Well, after a really long yet amazingly informative and fun day yesterday Jer and I decided to hit the road north to visit Bushmills and Giant's Causeway. For those of you who do not know either, Bushmills is a little village near the north coast that is home to the Bushmills whiskey distillery of which we were planning on taking a tour. Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage site on the north coast that has really cool "staircase" rock formations believed to have been formed by volcanic activity many millions of years ago. This is a huge tourist stop for people visiting Northern Ireland so away we go!
Before hitting the road we decided to check out a cafe in the north side of the city called "Tojo's". It was listed in my Europe guidebook as being a great, cheap place to eat so we decided to hit there first. We got to the cafe in Smithfields Market not too long after it opened and had the place completely to ourselves. It's a really small cafe with two levels, a short and sweet menu (lots of sandwiches) and very friendly staff who cook all of the food right there in their open kitchen. Jer and I ordered a coffee and the Ulster Fry each and sat down to start the caffeine wake-up injection. Now, an Ulster Fry is very similar to the Full English breakfast, it's just the Northern Irish version. While we were drinking our coffees the delicious smell of our soon to arrive breakfast was wafting through the air and making us that much more anticipatory for the dish to come. When it arrived our plates were packed to the max of various foods including: eggs, soda bread, wheten bread (a really doughy but delicious pita shaped bread), sausage, fried tomato, friend mushrooms, and bacon. It went down almost as quickly as it arrived and we were feeling pretty solid to go for the day. Before leaving the cafe we grabbed a sandwich each to bring along with us, paid, and headed back south towards the train station.
After grabbing a ticket heading north to Coleraine, we waited for the train to arrive and hopped on. Now, this trip was both a blessing and a curse in a sense. On the good side we managed to snag a bunch of really good photos of the Irish countryside (beautiful!!) but on the bad side we hit about half a dozen electrical failures on the tracks and were delayed approximately an hour longer than the already hour and half long trip. Needless to say, we got into Coleraine an hour later than expected...meaning we missed the bus up to Bushmills (about 20 min north of Coleraine). The buses as well only run every couple of hours! Since we had this new found two hour layover to kill Jeremy and I decided to head into Coleraine to find a cafe to sit at and do this waiting after eating our delicious sandwiches from earlier.
We managed to find a local cafe called "Homemade Cafe", which is quite picturesque. It was just a small place with very friendly local service and a decent menu of local favourites. Considering we just ate, Jer and I split a pt of tea and read a bit of the local newspapers. Afterwards we walked around the town and then back to the Bus Station. Also, if you were told to picture what you think a "quaint Irish town would look like"....Coleraine is it.
After FINALLY getting on a bus we headed up to Bushmills. From the bus stop we had to walk another 20 minutes or so to get to the distillery...of which we finally made it! After all of that travel time we were worried we wouldn't make it to the last tour at 4pm...but we did! After spending a little time in the gift shop we started onto the tour. Honestly...it wasn't really as good as I had built it up to be in my head. The distillery itself is actually quite small and old. Our tour guide was a bit quiet and didn't seem to be enjoying himself (it was his sixth tour of the day) and the tour itself was really short. Maybe it was the intense amount of travel and time it took to get there that I was ready for some really mind-blowing experience, who knows. On a funny note, when we entered the bottling plant they weren't even bottling Bushmills! It was Jameson!! Which was extremely confusing but apparently they bottle Jameson on site they just do not produce it. The Bushmills bottling line was shut down for the day so we missed that, really disappointing. However, after the bottling portion of the tour came the tasting portion! I tried a sample of Bushmill's Anniversary Blend and Jeremy tried their 12 year old single malt which is exclusively sold at the distillery. After enjoying those (feeling like we earned them after how long it took to get there) we left the distillery and grabbed a bus to travel the 5 min to the causeway.
The causeway itself was absolutely beautiful! We unfortunately didn't arrive in time for any of the tours happening so we just wandered into it by ourselves. The coves that you walk through make you feel so small (in a literal as well as existential sense), however it's the amazing rock formations that make it worth it. These rocks are all in shapes like stairs so you can literally walk all over them and there's some amazing picture opportunities. Photos can be seen on my Facebook page and you can get a glimpse of just how awe inspiring some of these views actually were. At a point we found a little nook in the rocks to just sit and enjoy the fresh sea air and calm serenity of the Irish Sea. I brought along a couple cans of beer as well which we cracked open and enjoyed. I never thought for a moment in my life up to this point that I'd ever find myself in a gigantic expansive cove overlooking the Irish Sea with a cold beer in hand and a best friend to enjoy it with. It was truly one of those moments that happen in life that get etched into the tapestry of your memory. Something I will always treasure as an experience during my time here.
Once we were finished at the causeway (and yes, I collected the two cans and disposed of them appropriately....no harm to the environment!) we walked back up and caught the last bus heading back towards Coleraine. Funny enough, we had missed all of the tours that happen for Giant's Causeway but our bus driver also works for the bus service that goes through the cove! Since she knew all of the stories about the causeway, and we were literally the only ones on the bus for the entire trip, we shared all of the information and different aspects of the cove with us! A great supplement to our already amazing experience. Combining this with the generosity of Jerry the day before, we've been having a great experience with the local Irish population who have all been helpful and friendly and full of amazing stories and information. Kudos Irish!!
After getting back to Coleraine we caught the train back to Belfast (with no electrical problems) and returned at approximately 9pm. Seeing as how we set out originally at 8am....we were quite tired. We stopped for some fish and chips to bring back to Jer's and settled in to watch a bit of t.v. and then crash for the night.
So far, two amazing days full of experiences and amazing sites! Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be a lot more calm. Tomorrow Jer plays at an Irish music night at a local legend bar know as Madden's so we'll be hitting that in the evening. Wednesday there's a pub quiz thing at The Speakeasy but other than that nothing planned. We didn't manage to get tickets to the theatre for Wednesday but we'll figure out something to do!
Cheers and love to all!!!
Erik (and Jer)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Belfast Day One and Two
Well, I finally made it into Belfast on Saturday and boy what a trip that was! Not that there were any issues mind you. I just made sure to arrive fairly early to the airport because I don't like to cut things too close. Needless to say, I got into the city and had some time to kill. I wandered around the Baker Street area and managed to stop into the London Beatles Store as well as the Sherlock Holmes Museum. A quick pint and an order of chips and I was on the bus headed to London Stansted Airport. This airport is smaller and is about an hour outside of London. It caters specifically to the budget airlines so I didn't really have much choice in the manner. After getting through security I wandered through the airport a bit and then settled down at a table for a few pints, some football on the telly, and I ended up scarfing down a delicious burger (6 oz steak burger on a fresh bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon, onion rings, and melted Shropshire blue cheese....mmmmmmm.) When the gate finally came up on the board for my flight I headed over there and prepared to board.
The flight itself took almost no time at all. I barely had a moment to settle myself in and it felt like we were landing. I managed to drink a cup of coffee and read a bit of the paper and that was the duration of the flight. We actually arrive 20 min ahead of schedule! After touching down I grabbed my backpack and headed out into the terminal. Jeremy was already there waiting so we headed out to grab a bus for the 30 minute ride into Belfast itself. It was so great to see another familiar face after being over here for a month! Jeremy and I both had our stories to swap and our thoughts on living in the British Isles. We started planning what we would be doing this week as well until we got to his place.
Jer lives in a really nice flat that is actually a bunch of dorm rooms owned and operated by the university. It's almost like being in rez again!.....oh the memories. Needless to say, I dropped my stuff off pretty fast and we were out the door to the pub for a couple pints. We ended up going to a smaller pub called "Auntie Annie's" on Botanic Avenue. It was a nice little place, very typically British pub. I had a Guiness and a Magners cider (that's pretty much all there is really) and then we packed it up and headed to the dorms (he he he) to catch some shut eye.
Now, day two is really where the trip begins. We got up fairly early (8am) to make some breakfast and shower before heading out. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL so we wanted to make sure we got the most out of the day. The first place we hit was Starbucks for a cuppa and then headed out south to walk around the university. The campus itself is not extremely big but the buildings inside are quite beautiful. We got some good photo ops walking around as well; especially through the Botanic Gardens. On the other side of the gardens is the Ulster Museum, which Jer had not been to yet, so we headed in there to check out some of the exhibits. There's a large chunk of the museum called the "History Zone" as well as some nature areas and an art gallery. Considering we wanted to make sure that we hit a lot of other things, the history zone was our only stop. This area detailed a lot of the history and development of Northern Ireland all the way from Viking and Roman times through to the present. There was also a well done exhibit on the Troubles. Jer was able to fill in a lot of information on this aspect (he's quite informed on the Troubles) to clarify some things for me. This pre-information would also come in handy later.
