Week 9: Personal (09/04/12 - 15/04/12)

This week, we had several days off from classes due to the Easter break. I also had my best friend visit me from home and I was eager to show him the sights of Poznan. It was interesting to see his first reaction to being in Poland as I assume that it was similar to mine when I first arrived over two months ago. Although he really enjoyed his stay (no doubt helped by the cheap beer and fantastic company), he said he was surprised that I was happy living here due to the vast language barrier and the notable difference between Polish culture and ours. I surprised myself when I began to explain why the cultures were different and how I was able to inform him of the positives that Poland had to offer. In explaining this, it made me realise the progress I had made from the first day in Poznan and how comfortable I am here. My friend also made a shocking observation when he said “I can’t believe that you understood what he was saying.” He was referring to a conversation (mostly one-sided) I had in Polish with the receptionist in my dormitory. It was the first time I had noticed that my Polish language is developing with every day, maybe not to the standard that our teacher expects of us, but it is still developing. This was compounded when I received my first ‘A’ grade in polish class. Needless to say I was straight on the phone to my girlfriend to tell her the news…………….. She didn’t believe me though!

One of the many old buildings

I introduced my friend to the new friends I have made in Erasmus and was refreshing to hear him asking the same questions I had asked on my arrival. This allowed me to listen to the answers as an outsider and gain an even better understanding of my Erasmus friends. I was able to show him the old buildings around the city which are very impressive lit up at night, and we agreed that you can sense the history that radiated from these buildings.

We were then forced (not really forced) to sing at a karaoke bar and at long last, I was able to unleash my undoubted talent upon Poznan. I feel that the people of Poznan will be forever indebted to me for showing them what a real singing performance looks like.

What a performance

We also had time to squeeze in a visit to watch the local football team (Lech Poznan) play a game. The stadium is only newly built over the past few years and has a capacity of over 40,000 people. However, the stadium was only half full during this game, although the noise made by the supporters surpassed that of stadiums I have been in where there were 80,000 people in attendance. This is testament to the fabulous support the team receives and shows how passionate the supporters are towards sport. The team won 3-1, however, I have the feeling that if they had have been beaten, the support would have been as equally noisy.

My friends stay has been a real boost to me as I can clearly see the progress I have made in understanding the polish people and the language. I felt a sense of pride that I was able to show him around the city and explain the different areas that I have been accustomed to over the past load of weeks. I was also proud to explain the differences between our cultures and this only doused my appetite to learn more about the city and its culture…….. maybe I should have a visitor every week!!!

Week 8: Professional (02/04/12 - 08/04/12)

Energy posters

Although I am thoroughly enjoying my placement at the International School of Poznan, I can already see that there is a big difference between the how lessons are taught here compared to back home. The biggest area that is noticeable is the way lessons are planned here in Poland. In Ireland, there is a strong emphasis on individual lesson plans, thematic units and schemes of work. These are planned on weekly, monthly and term bases, depending on the area being taught. In Poland however, it seems to be a lot more relaxed. The teachers will have meetings to discuss what topics will be taught, however, these meetings seem to lack structure on how the pupils will develop throughout the topic. In my grade 4 class, the teachers follow one main area which currently is ‘Energy.’

Grade 4 'Energy project'

 They focus the majority of their time on working on this, and often at the expense of others subjects. This means that when the other subjects are taught, they tend to be rushed and often with no differentiation shown. For example, when a maths lesson is being taught, it is read from a textbook and the pupils are often told the answers to fill in. This differs greatly from the experience I have had in teaching maths on placement in Ireland. The Northern Ireland curriculum tells us that;

“Throughout the primary school, children should engage in a wide range of purposeful activities which should involve them in different modes of mathematical learning, including playing, exploring and investigating, doing and observing, talking and listening, asking questions, reflecting, drafting, reading and recording.” (NI Curriculum, 2007)

I have been told that once the pupils move to Grade 5 next year, the teaching will be totally different. This is because once they reach this age (p7) they are expected to be more independent. I was interested in seeing this, so I asked to be placed with a grade 5 class for a day. Even though they are only one year older than my grade 4 class, I was amazed to see the difference between the two.

