London day 2!

My second day in London was just as fun as the first! We started off the day by going to Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards. Even though it was a Monday it was still extremely crowded, we got there an hour early and still didn’t have the greatest view. It was interesting to see all the different languages being spoken in one area when you are in a huge crowd. We heard Spanish, French, Japanese and Chinese; just from the people surrounding us. After we left the changing of the guards we walked across the street to go to St. Paul’s Cathedral. I wish we would have been able to go on the inside but we didn’t have enough time and there were no masses going on at the time we were there. The outside is still breathtaking though and we got a lot of souvenirs from the gift shop! After that we took the tube to a flee market at Notting Hill! This was my favorite part of all =) I looove seeing the different styles of clothing and all the stuff with the British flag on it. Nicki bought a couple scarves at the beginning of the flee market, and as we walked down a while we noticed everything started to get cheaper. They purposely hiked up prices at places near the front of the market because they know people will buy things and not realize they are overpaying until it’s too late. We went back and tried to return it but they refused to give her a refund. I bought a lot of cute scarves, I’m not sure how I am going to wear them yet… but they are pretty! After the market we had to rush home and get ready for Wicked on Broadway! I have never seen a Broadway show so I was so excited! It was amazing and the talent was incredible! After we left we took a night walk past the London Eye and Big Ben. The view at night is so beautiful because everything is lit up. It looks like something out of a movie! There was this lady singing by the Eye and her voice was incredible. She was also playing the guitar and the harmonica. We stopped to talk to her and a couple of the girls bought her CD. She said she is Italian, born in Brazil, but speaks Portuguese and Italian. She had a very strong accent which didn’t show through in her singing. We got a picture with her; maybe she’ll be famous one day! =-)

The scavenger hunt was an interesting thing to do while we were in London. While we were riding on the bus back from Greenwich, we went though a neighborhood on a street called “Jamaica.” Several of the ladies were wearing traditional African head dresses and speaking a language I did not recognize. Also while we were on the bus there were so many different languages being spoken, we may have been the only ones speaking English on the whole bus which is a little ironic because we were in the UK. Also all these people speaking the different languages were not tourists, they were going to and from work or going grocery shopping. The diversity in language is amazing because there are so many different kinds of languages in a quite small area. I might even go as far to say more people are speaking different languages other than English. Even at stores and restaurants people spoke very broken English, I felt like I wasn’t even in Brittan anymore! I guess it’s good practice for when I go to Italy and can’t understand anyone at all! We also observed what many of the children were doing while they were on vacation. There was this really cool piece of “art” that many of the kids appeared to enjoy. It was several tall poles that light up and make noise according how people move around. The faster you move the louder the music, and the way your body interacts with other people on the art platform can also change the volume and lights. The kids were running around like crazy having a blast.

London baby!

Today was amazing! Me and a couple of the girls from the study abroad group explored London and we saw so much! We took a bus tour and sat on the top, we went by many of the major land marks in London including Big Ben, St. Paul’s and Buckingham Palace. Then we went on a boat tour down the river and saw even more fun things! My favorite part of the day had to be the London Eye. I have never seen a observation wheel that big in my life! (it is second largest in the world, China has it beat!) We took some amazing pictures and could see for miles and miles at the very top. We also took many pictures and talked to many people for our scavenger hunt project! We ate at a yummy place for lunch and bought souvenirs for friends and family at home! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Inquiry #2!

This week we were fortunate enough to be able to go to some local schools in Plymouth to interact with the teachers and students. It was very interesting to see how different the schools are from American schools because I honestly did not think they would be much different. The first two days I went to the a high school, which is called a community college in England. I have always had my heart set on teaching high school so I was glad I got to see this age group. The first thing that really shocked me was their attendance policy. They are really strict about making sure their students come to class, they call home to every child who isn’t in school to see where they are and if their parents know they aren’t in school. But, if the parent doesn’t care, a student can miss months at a time and not be held back a year. This was amazing to me because I knew many parents in high school that could care less if their kid went to school or not, and if my high school didn’t have an attendance policy (you could only miss 10 days a semester before you failed) then many of those kids would have never come to school. Also, I was really surprised that the teachers kept saying the school was "inner city," had drug problems and many teenage mothers. At first glace of this school and the students that attend it, I would have never thought to consider it an inner city school. From the impression I received, it is known for hosting the "tough" kids of Plymouth. Even though there are differences, there were also many similarities. They incorporated technology into many of their lessons such as smart boards, pod casts and computers. They also have vocational classes like my high school did. The students can take other classes besides academic ones such as cosmetology, construction and art. I am glad I experienced a school in a other country because it was my first, but hopefully not my last!

