This week is what England's schools call 'half-term' and now I already have my first week of holiday (vacation, in America). Roughly every six weeks, the schools have at least a week break which is a nice change from the schools in the U.S. I suppose it is a hassle for any parents who aren't affiliated with a school here and who have to find childcare for a week at a time. Most parents I've spoken with use their children's grandparents as babysitters or take time off of work to spend quality time with their kids. This is also a great time for the teachers to rejuvenate and prepare for the next weeks leading up to Easter. The more frequent breaks and reliably short school terms are healthier for the students and teachers than the seemingly endless days on end of which I experienced.
School days at a Catholic primary school of course differ from my school memories because we are allowed to say prayers and teach religion in school here. Children generally act the same at this school as any school I've visited in the States or Ireland--a few squirrely (cheeky, in England) children, but overall, very polite youngsters. There is also the small percentage of very high ability learners and rather low ability students and then the rest who fit somewhere in the middle in every classroom.
For a student, a typical day at this school starts at 9 A.M. with coats and bags hooked in the cloak room and then filing into the classroom at tables of six or eight children. All of the children wear red jumpers (sweatshirts or sweaters depending on what the parents purchase), white collared shirts, and dark blue trousers, dresses, or skirts with black shoes. Each child's presence is recorded in a very official book and the teacher says, "Good morning, _____," to each student and they must respond, "Good morning, Mrs. _______." Silent reading begins the day for 15-20 minutes and during that time, a break is held to watch the morning broadcast which is written, produced, and directed by year six (aged 10-11) students. During the broadcast, two prayers are said before starting the school day. After wrapping up reading, the numeracy lesson begins for an hour of working in groups with other children who match one another's ability. A short playtime (recess, in America) is held from 10:30 to 10:45 in which the children play outside while the teachers drink tea or coffee and chat. I use this time to mark numeracy books since it takes about 10 minutes to fill the electric kettle and boil the water for the senior teachers and then re-fill and boil it for the rest of us to get a drink.
After break, everyone convenes for literacy and works in levelled-ability groups again for about an hour until the children wash their hands and use the toilets (bathroom, in America) to prepare for dinnertime (lunch). Dinnertime is quite different from what I remember: the children are placed in their seats by dinner ladies by the order in which they enter the hall (cafeteria) so there is no wandering around, spending time to choose a seat. Two children a day are assigned to wear checkered aprons and chef's hats to serve the salad at the salad bar--the mini-chefs look charming and incredibly humorous at the same time. Two jugs, one of water and one of milk, are set on every table for the children who buy a hot dinner to fill-up their cup. (No bags or cartons of milk exist at my school and only 1% white milk is offered--no 2%, chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry here. I mentioned these options that exist in Ashland, Ohio to my students and there was almost a riot.) Upon finishing their dinner, the children are allowed to go to a club or out to playtime. Some of the clubs include cricket, oragami, choir, around the world, and street dance. From sitting down for dinner to returning to class, an hour passes.
Once returning to class at 1 P.M., the day varies each afternoon until 3:15 when the children are dismissed. First, the afternoon attendance is recorded and follows the same pattern as the morning routine, but this time it begins with, "Good afternoon." The main classroom teacher will teach the topic (currently the Seven Wonders of the World), P.E. (focusing on gymnastics right now), Art, or Science. On Tuesdays, however, two separate teachers come to the classroom to teach French and Music.
When the children leave for the day, they meet their parents in the yard (playground) or walk home on their own if they are old enough to do so.
These first five weeks, most of my learning has been new vocabulary for everyday things: talking back in America would be 'answering back' in England; looking or sounding disappointed is called being cross here; a student who is acting like a brat is called being 'cheeky' in England--I've been told that 'brat' is a bad word here; and a 'madam' is a title given to a little girl who is trying to rule the roost. I'm sure there is much more vocabulary to be learnt and sometimes, my biggest headache at the end of the day is just trying to replace words I've used for 24 years with the English terms.
I would much rather tire my brain learning new words than exhausting it dealing with incredibly rude children as a substitute (supply, in England) teacher--which is exactly what happened everyday I was assigned days at Ashland High School and two of the primary schools in the upper grades. Those days seemed longer than weeks sometimes and I'm very happy that my life has moved on from that debacle. Children here are taught to hold doors open for adults and are expected to greet visitors to the classroom--often one child is assigned to be in charge of the door. "Please" and "thank you" are required words to get and receive anything that is given to you if you are a child, but of course the adults model these expectations as well. Whenever a child does act out, they are spoken to by an adult calmly and then a letter of apology is written to the adult and anyone else who may have been harmed in the incident. Words of the week are focused on for the entire school--last week was compassion--and time is given each day to reflect on how one can demonstrate this character word. The best difference about teaching in this school than being a supply teacher in Ashland is that if you demand and model respect, you get it back from the children--in Ashland, you get laughed at by the students.
