It's All on Me Now!

Nov. 20 - Nov. 26 (Wellington)

Well, this was our trip to the capital city, as well as my full time teaching being well underway. Oh, and Thanksgiving of course.

Saturday morning we were up dark and early at 4:30am to catch our flight to the capital city, Wellington, where we would be visiting a friend of Katie's, Courtney. Arriving after a quick flight, we met the awesome Courtney, who made it her mission to have us see all the wonders of Wellington in a day. :) She first drove us up to the top of the city, where we took the iconic cable car down. Next we headed over to Te Papa museum, the best in New Zealand I believe? Either way it was awesome; 1. it was FREE, and 2. well it was just cool. Very interactive. For instance, they had a giant squid on display, and next to it, a computerized thing where you could make your own cartoon squid and play with it haha. There also was a lot of cool Maori stuff all around, and well just lots of stuff to look at and learn about. It's hard to remember exactly everything I saw, but I had a good time. After that we went to have the best gelato I've ever had in my life (2 flavors: vanilla bean & mango). After lunch and a quick visit to the Parliament Buildings, Courtney drove us around while I continually nodded off (I couldn't help it...I was tired!), and ventured above the city by some wind turbines for some nice views. We were all pretty pooped by now, so Courtney brought us back to her house for some relaxing. The next day she took us for a little hiking and then sadly we had to head back. I liked Wellington a lot, it was very "hip"; it was actually the first time/place I could see myself living somewhere in New Zealand. Not that I don't love it, I just hadn't gotten that feeling yet.

As for teaching...another busy week. They just seem to get busier and busier.

My class here started writing letters to my class back at home, and though it took almost the whole week during writing time, it was fun and I think there was a lot of excitement between both classes. My Spanish lessons have been going well too; my students get really into it, especially when I make it a little silly sometimes. This week we were learning emotions, and they were able to use what they learned in some fun games. In addition, I made a nice big bulletin board for extra stuff, which has cultural information (this week is on the geography and fun facts of Spanish-speaking countries), pictures, info on what we're learning this week, and an area for students to write down things they want to learn about, words in Spanish they want to know, etc. However, the best part of Spanish this week was when we had a skype meetings/conversation on Thursday between my class and an SNC foreign exchange student from Mexico. He was great; my students conversed with him the best they could in Spanish, and then he answered question after question they asked about him, his life, Mexico, etc. Fun fun.

I also finally tried my hand at teaching math this week, as it was the one thing that I had put off doing because of my insecurity with it. Being that it was teaching metric measurements, I was nervous, plus I had about 34 students from 3 different classes (they did cross grouping-mixed students up by ability level). Still, it went fine, and I realized I didn't have much to worry about. Then, Thursday, it was Thanksgiving! I gave a little lesson on it, explaining what American students usually learn about the day (when they're young), how the true story's a bit different (in a gentle way), and why we have it today. We focused on the fact that we celebrate it as a time to be with family and be grateful for what you have, and the students discussed what they are thankful for. I then shared with them some of sweet pumpkin pie I had made the other night, and they all liked it! (though a few chose not to try it) Following the school day, Katie, Beth and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for our host families all by ourselves, and it was a definite success! Hooray! I'm so thankful for Rachel (and her welcoming-ness), and for SNC to provide students with opportunities for such meaningful abroad experiences. I'm also very grateful to have such supporting family and friends, and I miss them all and can't wait to spend Christmas with them. :)

On My Own...

Nov. 13 - Nov. 19 (Devonport)