After leaving the museum we ran into a gentlemen doing a bit of cleaning for his vehicle and he clearly heard us talking to each other and recognized we weren't from around here. He gave us a great rundown on the best areas to hit and asked how long we were staying and whether Jer had been here or there. He was just a really great help in getting us set for some important sights to see. From here we headed north towards the City Centre and City Hall. As it was Sunday City Hall wasn't open but I got some great pictures of the outside of it. The architecture is quite beautiful all around this area of Belfast and it was really neat to see the hills and mountains in the distance as you're looking around. We made a quick stop into the Belfast Welcome Centre and ended up booking a Black Cab tour of West Belfast and all of the murals and sights in that area pertaining to the Troubles. Having a bit of time to kill we walked around some other areas (it was still early so a lot was not open...plus it was Sunday) and then headed back to Donegall Square (city hall) to wait for the cab. Unfortunately, finding exactly where the cab was going to pick us up was a wee bit of a problem. We wandered around for a little bit until we came across that guy we met up near the museum. It turns out he runs a cab tour and was willing to give us the same rate that the other cabbie as going to but with extra time uncharged as well! That worked out perfectly and we into the cab and on our way west.
First off let me say...this tour was definitely worth it and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits this city, regardless of what cab company you might go with. You can read a lot about the Troubles in books and online, but nothing really hits home more than standing in the areas where a lot of the violence took place. It's hard to fathom bombings, gun shots, and random attacks happening almost on a daily basis all over the West Belfast area...it seems like it's not something you would experience in a society looking so similar to our own. But, the hatred ran deep for many years (and still festers to a certain point) and it's quite eye-opening to see how far people take divisions in belief, both political and religious, and to defend their own. Jerry (the cab driver) was VERY knowledgeable on the Troubles and he was also old enough to remember a lot, if not all, of the major attacks and events throughout the forty or so years they occurred. He also told us that he was a Catholic himself so he knows what happened more from that perspective and you'd get the same thing from a Protestant driver as well. A memorable quotation from him "So I know about 50% of the story and a Protestant driver would know about 50% of the story and somewhere in the middle of all of that lies the truth."
Jerry took us to all of the major sites and these photos plus explanations can be found on my Facebook page. It's just too long to try and explain every little detail...you can always ask me too.
Once Jerry dropped us off back at Jeremy's place we saddled up and headed over the Lavery's Pub to have a couple pints of Guiness, some food, and to watch the matches on during the day. We managed to catch the end of the Man U match, and the first half of both the Liverpool and Arsenal matches. We headed over to a grocer to pick up some food for later days and then wandered over to the Student Union pub to finish off the matches. Oh...and during matches the Student Union pub (called The Speakeasy) serves ALL pints at 2 pounds apiece. Yes, that includes Guiness....ah-mazing.
After we were finished at the pub we headed back to Jer's so I could have a hilarious Skype with my family (who all happened to be in the same place at once for a change) and then went off to bed. We were making sure to get up early because we're making a trip up north to see Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway. More on that soon!
Cheers, Love, and Rock That World!!!
Erik (and Jer)
The flight itself took almost no time at all. I barely had a moment to settle myself in and it felt like we were landing. I managed to drink a cup of coffee and read a bit of the paper and that was the duration of the flight. We actually arrive 20 min ahead of schedule! After touching down I grabbed my backpack and headed out into the terminal. Jeremy was already there waiting so we headed out to grab a bus for the 30 minute ride into Belfast itself. It was so great to see another familiar face after being over here for a month! Jeremy and I both had our stories to swap and our thoughts on living in the British Isles. We started planning what we would be doing this week as well until we got to his place.
Jer lives in a really nice flat that is actually a bunch of dorm rooms owned and operated by the university. It's almost like being in rez again!.....oh the memories. Needless to say, I dropped my stuff off pretty fast and we were out the door to the pub for a couple pints. We ended up going to a smaller pub called "Auntie Annie's" on Botanic Avenue. It was a nice little place, very typically British pub. I had a Guiness and a Magners cider (that's pretty much all there is really) and then we packed it up and headed to the dorms (he he he) to catch some shut eye.
Now, day two is really where the trip begins. We got up fairly early (8am) to make some breakfast and shower before heading out. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL so we wanted to make sure we got the most out of the day. The first place we hit was Starbucks for a cuppa and then headed out south to walk around the university. The campus itself is not extremely big but the buildings inside are quite beautiful. We got some good photo ops walking around as well; especially through the Botanic Gardens. On the other side of the gardens is the Ulster Museum, which Jer had not been to yet, so we headed in there to check out some of the exhibits. There's a large chunk of the museum called the "History Zone" as well as some nature areas and an art gallery. Considering we wanted to make sure that we hit a lot of other things, the history zone was our only stop. This area detailed a lot of the history and development of Northern Ireland all the way from Viking and Roman times through to the present. There was also a well done exhibit on the Troubles. Jer was able to fill in a lot of information on this aspect (he's quite informed on the Troubles) to clarify some things for me. This pre-information would also come in handy later.
After leaving the museum we ran into a gentlemen doing a bit of cleaning for his vehicle and he clearly heard us talking to each other and recognized we weren't from around here. He gave us a great rundown on the best areas to hit and asked how long we were staying and whether Jer had been here or there. He was just a really great help in getting us set for some important sights to see. From here we headed north towards the City Centre and City Hall. As it was Sunday City Hall wasn't open but I got some great pictures of the outside of it. The architecture is quite beautiful all around this area of Belfast and it was really neat to see the hills and mountains in the distance as you're looking around. We made a quick stop into the Belfast Welcome Centre and ended up booking a Black Cab tour of West Belfast and all of the murals and sights in that area pertaining to the Troubles. Having a bit of time to kill we walked around some other areas (it was still early so a lot was not open...plus it was Sunday) and then headed back to Donegall Square (city hall) to wait for the cab. Unfortunately, finding exactly where the cab was going to pick us up was a wee bit of a problem. We wandered around for a little bit until we came across that guy we met up near the museum. It turns out he runs a cab tour and was willing to give us the same rate that the other cabbie as going to but with extra time uncharged as well! That worked out perfectly and we into the cab and on our way west.
First off let me say...this tour was definitely worth it and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits this city, regardless of what cab company you might go with. You can read a lot about the Troubles in books and online, but nothing really hits home more than standing in the areas where a lot of the violence took place. It's hard to fathom bombings, gun shots, and random attacks happening almost on a daily basis all over the West Belfast area...it seems like it's not something you would experience in a society looking so similar to our own. But, the hatred ran deep for many years (and still festers to a certain point) and it's quite eye-opening to see how far people take divisions in belief, both political and religious, and to defend their own. Jerry (the cab driver) was VERY knowledgeable on the Troubles and he was also old enough to remember a lot, if not all, of the major attacks and events throughout the forty or so years they occurred. He also told us that he was a Catholic himself so he knows what happened more from that perspective and you'd get the same thing from a Protestant driver as well. A memorable quotation from him "So I know about 50% of the story and a Protestant driver would know about 50% of the story and somewhere in the middle of all of that lies the truth."
Jerry took us to all of the major sites and these photos plus explanations can be found on my Facebook page. It's just too long to try and explain every little detail...you can always ask me too.
Once Jerry dropped us off back at Jeremy's place we saddled up and headed over the Lavery's Pub to have a couple pints of Guiness, some food, and to watch the matches on during the day. We managed to catch the end of the Man U match, and the first half of both the Liverpool and Arsenal matches. We headed over to a grocer to pick up some food for later days and then wandered over to the Student Union pub to finish off the matches. Oh...and during matches the Student Union pub (called The Speakeasy) serves ALL pints at 2 pounds apiece. Yes, that includes Guiness....ah-mazing.
After we were finished at the pub we headed back to Jer's so I could have a hilarious Skype with my family (who all happened to be in the same place at once for a change) and then went off to bed. We were making sure to get up early because we're making a trip up north to see Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway. More on that soon!
Cheers, Love, and Rock That World!!!
Erik (and Jer)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The State of English Football Address
Well, I’m going to start off this blog post by saying that if you are not at all interested in sports in any way or could care less about football (soccer) than any other sport, please feel free to stop reading this post now. This post is going to be discussing my opinions on football as of late in the UK as well as my recent experience at an England UEFA EURO qualifying match at Wembley. I’m going to be airing some grievances so it’s up to you to continue on. If you are interested than I hope this post will be of some help in understanding what the hell’s going on over here in the sport.
If you know me…you know I LOVE SPORTS. I live and breathe sports and more than a handful of people will tell you my stupidly encyclopedic knowledge of my favourite sports. At around the 2006 World Cup I started to develop an interest mainly in soccer. Although I am a huge fan of baseball, hockey, and North American football…I’ve developed my love for soccer more than the rest. I don’t know what it is about the sport…maybe its worldwide appeal, the strategy involved, or the tense moments throughout the match and pure joy when your team breaks through and scores that vital goal. For a lot of people soccer is slow, boring, and full of actors faking their way through injuries in order to get free kicks from the referees. I’m not here to tell you this doesn’t happen in soccer (I’m looking at you Italians) and if that’s your opinion of the sport it can be warranted and you’re entitled to it. I however love soccer and will continue to by being in such a lively atmosphere for it every day. The amount of media coverage that soccer gets in England is ridiculous (a big reason why a lot of players don’t like to play here) and every move made by clubs both from a professional as well as personal perspective is picked apart and analyzed to the last letter. Therefore, I manage to learn so much more about the goings on in the Premier League than I ever have before and I love it. Even more I actually have the opportunity to attend soccer matches on a frequent basis and was able to do so for the first time last Tuesday at Wembley Stadium.
