick at it, then although you will never be fluent in 4 months, you will manage to communicate with the locals. This in itself is something to be proud of, as you get a better appreciation of the Polish culture.

Polish people:

Fantastic people and friends

No matter what country you come from, there will always be people who build stereotypes about other countries. It is important, especially if you are going on Erasmus, not to listen to these stereotypes and base your opinions based on your own experience. My first few weeks here, I found that the people where somewhat rude and always in a hurry and pushing past you in the street. The more I got used to this and got to know the people better, I understand that they are not rude; it is just the nature of the people. I’ve gotten to know several locals including my dormitory’s receptionists and other students, and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. There are some people who happen to be rude, but being back in Belfast this week, it is clear that there are also rude people. I am happy to say that these types of people are in the minority here in Poznan!

Life style (food, money, shopping):

This is the biggest difference you will find compared to Belfast. It is extremely cheap to live in Poznan as an Erasmus student. While I was explaining this to my family back home, I showed them a recent shopping receipt I had in my wallet from my local shop in Poznan. It consisted of bread, milk, orange juice, chicken, crisps, 4 beers (only for emergencies), cereal, pasta and pasta sauce. The total of this was 34pln which is the equivalent of around £7. This gives an indication of how cheap the shopping is. I should also point out that the quality of food is just as good as back home.

Several months ago, I really doubt that I would look forward to having a plate of soured cabbage with meat, but this is a traditional Polish dish that I love to eat! It doesn’t sound appetising, but I am working on the basis that as long as I am on Erasmus, I will be open to all new experiences, including tasting random foods!  

Soured cabbage and meat..... Honestly, it's nice!!

I feel that this is the main thing to bear in mind if you choose to come to Poznan. Always enter each situation with an open mind. More times than not, you will be pleasantly surprised. And by embracing this culture, you will no doubt fall in love with this city as I have done.

Week 14: Cultural (14/05/2012 - 20/05/2012)

I had the opportunity this week to learn more about the history of Poznan. In my G4 class, we have started a new topic called ‘Amazing cities’, and we are beginning by looking at the city we live in. I am very happy about this, as I feel that I am in fact learning more than the pupils!!!



Model village

We took a school trip into the old market and visited a museum which had a model of what Poznan looked like and how it has developed over the centuries. It was quite interesting to hear the stories of revolutions, civil wars and invasions. It was also fascinating to see that although so much has happened over hundreds of years, the old market square that I would walk through several times a week, looks the same now as it did back then (architecturally of course, as obviously the advertisement hoardings and businesses have changed the appearance!)

G4 enjoying the trip

After the model presentation, we went on a ‘city game tour’. The pupils where given a map and some clues, and they had to manoeuver their way through the streets and follow different clues to lead them to the final destination. This was lots of fun, especially as it gave me a chance to explore Poznan in a different way. We eventually found ourselves back at city hall at midday, just in time to see the two wooden goats emerge from the clock tower and ram heads 12 times. The children thoroughly enjoyed this and were clapping and singing along. I was very surprised to see hundreds of other people in the square looking at the goats and I was told by my teacher that the people were mostly locals who came every day at midday to watch this as they believed it brought them good luck.

I have also had a different type of cultural experience this week in the form of ‘Juwenalia.’ This is celebrated once a year in most student cities in Poland. It is when, for a few days of the year, the students have the ‘freedom of the city.’ The celebrations start with a student march to city hall, where the Mayor of the city hands over the key to the city. Most university classes are cancelled during this period and the students celebrate this by organising concerts, parties and sports events. The concerts are held in a huge park not far from my dormitory, and have been hosting some of the biggest bands in Poland over the past few days. It has been a fantastic experience getting to witness this first hand and it is things like this that makes me wonder if the universities back home would benefit with huge events like this as it seems to bring a sense of togetherness and community between all students.

Mayor handing over the key to the students

Week 13: Personal (07/05/2012 - 13/05/2012

Euro 2012 mascot

This week, our team were competing in the Euro 2012 amateur tournament. You had to be grouped with other members of your country to enter, however, seeing as there are no other Irish people in Poznan; I was an honouree member of ‘Team Romania.’ We were playing against teams made up of people based all over Poland including teams from Portugal, Turkey, Spain and Poland. Again, like the other tournaments we have competed in, this was organised really professionally and included more guest speakers, the official Euro 2012 mascots and professional Polish footballers. There were also local television and radio crews in attendance as well as newspaper journalists.

Another medal and trophy

We had a successful tournament again and were defeated in the final on a penalty shootout. Although we lost, our team received individual awards of the most entertaining team, most valuable player and I won goalkeeper of the tournament. I am slightly worried about the weight of my suitcase, because that is 4 medals and two trophies that I have to squeeze into it to take home with me…. (If that sounds like I’m showing off, then good, because I am!)





Podium finish

As well as having fun playing football, this tournament also gave me the opportunity to meet people from other cultures and allowed me to get their views on everything from football to their education in Poland. I was discussing with a group of Turkish boys about their accommodation in their halls as they attended a different university. I was shocked to hear that they had 3 in a room which sounded smaller than my room, plus they had to share one toilet and shower with their 3 neighbours. The more stories I hear about these types of accommodation makes me feel like I’m a king living in my big single room!