This weekend was the weekend we all were planning our own little trips, a day to be by ourselves. I was really looking forward to it. Beth went geo-cashing with Jan, Katie went to Auckland, and I went to a town nearby, Devonport. Katie and I decided to take the train in together and then split up, but unfortunately the trains were not running that day. And then while we were looking for the bus stop, the bus zooms by. Of course. So, we went into the station cafe and had a smoothie. Haha. We did eventually catch a bus, an 1 1/2 long ride. Yuck. We didn't get into Auckland with as much time there as we would have liked, but hey what can you do. We then split up and I took the ferry across the bay to Devonport. I'd heard it was a cute old town with lots of charm, and it definitely lived up to those expectations. It had a ton of outdoor cafes, second hand bookstores, and cute locally owned shops. I found a great pair of earrings for really cheap, and I had a little chat with the woman who made them. It was very nice. I loved having the time to go at my own pace, look around at what I wanted, talk to the locals, etc. I then hiked up to Mt. Victoria, a big green grassy mount/hill with great views of Auckland and the surrounding islands. I spent some time up there laying in the grass, just soaking up the sun and the views, and listening to music on my iPod. Much too soon, I had to head back down, but not before I stopped at an empty cafe for a very late lunch. The workers were EXTREMELY friendly, and I got the best pesto pasta in my life, followed by a giant carrot cafe cupcake, all while eating it in a comfy sofa next to an open window the size of a wall. It was great. Of course my luck ran a little short on my way back, with the cancellation of my ferry, but a quick call to Katie from a pay phone (who I was meeting) and waiting 30 minutes for the next ferry solved that problem. So, maybe a few transportation hiccups, but it really was a PERFECT day, just what I needed. :)

The school week, unfortunately, was not as stress-free. A group called ERO, who had something to do with the education board or something like that (very high up) was visiting our school Monday-Wednesday to monitor and observe our school, so everyone was pretty on edge. Then, at the end of the week, my cooperating teacher was gone so I had a sub on Thursday and Friday. I did NOT have a good experience with that. He had me do everything, and this really was my first time completely full time teaching, behavior management and everything. I really could have used support, but I didn't really get any. Then, on Friday morning, I got a pretty harsh lecture from him about everything I was essentially doing wrong with managing my students, what he would have done, and what I needed to work towards. I'm not sure if I took it the wrong way, but I was quite upset afterwards, which made the day even harder as I was on edge, not knowing what to do. However, I talked to my cooperating teacher afterwards and we worked things out, and I won't have to work with him anymore. I really appreciated that. So, this week was certainly an interesting experience, but I definitely learned a lot. I do think I keep an open mind to other people's teaching styles, but I do not think that any one person has ONE "right" teaching style, and I do not think it is right to force it on someone. I have never felt so poor as a teacher as I did those 2 days, and it really knocked my confidence down. I do not think that was right. Still, with the support of my cooperating teacher, I got back on my feet, and was on my way to better experiences.

Leaving on a good note, Friday was a really good day. My students have picked up Spanish really quickly, so at our all school assembly this week (when my class was heading it), some of my students demonstrated a Spanish conversation for everyone. We were learning greetings and conversation starters, and they wanted to show the school, so we put it together and they did great!

Exciting Travels & Teaching Extravaganzas

Nov. 6 - Nov. 12 (Rotorua weekend)

Yeah yeah yeah, I know. Let's not talk about it.

Anyway, I better have a quick update on the weeks where I've left everyone in the dark. So, this post will be about my experiences 11/6/10 - 11/12/10.

This was a lovely weekend when Beth's host mom Jan took us South to Rotorua, or I'm told the locals call it, "Rota-Vegas." It was a nice town, very turisty, kind of like a Wisconsin Dells. I liked it. Friday night we just had time for a quick dinner at a place called the Noodle Canteen, which was a bit like a Noodles and Company, but with all Asian dishes. It was delicious! I've been craving it every since. Saturday Jan drove us to Taupo, where I put my sometimes present fear of heights behind me and leapt off a 47 meter (154 ft) ledge over a river, with a nice, flexible bungee cord attached to my feet of course. I had big dreams of doing an epic leap off the edge to quench my "flying" desires, but that all went to poo once I was actually standing on the edge, bungee cord pulling softly at my feet, looking down to my apparent doom. Luckily enough, I was able to react pretty quickly once the guide said "Alright, you're ready. Have fun." At this point I began whispering to myself, "ok go. ok go. ok go," but before I could let my fear get ahold of myself, I leaned. After that first half second, my mind realized I had hit the point of no return, and all it could focus on was the ground zooming towards me, seemingly to my death. It was then that I couldn't help it, it was more out of reaction, that I screamed. And I mean, SCREAMED. But just at that last second before you think the ground is getting a little too close, you feel the bungee, and it's like a wave of relief that pours over you. After that, you're golden. I could enjoy the thrill, and the weightless feeling of moving up and down through the air. It was brilliant. Getting down was interesting, as you had to grab a pole that workers in a boat were lifting to you, and then they pulled you down to detach the bungee. But at that moment, all I could really think about was how I could actually have just done that, so I really didn't mind. I definitely have never had that kind of rush before, and it was definitely worth it. Beth went after me, jumping feet first and making a more "Eh!" sound on the way down...that was interesting. Katie came next, finishing off our adventures.

