I think I may develop a casual drinking personality here in London. Because after this week, all I wanted to do was curl up with some wine, HIMYIM and relaxxxxx. On Wednesday I had one of the WORST classes here (although no one tried to stab anyone with a pencil like they did on my first day teaching) and it started to make me question if I should be a teacher or not. I was losing faith in my ability to control children or even to get them quiet for more than 3 minutes at a time.
And then today happened....
The best day I've had teaching so far. :)
I was teaching a Year 5 class (I've determined I like the junior grades better than the primary ones) and while they got a bit rowdy at the end of the day, they ACTUALLY LISTENED WHEN I WAS TEACHING. I taught them symmetry in mathS (they call it MathS not Math... wierdos), recounting in Literacy, 'why we have seasons' in science (totally butchered that lesson, pretty sure I just confused them more than taught them), and then read them The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales while they were alternating out for P.E.
I came away from it realizing that yes, I do enjoy teaching and this is the job for me. Its just 95% of the classes in London are full of hellians, not children.
Tonight? Pizza, Wine and HIMYIM with Monica and maybe we'll see what the boys are up to. Tomorrow? Camden in the afternoon with Jen Thur (PJ 4 represent) and then off to party it up with Derek's brother Kyle and his friends.
TGIF!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Snapshots of Teaching (6 days in):
- Kids here are so much louder than Canadian ones. They talk ALL the time. I feel like putting up your hand to answer a question is a novelty here and they kinda look at me like I have three heads when I ask them to do so.
- Little kids in peacoats = ADORABLE.
- The teachers shout a lot at the kids. We were taught a more patient, reward positive behvaiour type management strategy in teacher's college as opposed to just screaming at the children. But at a few schools, the TAs / other teacher's did just that. Plus, having other teachers yell at your kids for you totally undermines your authority as a teacher -- very frustrating! I went to a Behaviour Management Professional Development course put on by Protocol tonight and it was SO RELIEVING to know that it's not just me and the students / other teachers treat other supply teachers just as poorly!!!!
- They say "bin" instead of "garbage" and have no clue what I'm talking about if I accidentally say garbage. Same with "queue" and "line up" or "hot lunch" and "school dinners".
- I've had about 8 different kids tell me that my necklace (my whale's tail / BFF Emma necklace I wear 24/7) is beautiful.
- I hate reception (kindergarten), but adored Nursery (pre-school). Favourite grade so far has been Grade Year 5
- When I was getting ready to leave to take the bus home, a student saw me put on myrunning shoes trainers and after I told him that I was wearing them because I was taking the bus home, he said "You take the bus home to Canada?"
- I have zero experience teaching phonics and it is hilarious to see the students sound out words using phonics and hand signals. "The cat goes ck-ck-ck-at"
Places that students think I am from (because of my accent):
- America
- New Zealand
- Jamaica.
ya, mon!
- Kids here are so much louder than Canadian ones. They talk ALL the time. I feel like putting up your hand to answer a question is a novelty here and they kinda look at me like I have three heads when I ask them to do so.
- Little kids in peacoats = ADORABLE.
- The teachers shout a lot at the kids. We were taught a more patient, reward positive behvaiour type management strategy in teacher's college as opposed to just screaming at the children. But at a few schools, the TAs / other teacher's did just that. Plus, having other teachers yell at your kids for you totally undermines your authority as a teacher -- very frustrating! I went to a Behaviour Management Professional Development course put on by Protocol tonight and it was SO RELIEVING to know that it's not just me and the students / other teachers treat other supply teachers just as poorly!!!!
- They say "bin" instead of "garbage" and have no clue what I'm talking about if I accidentally say garbage. Same with "queue" and "line up" or "hot lunch" and "school dinners".
- I've had about 8 different kids tell me that my necklace (my whale's tail / BFF Emma necklace I wear 24/7) is beautiful.
- I hate reception (kindergarten), but adored Nursery (pre-school). Favourite grade so far has been
- When I was getting ready to leave to take the bus home, a student saw me put on my
- I have zero experience teaching phonics and it is hilarious to see the students sound out words using phonics and hand signals. "The cat goes ck-ck-ck-at"
Places that students think I am from (because of my accent):
- America
- New Zealand
- Jamaica.
ya, mon!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
tubes and corn
"The Circle line is delayed due to a body under the train. Service will resume shortly" ......... say WHAT? Monica and I looked at each other and couldn't stop laughing. There are some things they do in England that are VERY different than in Canada.
Take for example, their food court vendors. Whilst walking through a Canadian mall, you might smell the delicious aromas of Cinnabons and NY Fries. In the Lewisham Shopping Centre? It's "Magic Corn"! All you smell is corn-on-the-cob and melted butter. They sell you Styrofoam cups of corn and then put some flavouring in it. When I asked for a "regular version" the man looked at me like I was crazy and suggested I take the most popular option: Cheese. He the proceeded to pour some powdered orange cheese on it. LIKE KRAFT DINNER CHEESE. Now I have been craving some KD for the past week (mostly because you if you do find it here, its super expensive) so this definitely satisfied my craving. I thought it was very delicious. Monica didn't really enjoy hers though, so she will not be buying it again. Me however? It's nutritious (somewhat) AND delicious. :)
~*~
This past weekend has been very busy and fun! On friday, we spent the night in because we were pretty tired from teaching all week. We decided to make it a wine-and-movie night. I jetted to the store to pick up the supplies (four small bags of chips---errr "crisps", some chocolate and white wine) and when I went to the cashier, the shopkeeper looked at my purchases and asked me: "Sweetie, are you okay?". Hahaha, apparently buying crisps, chocolate, and wine automatically makes me a candidate for "Bridget Jones 3". Priceless.