Stonehenge/Bath!

Today we went to Stonehenge and Bath... is was amazing! Even thought it rained the entire day it was still an amazing sight to see the rocks =-) I had always wondered why some of the rocks were missing, I figured it was because of weathering, but the audio guide said some people a long time ago chipped away parts of the rocks for other things like building materials and souvenirs. I wonder where those pieces of the rocks are now! I've always wanted a picture of me infront of Stonehenge and I finally got one! I remember my 11th grade science teacher was obsessed with Stonehenge... I should go back to visit him and show him my pictures =-) After Stonehenge we drove an hour or so to Bath and saw the Roman Baths. It was an amazing sight and I wish we would have had days to spend in the town! The town was a lot bigger than I had imagined. I could stay in England forever if it weren't for the horrible weather!

Practice Podcast: FIrst Draft.mp3

Tintagel

Today we went to Tintagel and it was amazing! From the train, to the taxi, to the castle, everything was a learning experience! Not to mention we found our way and didn't get lost once. We started off by taking the scenic route to the train station and getting on the train to Bodmin Parkway. I have never been on a big train so it was a lot of fun, we went over some rivers, saw a lot of livestock, and amazing little old towns. It surprised me how fast you have to get on and off the train, they don't stop for anyone! One girl was crying because the doors didn't open at her stop and she couldn't get off the train. After we got off the train we luckily found a taxi waiting. Driving it was a nice old man who loved sharing stories with us about the UK and giving us a lot of information about the town and their driving laws. As we were driving to Tintagel we came to a traffic jam, up ahead an entire heard of cows were coming right for us lead by a farmer. The cows were having a hard time cooperating and looked very confused as to which direction to walk. It was hilarious, who would have thought there would be a road block of cows? We finally arrived at the castle and it was the most amazing view I have ever seen! It was so beautiful; I could have just sat at the top for days! We went into Merlin's Cave (well sort of in, it was a little scary) and climbed to the very top of the hill to overlook the ocean. We took a ton of pictures but they don't do it justice! I was really surprised by how many steps there were to climb, I don’t know what I was expecting but we must have climbed 1,000 steps! I know I’m going to feel it in my legs tomorrow! After the castle we got hungry so we ate lunch, went to a few shops and had tea in a 14th century bar/tea house. Everything was so small including the ceiling levels and doors ways. Then we got back in our taxi and headed home... we were exhausted!

You gotta turn your head for now! It's called "Tomb-Stoning"

Saturday!

Today was a very interesting day, it was the first day in Plymouth that we didn’t have classes and we could roam around all day. First Tara and I went to the mall and the local shops; we came across a really unusual store. Everyone was just sitting in chairs reading catalogs and we were really confused so we went inside and asked the lady if she could explain the concept of the store and what everyone was doing. She told us that everyone just sits down, reads the catalog and picks the items they want. They then write down on a piece of paper the number associated with the item. Finally, they go to the check out, pay for the items and someone who works there goes upstairs to get the item. It was such an unusual concept but I can see the convenience in it for people who do not want to spend their time walking around a mall. This is something I could see eventually coming to the states as people get lazier and lazier! The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was very similar to Ikea, except you get the item yourself at the end instead of an employee getting it for you. Next, we went to a fashionable clothing store and I went into the fitting room to try on one piece of clothing. The lady working there said, "You need to bring in 3 at a time." I responded and said, "Oh no, I just have one thing to try on" she handed me two more random pieces of clothing and responded with, "No, for security purposes you need to take 3 things with you in the fitting room." How weird is that? I had to take more items into the fitting room for security purposes. I guess they just make everyone take 3 things in at a time so they don’t have to remember how many pieces of clothing each person had going it. It just makes it easier for them to keep track and make sure no one puts clothes in their purse. Finally, we went out to eat. We ordered at the bar, gave them cash and the bartender handed us our change back. Amy left the change on the counter for a tip and the bartender gave the money back because he thought we forgot our change at the bar. I still find it so unusual people don’t tip here and it is not expected in restaurants or bars. Well... that was my day, I'll be back tomorrow!