I’ve watched countless soccer matches on television over the last few years and even caught some streamed on the web. However, I have never had the opportunity to attend a match itself. With the only professional soccer being played in the GTA being Toronto FC, whose tickets are damn near impossible to get; the closest I’ve gotten is watching Real Madrid practice for 30 minutes when they were in town for a friendly. Needless to say I was pretty pumped to finally have this opportunity. The commute up to Wembley was pretty good and it was cool to pick up more and more England supporters all decked out in their red and white as we got closer to the stadium. When I exited Wembley Park Stadium and saw the majesty of the grounds ahead of me I was in complete awe. Because soccer was invented in England Wembley is known as “The Home of Football” and boy does it look like that. It’s a 90 000 seat masterpiece that glows like a star in the night sky ahead of you. The Empire Walk is the 10 minute walkway that stretches from the station to the stadium. As you get closer and closer you can really feel the fever in the fans voices, the stadium grows larger in your view, the singing becomes louder, and the lid seems to almost burst with the anticipation for the match ahead.
Inside the concourse is very basic and modern looking with straightforward signage denoting the locations of aisles and seats. Food is basic from hot dogs, chips, and soda to more local flavours such as pies, chicken strips, and even fish and chips. UEFA has strict rules that there are no alcohol sales during their events so there are no beer kiosks in Wembley. As I walked out through my aisle I stood and just took in the air of the grounds. Literally, because it’s completely open air for the grass to grow you get the cool night air blowing in but the lights illuminating the pitch combined with your recently purchased match scarf has no problem keeping you warmed up. After the anthems and introductions of the line-ups the ball is placed, the whistle blows, and away we go.
Now, this is all right and good…the match itself left something to be desired. England have been having a lot of problems as of late and a lot of that falls on manager Fabio Capello. He consistently chooses squads that are higher in the age category instead of giving the younger players an opportunity to prove themselves on the senior team. As a result, a lot of players usually end up backing out with injuries or to focus on their club careers. Capello is then forced to choose a weaker side and it showed. England was consistently on the attack the entire match but extremely poor passing, simple mental mistakes, and misplaced deliveries left the offence to sputter every time they threatened in Montenegro’s end. Rooney’s been having some serious issues as of late (to be discussed later) and the midfield was having some big issues as well. Ferdinand played well given he hadn’t played for England since pre-World Cup and Gerrard seemed to be a little out of his element himself (strange given how well he’s played for Liverpool this year.) Some of that might be attributed to him losing the captainship to Ferdinand but I think these are stupid rumours. A player of Gerrard’s ability does not just give up his talent at the loss of an armband, the leadership is always there and I think it had more to do with the shambles Liverpool is in right now more than anything else (more on that later as well.) In the end, the 0-0 draw was extremely disappointing and it could have been worse as Montenegro rattled a shot off of Joe Hart’s goal post late in the second half to almost steal an unfathomable victory. The atmosphere, singing, and physical presence of the stadium made the trip well worth it…the match itself did not.
I’m still excited to watch a lot more football within the coming months. I’m going to be attending a Fulham-Wigan match on October 30th, two Chelsea Champions League matches in November, as well as the England-France friendly on November 17th.
On top of the amount of media attention the English National Team has been receiving, the clubs here in England receive just as much if not more. Recently there have been two main storylines in English soccer. The first is Wayne Rooney and the second is the state of Liverpool FC. Let’s take a small moment to discuss Rooney.
If you don’t know soccer, you might still know Wayne Rooney. As famous as Christiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, and Lionel Messi; this English player is the face of not only the English National Team but Manchester United as well, a highly established and feared club in international football. He’s the reigning footballer of the year and has been racking goals and sponsorships so quickly it’s amazing he’s only 24 years old. The biggest problem with Rooney is his new lack of form. He hasn’t scored a goal in competition for Manchester since the Champions League knockout stages in March, played extremely poorly for England in the World Cup, and has been battling with his manager since the start of this season only starting two matches so far. He’s been under consistent media speculation and abuse about an apparent affair with a prostitute, drinking and smoking, as well as urinating in public. The rift with his manager has opened up his debate on whether he’ll resign with United after his contract is up in 20 months time or if he’ll move. Today’s paper has even been speculating he’ll make a blasphemous move (by United supporter’s standards) to the in city rivals Manchester City. Needless to say, this entire saga has been dominating the sports sections of newspapers for months here and there’s a lot of talk going on.
Now, this is an extremely fine line to walk. I understand that he’s supposed to be a role-model in his community and for England and that he’s clearly had some personal issues and a bit too much fun with the mates. Come on though, you pay a 24 year old 150 000 pounds a week and what do you think is going to happen? That’s right, 150 000 pounds a WEEK. Footballers make some serious coin and problems are bound to erupt when that money is in the hands of somebody so young. On top of that the media abuse has gotten pretty out of hand. England is known for its paparazzi and the famous footballers they stalk. If Perez Hilton blogged in England it would be about footballers only. They are the Hollywood stars over here and every step they take is closely watched and scrutinized by the public. It’s a lot of pressure and I think some of that intrusion has to be blamed for Rooney’s form as of late. The man is going through a lot of problems right now (some self-inflicted and deserved) but it’s amazing how much is written about it every day.
Speaking of headlines Liverpool has been all over them recently as well. If you haven’t been following the stories the team was just purchased by John W. Henry and the New England Sports Venture group (they own the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park). After a heated legal battle with the previous owners they won the right to buy the team. However, Liverpool is also going through a lot of on field issues as well. As a big time Liverpool fan it upsets me that they’ve been going through all of this legal crap but on top of that playing poorly on the pitch that has them in the relegation zone eight games into the season. However, it seems that every sports writer in every media outlet in this country has been jumping on this in order to make a point about the Premiership. It’s rich, it’s unfair, and it’s not real football. I have read countless articles about how we shouldn’t feel sorry for Liverpool and that it just goes to show how dumb of a business soccer has become in England. The league is basically battled out by four teams every year: Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal (known as the “Big Four”). They are all owned by big players in the world’s wealth and they pour money into new player acquisitions constantly. Then there’s the middle of the table teams that year in and year out hope to make second tier European football but don’t have the financial resources to compete in the domestic league. And then there are the little teams that battle to stay in the Premier League for more than a season before inevitably free-falling their way back down to the Championship to try all over again. Recently some teams have become big players in the Premier League: Manchester City being the main one, while others such as Liverpool and Manchester United are slowly fading due to debt and off the pitch issues. The big problem therefore is the Premier League is not a fair league. People are arguing that English football needs this kick in the head to understand that it needs to stop worrying about pouring as much money as possible into teams from Middle Eastern billionaires and start worrying about promoting the game at home, working in the communities, and having a higher percentage of English players on their teams. These were all pillars back just a couple decades ago and now you’ll struggle to find even one English player on the pitch for a team at the top of the table. It’s a shame but they’re right.
It’s difficult to operate as a professional in this sport without being in the spotlight somehow. If you don’t deliver you get bashed in the press while the successful teams reap millions upon millions of dollars. The rich get richer and stay the best while the smaller clubs are doomed to remain in obscurity. UEFA has recently announced a new Fair Play ruling that will exclude any European league team from Champions League or Europa League soccer if they are more than 11 million Euros in the red from the season before. The hope is that this will force teams to lower their payrolls by a lot, allow more domestic players the chance the play, and hopefully start to even the playing field a bit. This seems like a damn near impossible venture, but maybe it’ll put us one step closer to enjoying watching more competition and more domestic talent that will lead to player development and ultimately a winning National Team.
I guess I’ll just have to keep reading.
If you know me…you know I LOVE SPORTS. I live and breathe sports and more than a handful of people will tell you my stupidly encyclopedic knowledge of my favourite sports. At around the 2006 World Cup I started to develop an interest mainly in soccer. Although I am a huge fan of baseball, hockey, and North American football…I’ve developed my love for soccer more than the rest. I don’t know what it is about the sport…maybe its worldwide appeal, the strategy involved, or the tense moments throughout the match and pure joy when your team breaks through and scores that vital goal. For a lot of people soccer is slow, boring, and full of actors faking their way through injuries in order to get free kicks from the referees. I’m not here to tell you this doesn’t happen in soccer (I’m looking at you Italians) and if that’s your opinion of the sport it can be warranted and you’re entitled to it. I however love soccer and will continue to by being in such a lively atmosphere for it every day. The amount of media coverage that soccer gets in England is ridiculous (a big reason why a lot of players don’t like to play here) and every move made by clubs both from a professional as well as personal perspective is picked apart and analyzed to the last letter. Therefore, I manage to learn so much more about the goings on in the Premier League than I ever have before and I love it. Even more I actually have the opportunity to attend soccer matches on a frequent basis and was able to do so for the first time last Tuesday at Wembley Stadium.