After this, I have a seriously hard time remembering what else happened that day; the adrenaline sort of took over my mind, so by the end of the day, I was asking "wait, what'd we do today after bungee jumping?" Not that I could remember jumping that much, it happened so fast. :) However, after a chat with Katie and Beth, we got the day straight. Jan then took us to some falls nearby for lunch, and then back to Rotorua, where she took us to a few nice lookouts for some pictures. We also went to a Redwood forest park, which was so different from the vegetation we'd been seeing while here. It was much more quiet, empty, kind of magical and eerie. Very cool. That night we then went to a Maori presentation, about the native peoples of New Zealand. It was so interesting and I really enjoyed it. After dinner they took us to these old springs (water) with the purest, clearest water you've ever seen, and the area was covered with glow worms as well. It was like looking at thousands of twinkle lights. :)

Sunday was a more relaxing day, where we did some shopping in town and then went to a thermal activity park, with boiling mud and stinky sulfur emissions. We then drove back, through the wonderful scenery once again. It was like looking out at a scene from the Lord of the Rings; I felt like I was in the Shire. All in all, a great weekend.

As far as school goes, it was also a busy week. I had began my own Narrative Writing unit that went pretty well, as well as teaching my students Spanish. That was fun! They really got into it, and I enjoyed it as well. They're still a very challenging group, but my cooperating teacher helped me manage them as I was getting used to teaching them.

Movin' On Up...

Ah blogs, I can never remember to write them. Grr.

Alright, recap on last weekend...The girls and I took a trip to Waiheke Island to look around a bit. Unfortunately it was rainy in the morning which put a damper on our plans, but still got some good walking in, as well as peering in artsy shops and viewing some vineyards (there's a lot of them on the island). Sunday mine and Katie's host mom Rachel and her partner Ken took us to Bethel's beach (a black sand beach) for some hiking ("tramping") and a picnic on the beach. Us courageous women braved the ocean for some swimming (and let me tell you, it was not a hot day), though suffered shivers and headaches afterwards from the FREEZING water. Still, good fun, and a very nice weekend.

Now, on to school. I have to say, it has gotten a lot better this week! Not that it was "bad" before, but I'm finally just starting to feel comfortable in the room. The students are starting to listen to me when I try and manage behavior, and I felt like I could pick a lesson during the day if I needed to. I was also able to sit down with my cooperating teacher again and really talk about lessons coming up, which really helped me relax and focus in on what I needed to do. Wednesday I had the chance to observe a few other classrooms of the same age level while my teacher and some of the class was gone on a field trip, and that was a great experience to see different teaching styles for the same age. I took some notes and I think I'll be able to analyze and reflect on our class and see if I can try any of the other strategies I saw in other classrooms with my students.

As for today, it was quite a busy day to say the least. I had planned on doing a Guided Reading group as introducing my new Narrative Writing Unit, but that kind of changed as soon as the day started. While I was marking off students for attendance as they were coming in, the principal walked in, and my cooperating teacher whispered to me something like, "Quick! Do the role!" ...so, I did. I then just continued with the rest of the morning routines and activities, and went right into my Reading lesson, and then on to my Writing lesson. By then it was break! Everything went well in the morning; I had a lot of participation and evidence of connections during reading, and my teacher really liked my writing lesson, so woo hoo I suppose! :)

Then, after break, my teacher asked me if I wanted to do the math lesson, as she would be out and a sub in (teachers at my school have time they can take for planning and scoring). I said sure of course, but I got a bit nervous because the first part of the lesson was about metric conversions...not my specialty obviously. Still, it was alright, and I definitely got to use my math brain when we had to go over certain problems on their sheets. Next, we practiced time (digital, analog, and 24 hour), and they did that really well. So yes, my throat's kind of dry, but a pretty good day.