Preschool in 3 Cultures

Last night I read the article, "Preschool in Three cultures" by Tobin. It is a study done in the 80’s about the difference in preschools in Japan, China and the United States. It was really interesting because I work at a preschool center back in Okemos. The section I read was concentrated on what teacher’s thought the most important aspects of language in the classroom were and the results varied drastically between the three different countries. In China the emphasis in language development is on enunciation, dictation, memorization and self confidence. In Japan the language development is divided into formal and informal systems of discourse and is seen as less of a tool for self expression. However, in America language is a tool for individuality, autonomy, problem solving, friendship and cognitive development. The importance of expressing themselves verbally was chosen as a top choice for an important aspect of language by 38% of American teachers, 27% of Japanese teachers and only 5% of Chinese teachers. The difference between these percentages is astonishing and most of the other choices also had very different percentages between the 3 different countries. I find this study interesting because it is something extremely easy to tape and document, but it can tell you an unlimited number of cultural aspects in school systems and home life. I think this study should be duplicated to see the difference between the school systems culture in the 80’s and the culture in these countries today.

All about my day!

This afternoon we attended a seminar for the EAD 820 Internship Program. There were several students presenting their work at different stations and I had the opportunity to listen to a few of them. One I found interesting was the 360 degree model. A woman who is going to school to become a principal implemented a program for the teachers in an elementary school that allowed them to receive feedback from their students, colleges and the student’s parents. They were all given surveys to rank their teacher’s teaching abilities in the classroom; the teacher herself was also given the same survey. The woman presenting this material compiled all the surveys and made several graphs to compare the rankings between the students, colleges and parents. Her finding showed that a majority of the time the teachers ranked themselves much lower on a scale from 0-5 than the students, colleges and parents did. The teachers were also given a list of addition comments written on the surveys. This allowed the teachers to get a sense of where they stand when it comes to the teaching ability according to another person’s perspective. It gave them ideas for places in which they could improve, and places where they are currently successful. This is often done in colleges (such as Michigan State University) but is rarely done in elementary school settings. I thought it was an extremely good idea to implement this program in an elementary school because as a future teacher I would love to have feedback from my students, along with my colleges and student’s parents. It would be a wonderful way for me to see things the students understand and I am teaching well, along with areas where I need to spend more time planning.

Picture Challenge!

This is my picture that I edited with Photoshop and Picnik. The picture was taken near the "hoe" in Plymouth, England at the World War II memorial. This memorial consists of a large wall with all the names of soldiers imbedded on it. On the ground near the wall I found these flowers with a note attached. The adjective I am representing in this photo is "dreary."

Second Edit

First Edit Origional

I'm here!

Well, I am finally here! I made it to Plymouth, England safe and I am having a wonderful time =) It took a few days to get adjusted to the time, but I think I am on schedule now. Classes are going good and I have learned a lot of new websites to use, along with this blog which I would have never ventured out on my own to create. I just got back from dinner at a pizza and pasta place in town, it was really yummy and the service was great. I still find it fascinating that waiters and waitresses don't accept tips here... well at least they don’t expect them. It’s actually not polite to leave a large tip because it may be insulting. I hope they get paid more than waiters do in the United States! After dinner I went wandering/picture taking with a couple girls from the program and we encountered some interesting people. But first we went to "Charles Church" the church that was burned down during World War II. We ran across the road (being careful not to be hit by the cars coming from the wrong side of the road!) to the center isle where the church is located. We weren’t sure if we were allowed there but no one said anything so we wandered around and took some amazing pictures! We got so close that we were able to touch it and look inside. After the church we wandered around and came to a sketchier part of town and of course we had to take pictures. We walked past a bar with our cameras in hand and everyone was looking out the bar window with a confused look on their faces. After we walked past the door to the bar a lady came outside and asked us if we were reporters taking pictures of her brother’s pub. Her exact words were, "You’re not reporters are you? You’re not going to get me in trouble, right? This is my brothers pub." We were so confused and told her that we were students from the Unites States and the pictures were for a project we were doing for class. She seamed relieved and told us to come in for a drink. This made us wonder why she thought she was going to get in trouble... quite interesting if you ask me.