I’ve watched countless soccer matches on television over the last few years and even caught some streamed on the web. However, I have never had the opportunity to attend a match itself. With the only professional soccer being played in the GTA being Toronto FC, whose tickets are damn near impossible to get; the closest I’ve gotten is watching Real Madrid practice for 30 minutes when they were in town for a friendly. Needless to say I was pretty pumped to finally have this opportunity. The commute up to Wembley was pretty good and it was cool to pick up more and more England supporters all decked out in their red and white as we got closer to the stadium. When I exited Wembley Park Stadium and saw the majesty of the grounds ahead of me I was in complete awe. Because soccer was invented in England Wembley is known as “The Home of Football” and boy does it look like that. It’s a 90 000 seat masterpiece that glows like a star in the night sky ahead of you. The Empire Walk is the 10 minute walkway that stretches from the station to the stadium. As you get closer and closer you can really feel the fever in the fans voices, the stadium grows larger in your view, the singing becomes louder, and the lid seems to almost burst with the anticipation for the match ahead.
Inside the concourse is very basic and modern looking with straightforward signage denoting the locations of aisles and seats. Food is basic from hot dogs, chips, and soda to more local flavours such as pies, chicken strips, and even fish and chips. UEFA has strict rules that there are no alcohol sales during their events so there are no beer kiosks in Wembley. As I walked out through my aisle I stood and just took in the air of the grounds. Literally, because it’s completely open air for the grass to grow you get the cool night air blowing in but the lights illuminating the pitch combined with your recently purchased match scarf has no problem keeping you warmed up. After the anthems and introductions of the line-ups the ball is placed, the whistle blows, and away we go.
Now, this is all right and good…the match itself left something to be desired. England have been having a lot of problems as of late and a lot of that falls on manager Fabio Capello. He consistently chooses squads that are higher in the age category instead of giving the younger players an opportunity to prove themselves on the senior team. As a result, a lot of players usually end up backing out with injuries or to focus on their club careers. Capello is then forced to choose a weaker side and it showed. England was consistently on the attack the entire match but extremely poor passing, simple mental mistakes, and misplaced deliveries left the offence to sputter every time they threatened in Montenegro’s end. Rooney’s been having some serious issues as of late (to be discussed later) and the midfield was having some big issues as well. Ferdinand played well given he hadn’t played for England since pre-World Cup and Gerrard seemed to be a little out of his element himself (strange given how well he’s played for Liverpool this year.) Some of that might be attributed to him losing the captainship to Ferdinand but I think these are stupid rumours. A player of Gerrard’s ability does not just give up his talent at the loss of an armband, the leadership is always there and I think it had more to do with the shambles Liverpool is in right now more than anything else (more on that later as well.) In the end, the 0-0 draw was extremely disappointing and it could have been worse as Montenegro rattled a shot off of Joe Hart’s goal post late in the second half to almost steal an unfathomable victory. The atmosphere, singing, and physical presence of the stadium made the trip well worth it…the match itself did not.
I’m still excited to watch a lot more football within the coming months. I’m going to be attending a Fulham-Wigan match on October 30th, two Chelsea Champions League matches in November, as well as the England-France friendly on November 17th.
On top of the amount of media attention the English National Team has been receiving, the clubs here in England receive just as much if not more. Recently there have been two main storylines in English soccer. The first is Wayne Rooney and the second is the state of Liverpool FC. Let’s take a small moment to discuss Rooney.
If you don’t know soccer, you might still know Wayne Rooney. As famous as Christiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, and Lionel Messi; this English player is the face of not only the English National Team but Manchester United as well, a highly established and feared club in international football. He’s the reigning footballer of the year and has been racking goals and sponsorships so quickly it’s amazing he’s only 24 years old. The biggest problem with Rooney is his new lack of form. He hasn’t scored a goal in competition for Manchester since the Champions League knockout stages in March, played extremely poorly for England in the World Cup, and has been battling with his manager since the start of this season only starting two matches so far. He’s been under consistent media speculation and abuse about an apparent affair with a prostitute, drinking and smoking, as well as urinating in public. The rift with his manager has opened up his debate on whether he’ll resign with United after his contract is up in 20 months time or if he’ll move. Today’s paper has even been speculating he’ll make a blasphemous move (by United supporter’s standards) to the in city rivals Manchester City. Needless to say, this entire saga has been dominating the sports sections of newspapers for months here and there’s a lot of talk going on.
Now, this is an extremely fine line to walk. I understand that he’s supposed to be a role-model in his community and for England and that he’s clearly had some personal issues and a bit too much fun with the mates. Come on though, you pay a 24 year old 150 000 pounds a week and what do you think is going to happen? That’s right, 150 000 pounds a WEEK. Footballers make some serious coin and problems are bound to erupt when that money is in the hands of somebody so young. On top of that the media abuse has gotten pretty out of hand. England is known for its paparazzi and the famous footballers they stalk. If Perez Hilton blogged in England it would be about footballers only. They are the Hollywood stars over here and every step they take is closely watched and scrutinized by the public. It’s a lot of pressure and I think some of that intrusion has to be blamed for Rooney’s form as of late. The man is going through a lot of problems right now (some self-inflicted and deserved) but it’s amazing how much is written about it every day.
Speaking of headlines Liverpool has been all over them recently as well. If you haven’t been following the stories the team was just purchased by John W. Henry and the New England Sports Venture group (they own the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park). After a heated legal battle with the previous owners they won the right to buy the team. However, Liverpool is also going through a lot of on field issues as well. As a big time Liverpool fan it upsets me that they’ve been going through all of this legal crap but on top of that playing poorly on the pitch that has them in the relegation zone eight games into the season. However, it seems that every sports writer in every media outlet in this country has been jumping on this in order to make a point about the Premiership. It’s rich, it’s unfair, and it’s not real football. I have read countless articles about how we shouldn’t feel sorry for Liverpool and that it just goes to show how dumb of a business soccer has become in England. The league is basically battled out by four teams every year: Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal (known as the “Big Four”). They are all owned by big players in the world’s wealth and they pour money into new player acquisitions constantly. Then there’s the middle of the table teams that year in and year out hope to make second tier European football but don’t have the financial resources to compete in the domestic league. And then there are the little teams that battle to stay in the Premier League for more than a season before inevitably free-falling their way back down to the Championship to try all over again. Recently some teams have become big players in the Premier League: Manchester City being the main one, while others such as Liverpool and Manchester United are slowly fading due to debt and off the pitch issues. The big problem therefore is the Premier League is not a fair league. People are arguing that English football needs this kick in the head to understand that it needs to stop worrying about pouring as much money as possible into teams from Middle Eastern billionaires and start worrying about promoting the game at home, working in the communities, and having a higher percentage of English players on their teams. These were all pillars back just a couple decades ago and now you’ll struggle to find even one English player on the pitch for a team at the top of the table. It’s a shame but they’re right.
It’s difficult to operate as a professional in this sport without being in the spotlight somehow. If you don’t deliver you get bashed in the press while the successful teams reap millions upon millions of dollars. The rich get richer and stay the best while the smaller clubs are doomed to remain in obscurity. UEFA has recently announced a new Fair Play ruling that will exclude any European league team from Champions League or Europa League soccer if they are more than 11 million Euros in the red from the season before. The hope is that this will force teams to lower their payrolls by a lot, allow more domestic players the chance the play, and hopefully start to even the playing field a bit. This seems like a damn near impossible venture, but maybe it’ll put us one step closer to enjoying watching more competition and more domestic talent that will lead to player development and ultimately a winning National Team.
I guess I’ll just have to keep reading.
Monday, October 18, 2010
What I Learned....Last Week
Well, it’s been a while since my last post….I apologize profusively for that. I have been quite the busy bee over the last week. However, I am here now and ready to provide you with a wonderful commentary on how my week went!
First off, I completely lucked out on schools this week. I worked four out of five days (sweet) with two days each at two different schools. I worked Thursday and Friday at Overton Grange (the school I was at on my first day) and Monday and Tuesday at Riddlesdown Collegiate as I discussed in my previous post. The entire week went really well and I had little to no problems with the classes I was filling in for. The only reason I didn’t work Wednesday was because I took it off deliberately to get some sleep after the England match (a huge disappointment but I’ll talk more on that in a dedicated post). SO, without further ado I present to you all “What I learned this week”.
1. Students and computers are a pain in the ass combination. Don’t get me wrong, when students have to work on computers it usually involves some sort of project or assignment that they need to do and I just need to monitor their usage. Therein lies the issue. It doesn’t matter how many times you say it students will naturally veer off course and end up checking football scores, clothing websites, streaming music, etc. I found that this is really dependant on the policy that schools put in place for internet usage and how strictly the school implements it. At Riddlesdown I had a big problem trying to get kids to stay off websites that didn’t pertain to the lesson. At Overton however, there were no problems as the students stayed on task with the appropriate material. Either way, it requires constant monitoring on my part and it’s always really funny when I tell a student to close an internet window and they just minimize it….like I don’t know those tricks.