Laxmi (old giftie / LHS friend) was in town for the weekend so we met up on Saturday and did the stereotypical touristy things. I took them on the same route that James I went on when we visited in July. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (but unfortunately not inside - next time!), St. James' Park, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square. It was nice to see Laxmi and spend an afternoon with her!
At night we went out to Clapham with Jonny, his girlfriend Bethan and Bethan's friends. Clapham is a stereotypically "Aussie" area and since Tuesday is Aussie Day, there were a lot of things going on in Clapham that night. Apparently the thing to do in London is bar-hop (another thing different than Toronto), so we started off at a pub (I was sick there though so I ended up just drinking water and nursing the beginnings of a headache), next we went to a bar (great music, good mojitos and Allen, our other housemate, joined us) and finally ended up at a club called 'The White Room'. I had an okay time at the club, but I've come the conclusion that I only like house music in small doses. After awhile it feels like I'm dancing to the same song over and over again, and all I want to hear is some Biggie. We took a cab home and after some drunken skyping (its replaced my drunk dials apparently!), passed out.
Solid weekend in London town. :)
Take for example, their food court vendors. Whilst walking through a Canadian mall, you might smell the delicious aromas of Cinnabons and NY Fries. In the Lewisham Shopping Centre? It's "Magic Corn"! All you smell is corn-on-the-cob and melted butter. They sell you Styrofoam cups of corn and then put some flavouring in it. When I asked for a "regular version" the man looked at me like I was crazy and suggested I take the most popular option: Cheese. He the proceeded to pour some powdered orange cheese on it. LIKE KRAFT DINNER CHEESE. Now I have been craving some KD for the past week (mostly because you if you do find it here, its super expensive) so this definitely satisfied my craving. I thought it was very delicious. Monica didn't really enjoy hers though, so she will not be buying it again. Me however? It's nutritious (somewhat) AND delicious. :)
~*~
This past weekend has been very busy and fun! On friday, we spent the night in because we were pretty tired from teaching all week. We decided to make it a wine-and-movie night. I jetted to the store to pick up the supplies (four small bags of chips---errr "crisps", some chocolate and white wine) and when I went to the cashier, the shopkeeper looked at my purchases and asked me: "Sweetie, are you okay?". Hahaha, apparently buying crisps, chocolate, and wine automatically makes me a candidate for "Bridget Jones 3". Priceless.
Laxmi (old giftie / LHS friend) was in town for the weekend so we met up on Saturday and did the stereotypical touristy things. I took them on the same route that James I went on when we visited in July. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (but unfortunately not inside - next time!), St. James' Park, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square. It was nice to see Laxmi and spend an afternoon with her!
At night we went out to Clapham with Jonny, his girlfriend Bethan and Bethan's friends. Clapham is a stereotypically "Aussie" area and since Tuesday is Aussie Day, there were a lot of things going on in Clapham that night. Apparently the thing to do in London is bar-hop (another thing different than Toronto), so we started off at a pub (I was sick there though so I ended up just drinking water and nursing the beginnings of a headache), next we went to a bar (great music, good mojitos and Allen, our other housemate, joined us) and finally ended up at a club called 'The White Room'. I had an okay time at the club, but I've come the conclusion that I only like house music in small doses. After awhile it feels like I'm dancing to the same song over and over again, and all I want to hear is some Biggie. We took a cab home and after some drunken skyping (its replaced my drunk dials apparently!), passed out.
Solid weekend in London town. :)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Welcome to England!
Well... here i am. I've been talking about it ever since I came back from my Eurotrip in July and found out I had to be superwoman to get in the TDSB, But... I'm here.
In England.
Living.
Teaching.
....and Blogging?
I thought an England blog would be a much easier way to keep in contact with everyone and let them know about my adventures. It would also be a nice way for me to remember everything and to differ from my livejournal ramblings that have nothing to do with teaching. So I don't know how often I'll post, but knowing me, it'll probably be a lot. :) I am very ego-centric, you know.
Monica has a blog at Cheers Londonand she started it the first day we got here, so if you want a run-down of the first week, check it out!
OH and the reason for my blog name? Top up Tube? Well, its a combo of two words that you don't normally come across in Canada but you hear EVERYWHERE in London. "Top up" is a phrase you hear all the time around here. From "topping up" your cell phone minutes to your oyster (transit) card to... well, just those two things so far, but i had never really seen the phrase used in Canada! And the tube... well since i'm supply teaching, the tube/DLR (light rail transit)/National Rail/Buses are my best friend. Put them together and you've got some great alliteration. :)
In England.
Living.
Teaching.
....and Blogging?
I thought an England blog would be a much easier way to keep in contact with everyone and let them know about my adventures. It would also be a nice way for me to remember everything and to differ from my livejournal ramblings that have nothing to do with teaching. So I don't know how often I'll post, but knowing me, it'll probably be a lot. :) I am very ego-centric, you know.
Monica has a blog at Cheers Londonand she started it the first day we got here, so if you want a run-down of the first week, check it out!
OH and the reason for my blog name? Top up Tube? Well, its a combo of two words that you don't normally come across in Canada but you hear EVERYWHERE in London. "Top up" is a phrase you hear all the time around here. From "topping up" your cell phone minutes to your oyster (transit) card to... well, just those two things so far, but i had never really seen the phrase used in Canada! And the tube... well since i'm supply teaching, the tube/DLR (light rail transit)/National Rail/Buses are my best friend. Put them together and you've got some great alliteration. :)
Tower Bridge
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