Below are a few photos to illustrate a day in an English school that I found online--we're not allowed to take photos in school--and also some recipes for you to try of which Lee and I have put on our favourites list.
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
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| This is a very close illustration to what the children wear everyday, minus the neckties. Girls have more options to mix-and-match, but at least they aren't getting ridiculed for what they wear to school--which is what can happen in America. |
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| All of the kids do change to their "p.e. kits" which consist of white t-shirts, blue or black shorts, and "pumps" which are lace-less black shoes. It's just like teaching with Poitier, but without the boxing battle. |
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| A similar depiction to what our salad bar looks like and the kids' expressions are similar as well. |
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| Every school subject (numeracy, literacy, topic) has its own book in which the children record their work. There are even exercise books for homework. The books are sometimes different sizes and some have blank pages, lined pages, and grids, but they make grading and marking much easier to keep track of for the teachers. Recipes North African Harira A soup that is really filling and a perfect blend of tasty spices. |
2 tbsp. olive oil
225g boneless lean lamb, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
115g chickpeas, drained
1.5 litres (2 ¾ pints) vegetable stock
115g (4 oz.) split red lentils
2 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded, and diced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
1 tbsp. tomato puree
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground turmeric
½ tsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tbsp. parsley
55g (2 oz.) long-grain rice
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the lamb and cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for 8-10 min., until lightly browned all over. Reduce the heat, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 min., until softened.
Increase the heat to medium, add the chickpeas, pour in the stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, red pepper, tomato puree, sugar, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, coriander, and parsley and simmer for 15 min. Add the rice and simmer for a further 15 min., until the rice is cooked and the lentils are tender.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove the pan from the heat. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, sprinkle with coriander and serve immediately. Raspberry Tarts
Not too sweet, but still a great dessert.
6 small deep short crust pastry cases
1 egg
100g ground almonds
100g butter
90g golden caster sugar
1 orange
1 tbsp. vanilla
125g raspberry jam
crème fraiche
Preheat oven to 190 deg. C
Put 6 pastry cases on a baking tray. Make a frangipane mixture by cracking the egg into a mixing bowl an adding 100g of almonds, 100g of butter, and 90g of sugar. Grate over the zest of ½ an orange and add 1 tbsp. of vanilla. Use a spoon to mix together.
Spoon a small tsp. of jam into each pastry base. Top with a heaped tsp. of frangipane, add another small tsp. of jam, then finally another heaped tsp. of frangipane. Put the tray in the oven on the middle shelf and set the timer for 18 min.
Serve the tarts warm when golden and cooked. Add a dollop of crème fraiche on the side of each one. Enchiladas Always a hit and tastes just like a restaurant's.  1 chicken or 3-4 chicken breasts 2 qt. chicken stock 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 onion, halved, cut into 1/4 –in. slices 2 green or red peppers, seeded and cut into ¼-in strips Enchilada Sauce (see below) 12 tortillas (6 in.) 2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese 2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 177 degrees C. Place chicken in a large pot, and pour chicken stock over it. Add enough water to cover if necessary. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until chicken is cooked through and very tender, about 1 hour. Transfer chicken to a bowl to cool, and reserve the stock to use for enchilada sauce if desired. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones, and shred; set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook until the slices start to soften, about 5 min. Add peppers, and cook until tender, about 7 min. Transfer to a bowl, and set aside. Place enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When hot, dip tortillas into sauce, one at a time, to soften, and place side by side on two baking sheets. Divide the shredded chicken and pepper mixture among the tortillas. Place cheese in a bowl, and toss to combine. Top each tortilla with 2 tbsp. grated cheese. Roll up tortillas, and place snugly seam side down in a 9x13 in. ovenproof baking dish. Top them with the remaining enchilada sauce and with the remaining grated cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is melted, about 30 min. Serve with salsa, sour cream, or both. |
Enchilada Sauce Can be made a day or two before. 5 long, fresh red chiles 1 c chicken stock 2 c water 2 cans of crushed tomatoes ¼ c olive oil 1 white onion, cut into ½-in. dice 2 scallions, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ c tomato paste 1 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. oregano ½ tsp. salt Cut chiles in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds and any ribs. Set aside. In a small saucepan, bring chicken stock and the water to a simmer. Add chiles; simmer until tender, about 15 min. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add onion, scallions, and garlic; sauté until translucent, about 10 min. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, red chiles and liquid, cumin, oregano, and salt. Stir to combine. Simmer gently for 15 min. Transfer to the jar of a blender/food processor; puree until smooth. Return to pan; keep hot if assembling enchiladas. |