This weekend we're heading to Rotorua, where I'm going to have the opportunity to learn a bit about the Maori culture, and oh yeah, bungee jump! Excited? I'd say. Hoping my feet don't turn into jelly at the top; I've always wanted to fly, even if only for a second. :)

Anxiety... :S

Be careful what you wish for.

Oh, was I thinking this today. Mind you, it is probably for the best, but I can’t help but think I’ve just dug myself a hole. Let me explain…

Honesty here.

Being that this week was a shortened school week (Monday was their Labor Day), I knew there would obviously be less teaching opportunities, as we would have one day less in the week. In addition, Tuesdays we have “Tech,” where students go to a neighboring school for specials (music, art, etc.) for half the day, and the rest of the day was independence work on upcoming presentations. Wednesday again was a fully independent day to begin work on a new project, and today and Friday were slotted to be our other student teacher’s days to full-time teach. So unfortunately, that meant no real teaching time for me, and I definitely was pretty “bummed” and felt a little out of place. For one thing, I’m certainly not used to the students being so independent, as I’ve mostly had experience with younger students. In addition, as I believe I said last time, my students are…unique little persons. A lot of them do not take to authority well, and they are having an especially hard time taking school seriously at the end of the school year, because most of them will be graduating 8^th grade in a few weeks. If I haven’t explained already, my students are a year 7/8 split, about 30 of them, and here in New Zealand, the seasons are switched from ours, so we are in Spring going into Summer now. Therefore, their school year ends in December.

Anyway, yes, I’m having a really hard time “dealing with” my students. There’s just so many of them, and because they’re older, they’re asked to do a lot of random tasks during the day. So, there’s always students gone out of the classroom, students are often getting sent to the office for bad behavior, and some who are in class get very loud an disruptive, and honestly, it’s just overwhelming. I don’t know if it’s because I’m inexperienced with this age level, if it’s because we’re near the end of the school year, or if it’s just this class, but I’m feeling very out of place, and just generally unsuccessful; helpless. I definitely know classroom management is an important part of the classroom, but it seems like there’s 10x more of “putting out fires” and “damage control,” managing the students instead of actual teaching and learning going on. It’s frustrating. Very frustrating. I was “warned” by my new cooperating teacher that this class was difficult, but I never imagined it would be like this. I’m going to be doing some serious reflecting on this as time goes on, so I can remain positive and hopefully get through to the students. That is, teach them meaningful information (with good, practical connections) while forming positive bonds.

So, back to today…

Yes, I’ve been frustrated with my student’s behaviors, the classroom schedule (not structured in the way I’m used to…), the fact that I haven’t been able to see my cooperating teacher teach hardly at all (she’s been out a lot), and how I feel like I’ve backed off more than I would have if the other student teacher wasn’t there. All in all, I haven’t really been able to teach yet at all, not even a little. So today finally, after trying to schedule some times to meet with my cooperating teacher (she’s really busy), we got together and planned out a lot. And wow, she gave me a lot of info. So now, after not teaching anything in this class so far, starting Monday, I will be starting/teaching a new writing unit (which I must create tonight), and at the end of next week, be teaching Reading and Math as well. Plus, the next Monday I’ll be starting my Spanish unit (which I must create this weekend). So I’ll be teaching the majority of the lessons in a week and a half. I’m not too worried about Reading, but obviously I’m pretty intimidated by the rest of it. The writing unit I’m sure will be fine, I really just need time to get it planned out (something I do not have a lot of). Also, for math, I’ll be teaching Measurement, so that’ll be interesting to try and learn the metric system before I have to teaching it in a week (I need a “Metric System for Dummies” or something like that). As for the Spanish, I’m super excited about it, but being that I haven’t actually ever taught it before, that’s scary (especially so soon and with the rest of these things!). Yep. Overwhelmed. But, this is what I wanted I must admit (just would have liked a smoother transition), so I’ll just have to work hard and try and keep up. Wish me luck!!

On a better note, although I realize this was mostly me complaining about things that really are no one’s fault, I will say this will definitely be a learning experience, which really, is the point. Also, this weekend was great. We were able to spend 3 days relaxing; browsing shops in Auckland, walking along the beach in Whitianga, seeing some beautiful countryside/landscape, taking great pictures, and enjoying fantastic weather.

I’ve attached some pictures of my weekend. Enjoy.

First Days as a Kiwi

It starts.