Grade 5 'Space display'

Within the grade 5 class, there is an understanding between the teacher and pupil that allows the pupils to choose what they want to learn. When I was in the class, the teacher had spent a large part of the morning photocopying sheets and preparing resources for an English lesson about Space. However, when she was preparing to teach it, the pupils said they didn’t want to. Instead of continuing with the lesson, the teacher put it to a vote, and the majority of the children voted against doing an English lesson. I was amazed that the pupils could wield this type of power in the classroom; however I was impressed by what happen next. The teacher gave the pupils time to discuss what they wanted to learn instead, and they had to produce reasons why the lesson they wanted to learn would benefit them. The pupils were making valid reasons and connecting their ideas to different areas of learning.

I immediately began to wonder if this type of teaching would work in any of the classes I have had placement with and what the lecturers in Stranmillis would make of it.

I will be back with my Grade 4 class next week and teaching several lessons, so I will hopefully be able to implement some of my strategies and see how the class will react to being taught in a different manner.

Reference:

www.nicurriculum.org

Week 7: Personal (26/03/12 - 01/04/12)

This week has been one of the busiest weeks so far in Poznan. I have been juggling different things at the same time, including a Polish exam, several online tasks for a class, two presentations, school placement, competing in the ‘Olympics’ and of course continuing with my delightfully hectic social schedule.  Needless to say, I am very happy that it is the Easter break.

Working hard on our presentation

Reflecting back over the events of the week, I can see how much more comfortable I am living in this city and I can genuinely say that I am happy living here. When talking to people back home in Ireland, my friends and family always ask how I am coping living outside my ‘comfort zone.’ This is very easy to answer as I feel that I haven’t left my comfort zone in Ireland, instead, I feel that I have taken it with me and that Poznan is now my new comfort zone. As well as this, I feel that I am also expanding the boundaries of my comfort zone and exploring different areas that I would not have done in Belfast.

“If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness”   Les Brown

In Poznan, the highest number of students from one country is Spain. Having said this, the Spanish people are somehow difficult to connect with as they tend to stick together in one big Spanish clique. This week however, due to the Erasmus Olympic event, I got to know several Spanish people better as we were in the same team. It is safe to say that I have never met a more competitive bunch of people in my life!!! Even when we were winning a game comfortably but gave a point away, they would be shouting and cursing at each other and often look like they would come to blows with each other (don’t worry, they never did). They explained to me that they were taught this competitive nature in school and that they wouldn’t have it any other way. It got me thinking that maybe we should encourage our children to be more competitive in sports even if it’s not to the same level as the Spanish people I met. I say this because in sports, the Spanish are dominating. They are the World and European champions in football, World champions in basketball and have a very successful volleyball and formula 1 teams, so maybe being competitive can benefit children in the future.

Taking a ride on our tractor

This week, we also took a trip to a traditional Polish farm. This may not sound like a big deal, but personally, I have no interest in farms so it was a massive step for me to crawl out of bed on a Sunday morning to go. In saying this, I am really glad I went as it gave me a chance to explore a different side to the way Polish people live. We saw how a blacksmith worked and made horse shoes, held animals, milked cows and ate delicious fresh meat and cheese made that very morning. We also took a random trip on the back of a tractor and cooked sausages on an open fire. It was both fun and interesting, however, I felt like I was slowly going insane due to the girls constant ‘cooing’ over the animals. The most commonly used phrase of the day was, “oooooh, look at the rabbit/goat/dog/chicken/pig/cow, it’s so cute!” and seeing as there were a lot of girls and a lot of animals, this phrase was in constant use and I waas never happier to hear the silence of my single room that night!