2. I’m oddly good at teaching Religious Education. First off, I want to say that Religious Education (RE) in the UK is AWESOME. It’s mandatory for students in secondary to take it and I like the idea. You don’t have to be religious at all (and a lot of kids in the classes aren’t) but the point of the curriculum is to cultivate a culture of understanding by opening the students’ eyes to all of the varying religious traditions are out there. Hopefully by learning what each religion entails will help them get along better in society. The students study Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism among others. I think this is a truly noble cause at the fact that it’s mandatory really helps to broaden the message. I’m not a particularly religious person myself in most cases, but I pride myself in at least knowing a lot about the basis of many world religions. I was actually able to step into the classes fairly easily and discuss the content from an impartial and non-biased viewpoint (essential when tackling such sensitive material). In three different classes I taught about the Jewish Creation Story and how it might affect how humans treat the environment, the Buddhist enlightenment theory, and Women’s roles in the Christian church. Amazing!
3. Years 10 and 11 are WAY harder to teach than Years 7 and 8. I have definitely found in my first couple weeks of teaching that the older they get the harder they get to teach. I’ve been enjoying my Year 7 and 8 classes way more. I think this is mainly to do with the fact that the younger kids are brand new to secondary school so they are less likely to act out in class. Also they’re just plain young. It’s Grades 6 and 7 so they’re 12 and 13 years old. Way easier to have fun with and to keep under control. The older the students get the more rebellious their personalities get and the more they begin to realize that they can try to take advantage of the fact that they have a supply. For the most part the work that gets assigned when there’s a supply is just book work…reading and answering questions. I can only try to keep them on task so much but if they’re not motivated enough to do the work I can’t really make them. I can just make notes on any disruptive behaviour, try to keep them quiet, and move them on to the next class. Let me say also that it’s not all of the students; a lot of them work really well. A lot of the boys and a good chunk of the girls just lose a lot of maturity at this point and it scares me sometimes to think of how misbehaved a Year 11 class is juxtaposed with the fact that they could be out of the mandatory school system and into the workforce in less than a year. Mentally, they’re definitely not prepared for the real world. It makes sense that the British government is extending mandatory education right through to Year 13 as of 2015.
Anyways, in a nut shell that was my week. Long, trying at times, but ultimately worth it.
Other than the teaching thing I didn’t get up to too much else. I ended up at The Tup for a couple pints on Friday during Happy Hour and just turned in to eat some dins and watch a movie with a couple flatmates. On Saturday night we all went out to a charity event at a club in the city. The theme was “Rocktoberfest” so we had to go as rockstars. Pictures are on Facebook and that pretty much tells that story. We stayed in London until around Midnight then headed to Clapham to finish up the night and caught the N155 home. Sunday was a good day, I ended up heading into London to go to The Sports Café in Haymarket. This is a North American style sports bar that plays a lot of North American sports among other things. I wanted to check it out for a while and Liverpool played Everton yesterday so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. The bar was pretty cool but Liverpool sucked and lost 2-0…not impressed with that needless to say.
That’s about it people! I was at Overton again today but I don’t have any other pre-booked work this week as of yet. Hopefully I’ll get a good chunk of days in this week. A lot of teachers are out sick it seems so I should get in at a couple schools. Then it’s off to Belfast on Saturday!
One last thing, a HUGE shout-out to two newly engaged couples: Smitty and Sarah as well as Rob and Michelle. Congrats to all of you and I wish you all the best!!!
Cheers, Love, Rock That World!
Erik
First off, I completely lucked out on schools this week. I worked four out of five days (sweet) with two days each at two different schools. I worked Thursday and Friday at Overton Grange (the school I was at on my first day) and Monday and Tuesday at Riddlesdown Collegiate as I discussed in my previous post. The entire week went really well and I had little to no problems with the classes I was filling in for. The only reason I didn’t work Wednesday was because I took it off deliberately to get some sleep after the England match (a huge disappointment but I’ll talk more on that in a dedicated post). SO, without further ado I present to you all “What I learned this week”.
1. Students and computers are a pain in the ass combination. Don’t get me wrong, when students have to work on computers it usually involves some sort of project or assignment that they need to do and I just need to monitor their usage. Therein lies the issue. It doesn’t matter how many times you say it students will naturally veer off course and end up checking football scores, clothing websites, streaming music, etc. I found that this is really dependant on the policy that schools put in place for internet usage and how strictly the school implements it. At Riddlesdown I had a big problem trying to get kids to stay off websites that didn’t pertain to the lesson. At Overton however, there were no problems as the students stayed on task with the appropriate material. Either way, it requires constant monitoring on my part and it’s always really funny when I tell a student to close an internet window and they just minimize it….like I don’t know those tricks.
2. I’m oddly good at teaching Religious Education. First off, I want to say that Religious Education (RE) in the UK is AWESOME. It’s mandatory for students in secondary to take it and I like the idea. You don’t have to be religious at all (and a lot of kids in the classes aren’t) but the point of the curriculum is to cultivate a culture of understanding by opening the students’ eyes to all of the varying religious traditions are out there. Hopefully by learning what each religion entails will help them get along better in society. The students study Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism among others. I think this is a truly noble cause at the fact that it’s mandatory really helps to broaden the message. I’m not a particularly religious person myself in most cases, but I pride myself in at least knowing a lot about the basis of many world religions. I was actually able to step into the classes fairly easily and discuss the content from an impartial and non-biased viewpoint (essential when tackling such sensitive material). In three different classes I taught about the Jewish Creation Story and how it might affect how humans treat the environment, the Buddhist enlightenment theory, and Women’s roles in the Christian church. Amazing!
3. Years 10 and 11 are WAY harder to teach than Years 7 and 8. I have definitely found in my first couple weeks of teaching that the older they get the harder they get to teach. I’ve been enjoying my Year 7 and 8 classes way more. I think this is mainly to do with the fact that the younger kids are brand new to secondary school so they are less likely to act out in class. Also they’re just plain young. It’s Grades 6 and 7 so they’re 12 and 13 years old. Way easier to have fun with and to keep under control. The older the students get the more rebellious their personalities get and the more they begin to realize that they can try to take advantage of the fact that they have a supply. For the most part the work that gets assigned when there’s a supply is just book work…reading and answering questions. I can only try to keep them on task so much but if they’re not motivated enough to do the work I can’t really make them. I can just make notes on any disruptive behaviour, try to keep them quiet, and move them on to the next class. Let me say also that it’s not all of the students; a lot of them work really well. A lot of the boys and a good chunk of the girls just lose a lot of maturity at this point and it scares me sometimes to think of how misbehaved a Year 11 class is juxtaposed with the fact that they could be out of the mandatory school system and into the workforce in less than a year. Mentally, they’re definitely not prepared for the real world. It makes sense that the British government is extending mandatory education right through to Year 13 as of 2015.
Anyways, in a nut shell that was my week. Long, trying at times, but ultimately worth it.
Other than the teaching thing I didn’t get up to too much else. I ended up at The Tup for a couple pints on Friday during Happy Hour and just turned in to eat some dins and watch a movie with a couple flatmates. On Saturday night we all went out to a charity event at a club in the city. The theme was “Rocktoberfest” so we had to go as rockstars. Pictures are on Facebook and that pretty much tells that story. We stayed in London until around Midnight then headed to Clapham to finish up the night and caught the N155 home. Sunday was a good day, I ended up heading into London to go to The Sports Café in Haymarket. This is a North American style sports bar that plays a lot of North American sports among other things. I wanted to check it out for a while and Liverpool played Everton yesterday so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. The bar was pretty cool but Liverpool sucked and lost 2-0…not impressed with that needless to say.
That’s about it people! I was at Overton again today but I don’t have any other pre-booked work this week as of yet. Hopefully I’ll get a good chunk of days in this week. A lot of teachers are out sick it seems so I should get in at a couple schools. Then it’s off to Belfast on Saturday!
One last thing, a HUGE shout-out to two newly engaged couples: Smitty and Sarah as well as Rob and Michelle. Congrats to all of you and I wish you all the best!!!
Cheers, Love, Rock That World!
Erik
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Challenge to Teachers Everywhere.
As I was proceeding with a newly minted Sunday ritual of a cuppa and a newspaper at the Starbucks near my house, I was intrigued by a large two page article in The Observer. “Revealed: a disturbing portrait of inequality in British schools” read the headline. As a new supply teacher in London through Protocol, I have been conscious to try and keep up with the latest on the British educational system and I have found a reliable platform of information through The Guardian and The Observer. Of course, I had to read on.