Thursday night already, which means I've been gone for almost a week already! Crazy? Oh yes. Last Friday began the insanely long trip to essentially the other side of the world. Flight #1 departing at 2:30pm, and finally arriving in Auckland on Sunday around 9:00am. That would be 24 1/2 hours of travel, not considering the time differences; that's REAL travel time. Ouch. Surprisingly, however, the last flight, that wonderful 12 hour one, was about as comfortable as it could be considering. Apart from a grumpy man sitting next to me, it was quite enjoyable. We were served an actually tasty (and I mean good!) dinner of chicken and pasta almost immediately into the flight, along with a free glass of wine. Of course, I was all over that. After getting a decent amount of sleep for a plane ride, I relaxed a bit, watched a movie, and before I knew it, we were descending. The staff was fantastic; very friendly and helpful. They really made it as pleasant as they could for us. After a smooth trip through customs, I found myself being pulled into a welcoming hug from my new host mom, Rachel. To say she's awesome is a huge understatement. I don't know how she did it, but even after a few days, I feel so welcomed and comfortable in my new temporary home. I appreciate everything she's done for me so far, and it's a really good feeling to know I have a nice place to go to at the end of the day.

On to Monday. Trying to ignore the nagging jet-lag, Katie, Beth, and I headed to Swanson School bright and early Monday morning. I met my cooperating teacher, my students, and the second student teacher, a woman from the University of Auckland who will be in the class for 3 weeks. Right from the get-go, I could tell that this would be an...interesting experience. My year 7/8 students (ages 11-13) are very rambunctious (you know those hormones), wild, and pretty rebellious. In addition, I'm not sure how to go about "sharing" teaching time with the other student teacher as of right now. It's difficult knowing that I should probably have more seniority between the two of us, as I am in my final year and she is only in her first year of college, however she is older so by instinct I look to her sometimes for mentoring. I need to be careful with this. Besides these issues, the education system is a lot more different than I thought it'd be. It's hard to explain how, but the structure and goals(?) are just different. I'll try to explain it better as time goes on. I'm trying to keep an open mind with everything, and I am excited to face these challenges, as I know it will only help me in the future. Plus, one thing I'm super excited for is the fact that I will have the opportunity to teach my students some Spanish! To think, I'll have my experience with teaching Spanish in another English-speaking country! :)

Well, I could definitely write more, and I'm sure most of this was scatter-brainish, but now you know just a bit of my life here so far. I'm still sick, but I'm hoping it'll be going away soon (not that I haven't been hoping that for weeks now), especially with my early bed time...it's 10:00pm here, an hour later than my bedtime every other night I've been here. :) This weekend we're planning on going to the Coromandel Peninsula, which I'm pretty pumped for. If anyone's seen Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the beginning part of the movie (when they first enter Narnia) is where I'm heading. Exciting!

Until next time.

A Few Objectives/Goals: Why Student Teaching Abroad?

My name is Kristin Jelic from St. Norbert College and I will be student teaching in New Zealand in the fall of 2010!

There are a lot of reasons, both professional and personal, why I chose to student teach abroad. Throughout my whole life, I was fortunate enough to have parents who were very globally aware, and knew the importance of learning about other cultures. I was lucky enough to travel to different places growing up, and their passion for experiencing other cultures has definitely rubbed off on me. After studying in Spain for a semester, I know student teaching abroad will be an amazing and knowledge-packed experience.

After being informed that I would be going to New Zealand, I became, to say the least, VERY excited. I have heard so many good things about the education system there, especially with literacy. The latest and greatest techniques are all coming from New Zealand, and I can't wait to learn from them. I know I'll take back so much that I'll be able to apply in my classroom here, and hopefully I can provide some knowledge and information about or schools here too.

Some of my goals and objectives include:

- Gain insight into the diverse culture in New Zealand (the maori culture)

- Learn about and take back knowledge of advanced literacy strategies

- Maintain communication between my US placement and I, and possibly build communication between my US placement and my New Zealand placement (Skype or pen pals)

- Reflect on what I have learned in the St. Norbert education program and compare it to things I learn and see in the New Zealand education system

- Immerse myself in my experience to truly understand the lifestyle

- Become more of a global inhabitant and self-reflect on morals, philosophies, etc. to become a better person