Home-made BBQ and sausages

Reference:

www.speakersbureau.com

Week 6: Professional (19/03/12 - 25/03/12)

I am now into the full swing of placement at the International School of Poznan (ISOP). I have been placed in a Grade 4 class which would be the equivalent of Primary 6 back home. The school itself is very nice and all the teachers are extremely welcoming. I should add however, that this school does not reflect on the rest of polish primary teaching as our school is an international school, and unlike other Polish schools, it follows the curriculum set by the IBO.

The ethos of the school generally resembles that of the schools I have been on placement on in Belfast with there being a strong focus on individual pupil development and preparing for lifelong learning. This is mentioned in the school mission statement which is displayed for all to see;

“The International School of Poznan is committed to provide international education of high academic standards and prepare students to become valuable world citizens.”  (www.isop.pl)

The teachers try and implement this ethos into all areas of learning. It was interesting to research what teaching in an IB school would entail, and I found that some of the areas were similar to those covered in our own NI curriculum.

“The IB Primary Years Programme, for students aged 3 to 12, focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside.
The six Trans disciplinary areas that teachers should follow are;

·  Who we are

·  Where we are in place and time

·  How we express ourselves

·  How the world works

·  How we organize ourselves

·  Sharing the planet”                  (www.IBO.org)

Our 'Energy' wall

At present, my class are learning about ‘energy’ and the effect it has on our environment. I must admit that I have been taken back by some of the levels of work that the pupils have been set, as they are the levels I would expect for high school pupils. This is not to say that all the pupils are able to complete this work as there are those who struggle. There doesn’t seem to be much differentiation in the classroom as all the pupils are expected to complete the same work during the same time frame.

Hard at work

 Both the teachers and the pupils have welcomed be into their classroom with no hesitation and they were keen to take advantage of English being my native tongue. I have been involved in many reading activities which I am enjoying, and even got persuaded into dressing up and giving a St Patricks day presentation!

The great 'Face paint' ambush

   This week, I was told that it would be the first day of Spring, and to celebrate this with the end of Winter, we would be burning the Marzanna. This ‘Marzanna’ is a large paper doll which represents winter and is burned as a symbol of Winter passing. It seemed a strange ritual, but the teachers and pupils really enjoyed it, and also celebrated this custom with a large (and by that, I mean HUGE) picnic and had special games organised. We were all told to wear bright clothes for this day, however, the pupils felt I wasn’t bright enough and they then proceeded to attack my face with colourful face paints!

After being in the school for several days, I can see some clear similarities with the different teaching strategies used back home, but I can also sense some differences, even if they have not appeared too obvious to me so far. I am really looking forward to finding out more about both these similarities and differences……. And of course, writing about them on my blog!

The Marzanna

References:
www.isop.pl
www.ibo.org

Week 5: Cultural (12/03/12 - 18/03/12)

Old Town hall

After living in Poznan for over a month now, I have developed a healthy routine. This involves going to classes, meeting with friends for drinks or coffee and playing football, basketball and volleyball several times a week. I am truly beginning to feel at home. This changed this week with the arrival of my girlfriend who was staying for a few days. I packed my bag and moved into a hotel and transformed myself into the ‘perfect tourist.’

Living like this for several days gave me the opportunity to view Poznan and its people from a different angle. Having someone by my side that had never been to Poland before certainly helped with this as my girlfriend was asking questions about things I had maybe not paid attention to in recent weeks. The most frequently question she asked was “How much would this be in sterling?” Upon answering these questions, it made me realise that I am very lucky to be based in a city which offers so many wonderful things like food, drink and tourist attractions all for an incredibly cheap price. For example, the two of us were able to enjoy two courses of food and two rounds of drink at a nice restaurant for the equivalent of £15.

Inside St. Stanislaus church

As well as appreciating the food and drink, this week also gave me the opportunity to take different walking tours. This is probably the first time that I have noticed a big difference between Poznan and Belfast. Although Belfast has an incredible history, it is not always visible from the architecture of the buildings, especially now with so many modern structures being put in place. If you want to find the history of Belfast as a tourist, you need to go to certain places and ask the correct questions to the right people. However, here in Poznan, the history is etched into almost all of the buildings, especially in Stary Reynek (the old square). Here, you will find museums, churches, and other fascinating buildings where you can freely enter and get lost in the city’s history.