The article is divided into four categories that were investigated by a new government report: Gender, Bullying, Poverty, and Race. Some of the largest equity issues to be dealt with in any school system around the world. The main points that are hit include: the large gap between expected reading and writing levels between boys and girls by age 5, the fact that four out of five children with disabilities report being bullied regularly, that ethic differences in terms of GCSE scores still tells a story about racial differences in the classroom, and that children living in poverty continue to fail to reach a good level of development. As a new graduate I have read and debated about these sorts of equity issues as recently as this past school year…the point is, they’re not new. These issues and many more have been plaguing our school systems for generations. It has been almost a state of shock for those in the government receiving this new report (released Monday) as Britain is a region that prides itself on being leaders in the world and ahead of the curve when it comes to social systems. For these issues to still be perpetuated in the school systems it becomes apparent that something is not working.
Now, I didn’t major in politics in university and I don’t want to start any sort of argument with this blog post. What my main concern is, and what I really wish everyone reading this would think about; is what can we do to stop it? Although a student’s home life plays a large role in determining their participation in some of these categories, their time in the school itself is just as important. As teachers we are on the front lines in the classrooms and we are the go-to role models for a lot of students in the class. Children look up to us and it becomes important for us to become examples of what we expect our students to be. As a supply teacher, it’s difficult to develop some relationships in the classroom because we are only with some classes for very short periods of time, maybe only once the entire time we’re here, but I think it’s important for that always to be in the back of one’s head.
You might be at this moment saying to yourself “Self, I learned all of this in Teacher’s College, I know I have to be a role model and I’m pretty sure I accomplish it without any struggle.” To everyone out there reading this, I issue a challenge. When you are in the classroom, take moments to truly reflect, on the fly if possible, how you are treating the groups of students you have. By this I mean to really see if you might be accidently be falling into some of those categories laid out in the article mentioned above. I’d like to share a bit of an example for you all from my own teaching experiences to show you what I mean.
Today I was in a lovely secondary school completing a day of work for Protocol. I was in a period 4 class that was assigned a set of questions to do for revision in Maths prior to a test they would be writing the next period. Since this was revision I found no issue allowing the class to chat with their neighbours to work out the questions and make sure they understood the concepts, provided they keep the volume level to a minimum. Being a supply teacher in the first place the volume level already goes up by a few decibels, so I make sure to keep them on task and to a lower volume throughout the period. As I sat back in my desk for a moment I took a chance to survey exactly who I had been spending the most time disciplining to continue working. No surprises, it was the group of boys sitting in the back corner together. I had had these guys on my radar since the moment they sat down thinking to myself that this was only going to be trouble….but why is that? There were plenty of pockets of girls that were chatting fairly loudly and being distracting (whom I still quieted down) but I just seemed to have an extra pair of eyes for this group. Maybe it was social stigmas being imbedded in my brain to immediately assume they would be up to no good…after all I had never seen these kids ever until today. There are a lot of potential answers to why this was, but I realize that it was wrong to assume the worst from the moment they walked in. This is an issue that this study deals with, the fact that boys are immediately considered to be up to no good. Because of this they get yelled at and disciplined, which makes them think they are “bad boys”, which cause them to act out even more until a cycle begins that puts the child in a very angry place.
This is just an example of my own teaching life in comparison to what’s been depicted in this article. I’m sure there are many more out there that fit in to all the different areas identified in this report. So, next time you are in the classroom take a moment to step back and make sure you are really being the person you want your students to be watching and modeling themselves after for one day or every day. As teachers we can contribute to these divisions in equality as much as anyone else who interacts with a student. My question to you again is: what can you do about it?
You can read the article online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/10/britains-divided-school-system-report
~Erik
The article is divided into four categories that were investigated by a new government report: Gender, Bullying, Poverty, and Race. Some of the largest equity issues to be dealt with in any school system around the world. The main points that are hit include: the large gap between expected reading and writing levels between boys and girls by age 5, the fact that four out of five children with disabilities report being bullied regularly, that ethic differences in terms of GCSE scores still tells a story about racial differences in the classroom, and that children living in poverty continue to fail to reach a good level of development. As a new graduate I have read and debated about these sorts of equity issues as recently as this past school year…the point is, they’re not new. These issues and many more have been plaguing our school systems for generations. It has been almost a state of shock for those in the government receiving this new report (released Monday) as Britain is a region that prides itself on being leaders in the world and ahead of the curve when it comes to social systems. For these issues to still be perpetuated in the school systems it becomes apparent that something is not working.
Now, I didn’t major in politics in university and I don’t want to start any sort of argument with this blog post. What my main concern is, and what I really wish everyone reading this would think about; is what can we do to stop it? Although a student’s home life plays a large role in determining their participation in some of these categories, their time in the school itself is just as important. As teachers we are on the front lines in the classrooms and we are the go-to role models for a lot of students in the class. Children look up to us and it becomes important for us to become examples of what we expect our students to be. As a supply teacher, it’s difficult to develop some relationships in the classroom because we are only with some classes for very short periods of time, maybe only once the entire time we’re here, but I think it’s important for that always to be in the back of one’s head.
You might be at this moment saying to yourself “Self, I learned all of this in Teacher’s College, I know I have to be a role model and I’m pretty sure I accomplish it without any struggle.” To everyone out there reading this, I issue a challenge. When you are in the classroom, take moments to truly reflect, on the fly if possible, how you are treating the groups of students you have. By this I mean to really see if you might be accidently be falling into some of those categories laid out in the article mentioned above. I’d like to share a bit of an example for you all from my own teaching experiences to show you what I mean.
Today I was in a lovely secondary school completing a day of work for Protocol. I was in a period 4 class that was assigned a set of questions to do for revision in Maths prior to a test they would be writing the next period. Since this was revision I found no issue allowing the class to chat with their neighbours to work out the questions and make sure they understood the concepts, provided they keep the volume level to a minimum. Being a supply teacher in the first place the volume level already goes up by a few decibels, so I make sure to keep them on task and to a lower volume throughout the period. As I sat back in my desk for a moment I took a chance to survey exactly who I had been spending the most time disciplining to continue working. No surprises, it was the group of boys sitting in the back corner together. I had had these guys on my radar since the moment they sat down thinking to myself that this was only going to be trouble….but why is that? There were plenty of pockets of girls that were chatting fairly loudly and being distracting (whom I still quieted down) but I just seemed to have an extra pair of eyes for this group. Maybe it was social stigmas being imbedded in my brain to immediately assume they would be up to no good…after all I had never seen these kids ever until today. There are a lot of potential answers to why this was, but I realize that it was wrong to assume the worst from the moment they walked in. This is an issue that this study deals with, the fact that boys are immediately considered to be up to no good. Because of this they get yelled at and disciplined, which makes them think they are “bad boys”, which cause them to act out even more until a cycle begins that puts the child in a very angry place.
This is just an example of my own teaching life in comparison to what’s been depicted in this article. I’m sure there are many more out there that fit in to all the different areas identified in this report. So, next time you are in the classroom take a moment to step back and make sure you are really being the person you want your students to be watching and modeling themselves after for one day or every day. As teachers we can contribute to these divisions in equality as much as anyone else who interacts with a student. My question to you again is: what can you do about it?
You can read the article online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/10/britains-divided-school-system-report
~Erik
The second week begins...
Well, today began another week in the wonderful world of teaching for me! I woke up this morning with the anticipation of getting a booking and being on my way to gaining more experience here in London. I was lucky enough to get a call back fairly quickly to head to a school in Purley which is located south of Colliers Wood. Needless to say, as it seemed to go with my first Monday, I got off to a rocky start. Now, I’m still getting used to the whole transit system going on here and although I am thoroughly amazed every time I use it…it can still get a little confusing. This is especially true when travelling to areas I have never been before. The London Transit system is extremely comprehensive and complex, its super efficient but can have you super confused in no time. I ended up getting off on the wrong stop and having to back track on a bus to get to where I needed to go. On top of all of that, I had to walk up what seemed to be Mount Everest to get there. I was a little tired when I got to the top but it was an absolutely gorgeous morning so I guess it could have been worse. Plus, I got a killer leg work-out, so what’s there really to complain about?
The school I was at today is called Riddlesdown Collegiate. Walking up to the school you can see that this is definitely different than the other two I’ve been at thus far. First of all it is located in big-time suburbia so there’s no sign of inner-city schoolness in it at all. Secondly, they’ve clearly got money and donors. The reception looking like a giant glass office building and each classroom was very well put together and in good shape. The student body was fantastic during my entire day there as well. Now, they’re not always perfect…being a Supply does mean a certain degree of mischief occurs in the classroom, but this has been the most respectful and responsive school I’ve been at yet. The pupils were generally easy to keep on task and the lessons I received to cover were actually quite comprehensive (for the most part) and required a bit of teaching instead of writing questions down on the board for them to do. The faculty and administration were extremely on the ball and everything was organized and ready to go for me which eased any anxiety I might have had going in. All in all, a very good school and one that I wish to return to very soon.