After the tournament, all the players were treated to some traditional polish food. I asked in vain what it was because it didn’t look the most appetising. However, it was delicious! This is a big thing I have learned from being here, and if anyone is reading this that is coming here next year, I advise not to judge the food by how it looks, as the majority of the time, it is really tasty!

Unfortunately, this is probably our last football tournament as I don’t think are there any more organised! This is a shame, as these tournaments have given me great opportunities to meet so many new people and discover their views on different areas of life in Poland.



Team Romania

Week 12: Professional (30/04/12 - 06/05/12)

It is sometimes difficult to get into a good rhythm of going to class here for a few reasons. Some of our classes are only scheduled every fortnight; one module is once a month and another is supposed to be every week. However, the teacher of our weekly class has had to cancel on several occasions. In fact, the only continuity we have is in Polish class and placement.

In Polish language class, we seem to be getting good grades in our class exams, so maybe we aren’t as bad as we thought! I feel that although I find it difficult to construct a sentence, I can understand the language more through listening. This is making me more confident in trying to speak to others and in class.

Happy in class

We have a module called “Developing teacher’s critical thinking though educational design.” This class tries to inform us of what it takes to plan a scheme of work for a certain area. It can sometimes be a confusing class as there are several lecturers in the room at the same time and they often get confused and give conflicting views on certain matters. Anna, DarÓma and I were discussing the differences between this class and the classes in Stranmillis. It is clear to see the difference between the styles of teaching here and back home, no more so than the organisation, content and communication is much better in Stranmillis. We still enjoy taking the class, but I feel that if we didn’t already have 3 years of Stranmillis education teaching behind me, I would be slightly confused about some of the issues discussed in class. One positive from this class is that the lecturers seem interested in what we can show from our own educational system and I was able to show some examples of how important reflective teaching is back home. One teacher was very interested in some points made in the GTCNI were it states that teachers will

·         Be concerned with the purposes and consequences of education

·         Be prepared to experiment with the unfamiliar and learn from their experiences

·         Have working patterns characterised by a process of action, evaluation and revision.

(GTCNI, 2005)

In school, I have been asked to be a mentor to a group of G5 pupils (P.7).  According to IB guidelines, it is compulsory for the pupils to create an exhibition based on a certain ‘Central idea.’ This year’s idea is ‘Conflict’ and my group have chosen to create an exhibition on football hooligans and what solutions there are to these conflicts.

The IBO states that; “Students will be required to engage in a collaborative, transdisciplinary inquiry process that involves identifying, investigating and offering solutions to real-life issues or problems.”  (IBO)

Our exhibition on conflict in sport

My duty is to meet with the students and guide them through the process of the exhibition. It is a good job, as I feel that I am integrating more and also having an impact on an important piece of work. I feel that this exhibition style of work would work really well in our schools, as it gives the pupils a sense of independence and focus. The school sets out a number of key purposes for the exhibition including;

·         Providing students with an opportunity to demonstrate independence and responsibility for their own learning,

·         Provides students with an opportunity to explore multiple perspectives

·         For them to synthesize and apply their learning of previous years and to reflect upon their journey through the PYP.         (ISOP)

It has been a busy week professionally, but I have taken a lot from it. There is not as much work for next week; however, I do have another football tournament to compete in! So, time to rest and prepare for victory!

                                    

References:

·         GTCNI: (2005) Teaching: the reflective profession.

·         www.isop.pl

·         www.ibo.org

Week 11: Personal (23/04/2012 - 29/04/2012)

The first half of the week was very relaxing for me. There seems to be a very calm atmosphere surrounding the Erasmus students. This is probably down to the scorching weather we are being treated to lately as the temperature has being reaching 30 degrees. Some of our classes had been cancelled this week, so we took the opportunity to lie in the park and get a tan (and study of course).

Sunshine in the park

It is really refreshing to sit in the sunshine talking to a group of people who only a few months ago were total strangers to me. And now, we can sit and talk, laugh and joke and tell personal stories to each other as though we have been good friends for years. Whatever happens in my remaining time here, this will be the thing I owe most to Erasmus. It has given me the opportunity to meet and become close friends to some fantastic people who have opened their worlds and cultures to me, and I feel sad for the people who will go through the rest of their lives and not experience anything like this.

On Thursday however, I had to leave the beautiful weather and return home to Ireland. Not to see my family in Belfast though, but to meet up with friends on a stag weekend in Derry. It was terrific to see the faces of friends that I have been missing and it was good to mingle in some ‘Irish banter’ again. Some of my friends said that they have noticed a difference in me, especially when I spoke. They said that I was speaking more slowly than usual and also pronouncing my ‘ing’s’ and the end of words more clearly. This was no doubt down to the fact that I was fed up repeating myself to everyone in Poznan so decided to speak differently!

It was extremely strange to experience again the atmosphere in which I was raised. It almost felt alien to me, no more so than when it was my turn to buy a round of drinks and I nearly collapsed at the price!!! It made me realise that everything I now do in Poznan feels like home. When we go shopping or eat in a restaurant, I no longer see strange food or weird items. When talking to Polish people, I understand a lot more what they are talking about and can communicate a lot better.

It dawned on me when I was waiting at the airport that I was missing Poznan and couldn’t wait to return to see my friends again…. And also to see cheap food and drink again as I spent more in three days back home than I would in a month in Poznan!!!

Apart from my wallet losing a significant amount of weight, another downside is that I know have to catch up with a lot of work that is due……. So, please excuse me!!

Till next time!