Enjoying the sunshine in Stary Reynek

In doing this, I feel that I understand the Poznan citizens a lot better. At first, I believed them to be very ‘closed’ people, in a way that they keep to themselves and would not interat with tourists. Now, I know that this is the stigma following the end of communism only two decades ago, and that in this sense, the Poznan I see today is a relatively ‘new’ city. It would be impossible to describe all the beautiful sights Poznan has to offer, so if you get the chance, then please follow this link to have a closer look; Poznan: a beautiful city.

I would like to think that as well as understanding Polish culture, I should also introduce some culture from Ireland. It so happened that I chose to do this on St. Patricks day, which also happened to fall on a beautiful day boasting temperatures of 22 degrees.

Happy St. Patricks day

I gathered a crowd of eager Erasmus students who were instructed to wear green clothes. Since there were no St. Patricks day parades, we skipped to the next chapter of the celebrations of enjoying some pints of Guinness. We sat out in the sun trying to catch a sun tan and when night came, we moved to the local Irish pub where everyone (or so they told me) had a great night listening and dancing to traditional Irish music.

When my girlfriend had to leave to go home, it also meant that I had to leave my hotel and heap room service and return to my dormitory. I was sad in seeing my girlfriend leave, however, it was great to be able to show off my new home to someone from Belfast. It also gave me the chance to reflect and realise how much I am enjoying living in this city, especially now I have a better understanding of its history.

Week 4: Personal (05/03/12 - 11/03/12)

I’ve bought countless amounts of lottery tickets, placed football bets, and even entered silly television competitions. I’ve done them all, and I never win!!! So you can imagine my surprise when I won a bottle of vodka in a raffle at a nightclub this week! So personally, this week has been epic! Having said this, I feel I should write more than this regarding my personal experiences this week, so here goes…..

Struggling with my Polish book

With this being our 4^th week in Poznan, I am slightly disappointed with our lack of progress in communicating with the locals. I would like to think of myself as a fairly quick learner, so I am becoming more and more frustrated with our futile attempts to learn the language. By this stage, I would like to have been able to begin understanding different conversations that the Polish people address us with, but I still have that blank look on my face and it is getting embarrassing. Because of this, I have made it my goal to study hard at the language and seeing as we have been told that we have TWO Polish exams next week, I don’t think I really have a choice but to study! Luckily, there are quite a lot of Erasmus students who are struggling, so we try and gather safety in numbers when we enter shops or restaurants.

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It's like riding a bicycle or typing. If you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”  Brian Tracy

International School of Poznan

This week, I have felt more at home in Poznan. With our classes in full swing, a good bunch of friends made, all that was left to do was organise our placement. This can now be ‘checked’ off the list, as on Thursday, we travelled to the ‘International School of Poznan.’

From the moment we entered the building, I got a fantastic vibe from the school. The teachers seem fun; the classrooms are colourful and welcoming and compared to schools back home in Northern Ireland, there are plenty of male teachers I can talk to. This means I can get a good male perspective of teaching and living in Poznan rather than the usual female talk I would get in the staffrooms back in Belfast!

Deliciouly thick hot chocolate

As I have mentioned, we have made a good group of friends. I feel that with every passing day spent with these people, I am becoming more culturally aware of different things ranging from their personal beliefs to what type of food they eat! I am confident that this experience will grow stronger and will benefit me professionally as well as personally. Meeting our new friends also gives us a chance to visit the many cafés Poznan has to offer, and this week, we came across a delicious ‘chocolate’ café, which needless to say, raised our calorie count by a significant margin!