One thing that I’ve learned over my past two teaching days has been this: I love tests. There’s honestly nothing easier for a Supply (or so I’ve experienced so far) than coming in and having to administer a test during one of your periods. It’s a nice break because the room has to be quiet for the writing (otherwise you threaten them with telling the administration and their teachers that they were talking through a test…it shuts them up pretty quickly) and you just need to answer any questions students might have to clear up something on the test or to ask you for something (like paper, etc.) I had to administer two tests today, both in Maths classes, so it was really nice to just hand everything out and letting the students get at it. Most of them finished fairly early in both classes so I allowed them to chat quietly for the remaining minutes of the class once everyone finished. It was a really nice day and a good start for a Monday.
I managed to find my way back home a lot easier than finding the school (isn’t that always the way it is) and I made sure to let the school know that I would be more than happy to come back anytime…and promised I wouldn’t be late.
Things are going to be heating up this week as I’m preparing myself for a descent on Wembley Stadium for the England-Montenegro match tomorrow night. Full details on that (whether you care or not) soon after. Also, I just booked a ticket to visit Jeremy in Belfast at the end of the month! I’m really excited for that being my first Euro trip from London!! That’s about it, have a good night everybody and…
Cheers, Love, Rock that World!
Erik
The school I was at today is called Riddlesdown Collegiate. Walking up to the school you can see that this is definitely different than the other two I’ve been at thus far. First of all it is located in big-time suburbia so there’s no sign of inner-city schoolness in it at all. Secondly, they’ve clearly got money and donors. The reception looking like a giant glass office building and each classroom was very well put together and in good shape. The student body was fantastic during my entire day there as well. Now, they’re not always perfect…being a Supply does mean a certain degree of mischief occurs in the classroom, but this has been the most respectful and responsive school I’ve been at yet. The pupils were generally easy to keep on task and the lessons I received to cover were actually quite comprehensive (for the most part) and required a bit of teaching instead of writing questions down on the board for them to do. The faculty and administration were extremely on the ball and everything was organized and ready to go for me which eased any anxiety I might have had going in. All in all, a very good school and one that I wish to return to very soon.
One thing that I’ve learned over my past two teaching days has been this: I love tests. There’s honestly nothing easier for a Supply (or so I’ve experienced so far) than coming in and having to administer a test during one of your periods. It’s a nice break because the room has to be quiet for the writing (otherwise you threaten them with telling the administration and their teachers that they were talking through a test…it shuts them up pretty quickly) and you just need to answer any questions students might have to clear up something on the test or to ask you for something (like paper, etc.) I had to administer two tests today, both in Maths classes, so it was really nice to just hand everything out and letting the students get at it. Most of them finished fairly early in both classes so I allowed them to chat quietly for the remaining minutes of the class once everyone finished. It was a really nice day and a good start for a Monday.
I managed to find my way back home a lot easier than finding the school (isn’t that always the way it is) and I made sure to let the school know that I would be more than happy to come back anytime…and promised I wouldn’t be late.
Things are going to be heating up this week as I’m preparing myself for a descent on Wembley Stadium for the England-Montenegro match tomorrow night. Full details on that (whether you care or not) soon after. Also, I just booked a ticket to visit Jeremy in Belfast at the end of the month! I’m really excited for that being my first Euro trip from London!! That’s about it, have a good night everybody and…
Cheers, Love, Rock that World!
Erik
Sunday, October 10, 2010
What I learned this week...
Well, I finally have my first week of being a professional teacher under my belt…and damn does it feel good! I didn’t work the full week this week (only 3 out of 5 days) but that’s mostly due to the fact that I just started out with the agency and need to build up a reputation with the different consultants. It’s just like any aspect of teaching, in order to get the bookings you need to have the experience and the relationships. The school that I worked at on Monday, Overton Grange, has been a wonderful school and I’m already starting to foster some relationships there. They booked me ahead of time on Wednesday and I covered a Geography teacher while he was working with Student Teachers in the school that day. Wednesday ended up being very relaxed compared to the rest of the week and it is nice being pre-booked. I don’t have to wake up with the uncertainty of whether or not I’ll receive a call back with a booking in the mornings, I don’t have to rush out the door while simultaneously finding my way there with directions, and I can generally take the time to mentally prep and grab a cuppa on the way to the school to get myself prepared for the day.
Thursday and Friday I did not work…I called in both mornings to let them know that I was available but nothing came out of it. With the guaranteed work agreement I do have the peace of mind knowing that I will be working the majority of the week but it will be nice to start getting 4 or 5 days of supply work throughout the course of a week. Though I’m not going to lie, the break in the middle of the week can be nice to unwind mentally and accomplish some errands and things during the day.
After the work week was over I ended up spending some social time with my flatmates. I just want to say right now that I definitely feel very blessed to have ended up in this house. I could have asked for 5 better people to live with. We have all gotten along extremely well and it’s fun spending time together at the end of the day when everybody gets home from work and just watching some t.v. This week-end I ended up going to The Tup (the local pub) with Nate and Meg and meeting up with one of their friends, Dave. We had a couple drinks at the pub, wandered back to Dave’s to make food and chill, and then back to The Tup for drinks until around 1. It was a really great night and I’m happy that I have great people already who I can go out with and have a lot of fun.
Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving. This is one of the first, if not the only time, I’ve missed Thanksgiving at home. It’s always a great week-end in the Smith household that culminates in one hell of a turkey dinner with all of the trimmings, including my Mother’s homemade stuffing which incidentally is the best in the world!!!! It was a shame to have to miss that but we made up for it here by having a Thanksgiving potluck! My flatmates invited a bunch of their friends over and we had one hell of a spread. Roast chicken, Turkey casserole, salads, lasagna, perogies, stuffing, pumpkin pie and cheesecake, and so much more. It was a delicious way to spend Thanksgiving and there was at least 30 people here so I was able to socialize a lot and meet new people. After dinner we headed back out to The Tup for some drinks and dancing and then sauntered home in the wee hours of the morning for sleep.
It has definitely been a really busy and exciting week. Today we cleaned up the house, I’m doing a bit of laundry, and I had a chance to schlep on down to Starbucks for a cuppa and a paper. I think the best part of getting the first week out of the way is that I do not have as much anxiety about tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the classrooms and making that pay. The experience has really been helpful even after only three days. Overton Grange has also pre-booked me for this Friday, so the fact that I’m starting to get regular supply there is really boosting my confidence as well. Alright, it’s time to zone out with a little food and prep for tomorrow! I really missed everybody this week-end and I want you all to know I’m thinking about you and only wish the best for everybody.
Cheers, love, rock that world baby!
Erik
Thursday and Friday I did not work…I called in both mornings to let them know that I was available but nothing came out of it. With the guaranteed work agreement I do have the peace of mind knowing that I will be working the majority of the week but it will be nice to start getting 4 or 5 days of supply work throughout the course of a week. Though I’m not going to lie, the break in the middle of the week can be nice to unwind mentally and accomplish some errands and things during the day.
After the work week was over I ended up spending some social time with my flatmates. I just want to say right now that I definitely feel very blessed to have ended up in this house. I could have asked for 5 better people to live with. We have all gotten along extremely well and it’s fun spending time together at the end of the day when everybody gets home from work and just watching some t.v. This week-end I ended up going to The Tup (the local pub) with Nate and Meg and meeting up with one of their friends, Dave. We had a couple drinks at the pub, wandered back to Dave’s to make food and chill, and then back to The Tup for drinks until around 1. It was a really great night and I’m happy that I have great people already who I can go out with and have a lot of fun.
Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving. This is one of the first, if not the only time, I’ve missed Thanksgiving at home. It’s always a great week-end in the Smith household that culminates in one hell of a turkey dinner with all of the trimmings, including my Mother’s homemade stuffing which incidentally is the best in the world!!!! It was a shame to have to miss that but we made up for it here by having a Thanksgiving potluck! My flatmates invited a bunch of their friends over and we had one hell of a spread. Roast chicken, Turkey casserole, salads, lasagna, perogies, stuffing, pumpkin pie and cheesecake, and so much more. It was a delicious way to spend Thanksgiving and there was at least 30 people here so I was able to socialize a lot and meet new people. After dinner we headed back out to The Tup for some drinks and dancing and then sauntered home in the wee hours of the morning for sleep.
It has definitely been a really busy and exciting week. Today we cleaned up the house, I’m doing a bit of laundry, and I had a chance to schlep on down to Starbucks for a cuppa and a paper. I think the best part of getting the first week out of the way is that I do not have as much anxiety about tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the classrooms and making that pay. The experience has really been helpful even after only three days. Overton Grange has also pre-booked me for this Friday, so the fact that I’m starting to get regular supply there is really boosting my confidence as well. Alright, it’s time to zone out with a little food and prep for tomorrow! I really missed everybody this week-end and I want you all to know I’m thinking about you and only wish the best for everybody.
Cheers, love, rock that world baby!
Erik
Monday, October 4, 2010
My First Day Went A Little Like This...
Well, first day has come and gone and here I am sitting in the living room fully exhausted by one whirlwind of a day. It has definitely been an amazing experience to start off and the day had its ups and downs but it’ll only get better the more I do it ha ha ha.
