Week 13 in Copenhagen
Personal Development
This week has been a week of savouring every moment as for many of the Erasmus students this was the last week we would all spend together. It was also my last week in school, which I honestly can’t believe how quickly the time passed. Last weekend, was very busy trying to prepare the last bits for our group presentation for Comparative Education. I also had a lot of lessons to prepare for school, so this weekend was pretty much occupied by work!
This week we were really keen to try and get together one evening, even though many of us still had school early the next morning. Claire (from France) very kindly invited us around to her flat and had cooked honestly the best crepes I have ever tasted in my life, everyone had brought both savoury and sweet treats and it was a great night, although in some ways very sad as we only had a few days left altogether. The night was spent laughing and reflecting on our time here. In many ways the three or four months is not enough time, as we have found that you only get to know each other by the start of the third month and then people are starting to think about heading home, it is very difficult to imagine Copenhagen over the next month without many of these people here. I am however, very excited about the possibility about meeting up with some of the friends I have made here in their home destinations and many of them have even said that they would like to come and visit Northern Ireland, so I very much look forward to that- Erasmus truly is the most unbelievable experience.
On Thursday, we spent the whole day together in the university as it was a day to conclude this part of the Erasmus experience, we spent the morning reflecting on all the things that we had learnt personally, academically and culturally. It was amazing to think back on all the lessons and workshops we had together and how much we have actually gained from this experience. The lecturers were also really interested in hearing about the positives and negatives of this experience and to gain our feedback for future years.
Once the conclusion of the course had finished we had a presentation of certificates and a goodbye reception for the others who were not staying, it was kind of a surreal experience as it felt like the end, however I still have another chapter of this journey to complete during the next month, and to be honest although it will be strange that the others will not be here and am not fully ready to leave this place just yet.
That night we all met at a Turkish restaurant in the centre of town, it was a great night of laughing and chatting and I can honestly say I have made really great friends here, I just want to take the opportunity to say thank you to them all for making this experience really special, I hope that you all have a safe journey home and that we all make the effort to keep in touch- I could not have thought of a better group of people to share this experience with! For those who are staying I hope to see you all next week!
Cultural Development
This week in the conclusion to our course we started to talk about the issue of culture in terms of accommodation and assimilation. I found it really interesting to note how much it has been the case that I have had to accommodate my way of thinking to some of the culture within Denmark. Simple things, which have changed my way of thinking have included recycling, public transport and even the type of food that one eats here.
In relation to cultural development I have also been reflecting on the fact that while on Erasmus I have not only experienced Danish culture but also the wide range of cultures that have been represented within my class.
Professional Development
In terms of school this week, I was really busy preparing a number of English as a second language lessons, specifically focused on tenses. It gave me a great insight and made me reflect on the challenges and rewards of teaching a second language. I really enjoyed preparing these lessons and was so impressed at how the pupils got involved in many of the active learning strategies that I tried to put into the lessons. On particular activity that I thought worked well was with a Grade 6 class, I asked them to form a circle and I placed a number of verbs in the infinitive form in the centre of the circle. Each pupil was then required to change the tense and then tell a story or sentence in relation to their chosen verb. They also had to state whether the verb was regular or irregular in the past tense. The level of imagination and correct use of verb tenses was again extremely high.
This week I also had the opportunity to take part in Christianity lessons, as they had been cancelled the last weeks for the project exams. It was really interesting to note how these lessons were very much discussion based classes, and the level of input from the class was extremely encouraging. One of the classes I was with, was considering the issue of Human Rights and Freedom, I tried to encourage the pupils to expand their answers and develop their viewpoints on the issues while in their smaller groups. After they had a chance to discuss in groups they were asked to feedback their findings to the rest of the class. It reflected the idea that each group became an expert in a certain example of Human Rights and Freedom.
I was extremely sad that this week was the end of my Danish teaching experience, I really enjoyed the chance to get a first hand look at how these schools are set up and want to thank the staff and pupils for making it such a memorable experience.
Also in regard to Professional Development we had our group presentations for Comparative Education, our group considered the issue of ‘How to teach more than words’ with an emphasis on social education. I felt that our group worked really well together and our piece of assignment work was also handed in with a more detailed analysis of our findings.