Traditional polish food

I got to play my first game of football this week, and although I began a bit ‘rusty,’ I finished the game strongly and have not given up hope of being called up to the Ireland football squad for this summer’s tournament (pause for laughter). As well as this, I have also been asked to take part in the Erasmus Olympic team and represent Poznan. I naively agreed to this without asking any questions, and only found out after, that as well as playing football, I also have to compete in volleyball, running events and swimming, which I am not looking forward to. I only hope I remembered to pack my Speedos!

Next week, as well as beginning our placement, I will have my first visitor as my girlfriend is staying for the weekend. This coincides with St. Patrick’s Day, so I think it’s about time I brought some Irish culture to Poznan!

Week 3: Professional (27/02/12 - 04/03/12)

It feels strange finally writing about my ‘Professional experience’ in Poznan as it seems like we have been here forever without actually doing any work! This all changed this week as we began our full timetable of classes, including a Saturday class!!!

The old Mental hospital!

Most of our classes are held in an old mental hospital just outside the city centre. I thought this was funny as I have been told in the past that I must be ‘crazy’ to become a primary school teacher! We have enrolled in several classes including; ‘Developing teacher’s critical thinking through educational designing,’ ‘Teaching strategies in early childhood education,’ ‘Education in Poland,’ and an ‘Intercultural workshop.’ I feel that the classes are very different from the ones we experience in Stranmillis as there is a more relaxed classroom atmosphere in Poznan. The lecturers insist on being called by their first name and there seems to be more flexibility in the class schedules. For example, during our first meeting in our ‘teaching strategies’ class, the teacher was going through the syllabus (after she had given us tea and coffee)  and when she was done, she looked at us and said, “No! I’ve changed my mind; there will be no exams or essays for you….. Is that ok?” Needless to say, every pupil in the class nodded their head in agreement. What she wants instead is 100% participation, whether it is in completing tasks or asking questions.

In our class, there are student teachers from all around Europe and it is intriguing to hear about the way their children are taught and the different strategies that are used. Some of these strategies I will definitely be taking home with me and implementing them in my classroom, while others; let’s just say they will not be getting through airport security with me when I go home! We were told by a Turkish student that in her country, if a pupil was talking too much, the teacher would actually take money off them as a punishment. I can’t deny that I didn’t ponder this idea for a split second, but you will happy to hear Laurence that I dismissed the idea just as fast. I don’t feel it would reflect well in my SBW file next year if my evaluation of lessons read; “Lesson went well today, I made a profit of £5.50 from my P.7 class!”

Sharing our teaching strategies!

During one class, we were discussing the advantages and disadvantages of ‘Group work.’ From being taught from the NI curriculum, we are told in the ‘Thinking skills and personal capabilities framework’ that we should encourage the pupils to work together as it in turn leads to problem solving, decision making and being creative. (NI Curriculum, 2007)

However, we were told that in some countries, children are discouraged from working together as they are taught to be more competitive with each other, and that in fact the teachers do not share work or resources with their colleagues as they too are really competitive with each other. This is just one concept that I find strange to comprehend, but I’m sure as the weeks go by, I will learn how take these different opinions (good and bad), and learn how to channel them into effective teaching when I get back home.

We have yet to experience a school first hand, but have been told that we have a meeting with our school teacher this week, so hopefully it won’t be too long before ‘Mr Magee’ enters the building! After doing some research, I have found out that there have been recent reforms in education, and it will be interesting to see first-hand how they work in the classroom.

 The foundations of the National Curriculum reform include the following:

• Compulsory pre-school education for 5-year-olds introduced,

• Pre-school education swiftly followed by school education,

• Lowered schooling age (6-year-olds start primary education),

• 6-year post-primary education combined into one system,

• Minimum 4 years of post-primary school for a complete general education,

• Wide selection of advanced subjects for High School students,      (Herodot.net 2009)

Intercultural workshop...... shame it's on a Saturday though!

Hopefully, the next time I write my professional blog, I will have a lot more information and comparisons to tell you about!

But until then ……. Pá!!!

REFERENCES:

·        www.nicurriculum.org

·        http://www.herodot.net