The day started out pretty crazy before I even got to the school! I woke up hella early (5:30am) to make sure I would have enough time to shower, dress, eat, and generally take my time in the morning. I was all set to go (packed my bag last night) and gave Protocol a ring at 7am to see what the dealio was. Sarah (Protocol consultant) took my info and told me that someone would contact me as soon as they had something for me. Great. This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start my first day. I’ve been hearing a lot from my flatmates and others that there hasn’t been a lot of work the last few weeks (September after all) and I really didn’t want to have to get all dressed and pumped up and then not have any work for the day…that didn’t last long though. Protocol called me back 7:30am and told me I was to head to Sutton in Surrey for my first assignment. The only problem was that it’s a solid 45 min travelling time and lessons begin at 8:25am…needless to say I was going to be late and Protocol told me they’d call the school to let them know. I surfed onto TFL and found the root I needed to take and Sarah was really helpful to text me the directions to the school once I got to the station there. I threw on my coat and grabbed my things in a hurry and out the door I went.
From home I had to walk to Tooting Rail Station to hop on a train westbound to Sutton. I hadn’t ever been there before but looked up the route online and managed to make it there without much issue. Here’s the kicker however, because of the Tube Strike today there were MASSIVE delays for the rail services including a couple of cancelled trains. I ended up having to wait at the station for a solid 35-40 minutes before a train finally arrived going to Sutton Station. I kept in solid contact with the Protocol office to update them on my situation and they made sure to let the school know.
The school I went to is called Overton Grange and it’s a secondary school located in Surrey. This is a fully dedicated secondary school with all age groups from Year 7s (Grade 6) all the way up to Sixth Forms years (Grades 11 and 12). It’s a little odd sometimes for schools to include the upper years but it was an interesting atmosphere to see so many age groups represented in the school at the same time. Especially when the Sixth Form students don’t need to have uniforms but all of the other students do. I arrived at the school at approximately 9:15am and went up to reception to sign in. The secretary there was really pleasant and knew exactly who I was. She gave me a Visitor’s badge and walked me to the classroom where the lessons were taking place. I missed the first period class (needless to say) however there was a TA assigned to this class who handled it for me. The bell rang 10 minutes later for period change and I was suddenly thrust into the world of teaching with little to no warning.
Now…unfortunately to compound with all of this I was assigned to two subjects for that day: maths and science. According to Protocol these subjects wouldn’t be showing up in most days but of course they had to be in my first. Luckily, the teacher who I was covering for had left thorough details for each of her classes as to what they were supposed to be working for that period. All of the classes consisted of reading a section of their textbooks and then working through questions. The question sections were long enough to take up the entire time of the period so that worked out well.
The students themselves were quite interesting and I didn’t really have enough time to mentally prepare myself for the classes of the day. I ended up having a Year 9 class, two Year 10s, and a Year 11 class through the day. A broad age range and each one was as challenging as the last. It’s a bit of a battle to get them all to settle down when they walk into the classroom (especially when they see it is a Supply that day) but it was quick explanation on what they were assigned and getting them to begin working. All of the classes were very talkative and there wasn’t really a point in trying to get them to be completely silent because I would have wasted my voice on my first day constantly telling them to be quiet. Instead I allowed them to discuss the work with their neighbours as long as they kept it to a low volume. From here it became much more of a classroom management exercise for the entire day. For the most part the students were doing their work and answering the questions while talking to their neighbours. I just needed to make sure that they stayed on task and that the conversations didn’t get too loud or too off topic from what they were doing while also helping those that had questions. It was a bit frustrating to have those subjects because I could only help so much before having them just skip over questions if they were getting stumped.
The rest of the staff were quite friendly and I ended up having good conversation with a couple of the teachers there. They were very helpful in making sure that I had everything I needed and answering any questions I had about policy or students. Overall, it was a good experience at the school but really exhausting by the end of the day after needing to be on students to stay on task for the better part of most periods. It’s funny, I don’t want to start complaining about work on my very first day obviously but after today I realize just how much I need to make sure that I don’t get too frustrated or run down. As a supply teacher I’m only going to be a blip on the radar of these students in terms of their whole learning careers so as long as I can finish the day knowing that I kept them on task for the most part and didn’t have many issues with any students than I can be happy. It’s a bit frustrating not being able to build a consistent rapport with students or building on lessons because I only see them for a day and maybe never again. I left the school today satisfied with it as a first foray into the teaching world. Every day is going to be different and tomorrow is going to be full of different students, different subjects, and different experiences. The goal is to keep learning from each and every experience and applying them to the classrooms.
Hopefully I’ll have a little bit more time to prepare myself tomorrow.
The day started out pretty crazy before I even got to the school! I woke up hella early (5:30am) to make sure I would have enough time to shower, dress, eat, and generally take my time in the morning. I was all set to go (packed my bag last night) and gave Protocol a ring at 7am to see what the dealio was. Sarah (Protocol consultant) took my info and told me that someone would contact me as soon as they had something for me. Great. This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start my first day. I’ve been hearing a lot from my flatmates and others that there hasn’t been a lot of work the last few weeks (September after all) and I really didn’t want to have to get all dressed and pumped up and then not have any work for the day…that didn’t last long though. Protocol called me back 7:30am and told me I was to head to Sutton in Surrey for my first assignment. The only problem was that it’s a solid 45 min travelling time and lessons begin at 8:25am…needless to say I was going to be late and Protocol told me they’d call the school to let them know. I surfed onto TFL and found the root I needed to take and Sarah was really helpful to text me the directions to the school once I got to the station there. I threw on my coat and grabbed my things in a hurry and out the door I went.
From home I had to walk to Tooting Rail Station to hop on a train westbound to Sutton. I hadn’t ever been there before but looked up the route online and managed to make it there without much issue. Here’s the kicker however, because of the Tube Strike today there were MASSIVE delays for the rail services including a couple of cancelled trains. I ended up having to wait at the station for a solid 35-40 minutes before a train finally arrived going to Sutton Station. I kept in solid contact with the Protocol office to update them on my situation and they made sure to let the school know.
The school I went to is called Overton Grange and it’s a secondary school located in Surrey. This is a fully dedicated secondary school with all age groups from Year 7s (Grade 6) all the way up to Sixth Forms years (Grades 11 and 12). It’s a little odd sometimes for schools to include the upper years but it was an interesting atmosphere to see so many age groups represented in the school at the same time. Especially when the Sixth Form students don’t need to have uniforms but all of the other students do. I arrived at the school at approximately 9:15am and went up to reception to sign in. The secretary there was really pleasant and knew exactly who I was. She gave me a Visitor’s badge and walked me to the classroom where the lessons were taking place. I missed the first period class (needless to say) however there was a TA assigned to this class who handled it for me. The bell rang 10 minutes later for period change and I was suddenly thrust into the world of teaching with little to no warning.
Now…unfortunately to compound with all of this I was assigned to two subjects for that day: maths and science. According to Protocol these subjects wouldn’t be showing up in most days but of course they had to be in my first. Luckily, the teacher who I was covering for had left thorough details for each of her classes as to what they were supposed to be working for that period. All of the classes consisted of reading a section of their textbooks and then working through questions. The question sections were long enough to take up the entire time of the period so that worked out well.
The students themselves were quite interesting and I didn’t really have enough time to mentally prepare myself for the classes of the day. I ended up having a Year 9 class, two Year 10s, and a Year 11 class through the day. A broad age range and each one was as challenging as the last. It’s a bit of a battle to get them all to settle down when they walk into the classroom (especially when they see it is a Supply that day) but it was quick explanation on what they were assigned and getting them to begin working. All of the classes were very talkative and there wasn’t really a point in trying to get them to be completely silent because I would have wasted my voice on my first day constantly telling them to be quiet. Instead I allowed them to discuss the work with their neighbours as long as they kept it to a low volume. From here it became much more of a classroom management exercise for the entire day. For the most part the students were doing their work and answering the questions while talking to their neighbours. I just needed to make sure that they stayed on task and that the conversations didn’t get too loud or too off topic from what they were doing while also helping those that had questions. It was a bit frustrating to have those subjects because I could only help so much before having them just skip over questions if they were getting stumped.
The rest of the staff were quite friendly and I ended up having good conversation with a couple of the teachers there. They were very helpful in making sure that I had everything I needed and answering any questions I had about policy or students. Overall, it was a good experience at the school but really exhausting by the end of the day after needing to be on students to stay on task for the better part of most periods. It’s funny, I don’t want to start complaining about work on my very first day obviously but after today I realize just how much I need to make sure that I don’t get too frustrated or run down. As a supply teacher I’m only going to be a blip on the radar of these students in terms of their whole learning careers so as long as I can finish the day knowing that I kept them on task for the most part and didn’t have many issues with any students than I can be happy. It’s a bit frustrating not being able to build a consistent rapport with students or building on lessons because I only see them for a day and maybe never again. I left the school today satisfied with it as a first foray into the teaching world. Every day is going to be different and tomorrow is going to be full of different students, different subjects, and different experiences. The goal is to keep learning from each and every experience and applying them to the classrooms.
Hopefully I’ll have a little bit more time to prepare myself tomorrow.
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