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
No comments:
Post a Comment