Hope everyone is well. G.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Week 12 in Copenhagen
Week 12 in Copenhagen
This week has been another extremely busy, but interesting week. The majority of my week has involved school placement, however I did spend a lovely day at Tivoli gardens in the centre of Copenhagen and that evening enjoyed a meal at the Hard Rock Café, as well as enjoying a concert from a Danish Rock band. Every Friday, there is a concert on in Tivoli gardens during the season, called Friday Rock, which includes a wide variety of famous bands and musicians. You are only required to pay the entry fee into the gardens to hear the concert, which is a bargain in relation to Copenhagen prices and the bright lights of Tivoli in the evening are not to be missed.
I have had yet another week of six o’clock starts, so lots of earlier nights too. I can’t believe that I only have another week of teaching practice left. I feel like I have only got into the way of doing things and got to know the staff and the pupils and the experience is nearly over. I have also realized that this is the last full week for some of my Erasmus class, many of them are leaving at the end of next week and not staying on for the extra month to complete the individual assignment, so hoping that this coming week there will be a lot of time to socialise with them before they leave. The most amazing things about this experience is the contacts that you make across Europe, it is great knowing that you can perhaps visit them in the future. Already, I have made plans to meet up with some of the friends I have made here in the future and it is very exciting. Many of them are extremely keen to come to Northern Ireland, we must have done a good job selling the place.
I have really enjoyed the weather this week, the sun has been shining almost everyday and it even makes it easier to get up in the morning! I have loved seeing the change from severe winter conditions to the freshness of Spring- I don’t know why this has really impacted me, but I think because I have never seen a winter like that before and it has made me appreciate the seasons even more. Also I think that people in Denmark are generally healthier than people at home and they spend much more time out walking, cycling and sitting in the parks. I intend to spend a lot more time in Frederiksberg Park ( my favourite place in Copenhagen) now that the weather has improved. On Tuesday, we finished school early and myself, along with Katie and our two Austrian friends went to an Italian restaurant in the DybbØlsbro area of central Copenhagen. I really enjoyed this afternoon, we were able to sit all afternoon enjoy delicious food and it was a buffet too, so there was no need for dinner that evening!
Cultural Development.
This week, Tivoli gardens was the biggest cultural event. Everyone had told me that Tivoli is a must when you go to Copenhagen. It is only open half the year, apart from a couple of weeks in the winter for the Christmas market season. The gardens hold one of the oldest theme parks in Denmark, as well as a vast number of restaurants, cafes and even an aquarium. The park is very attractive and there are many different types of flowers, as well as a lake with its own pirate ship. I would definitely recommend that you buy the day ticket for the rollercoasters, as it is very expensive to just go on one or two rides, paying individually for them. Next time, I will definitely invest in the day pass.
The town centre has also been very busy recently due to the great weather, I have noticed that there has been a lot more tourists in the centre of town. I went to the New Harbour area on Saturday, which was packed full of tourists and locals. One of the most enjoyable places to spend an afternoon, it is a real cultural activity to prepare some food and sit on the harbour wall enjoying the view of the canal along with the vast majority of vintage ships. Often at the harbour there will be a few different musicians scattered along the harbour. Near to where I was sitting there was a great string band playing- I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world like the New Harbour in Copenhagen, it is definitely a one off.
One of the things I have noticed in Copenhagen, especially this week which has troubled and even upset me was that fact that in a country where there is so much wealth and the cost of living is so very high, there is still extreme poverty. It is very much a common practice to see men and woman looking through the bins to try and find plastic bottles. In Denmark you can take you bottles to any supermarket and exchange them for cash, or credit. Many people still throw their bottles away, in this case it provides a ‘living’ for people in poverty within Copenhagen. On Saturday I saw a Mother and Son collecting the bottles at the end of the evening in New Harbour after everyone had enjoyed their day, it really made me think how lucky I am.
Professional Development.
This week in school was extremely busy, the pupils were finishing off their projects for their presentations towards the end of the week. I was really encouraged at how hard the pupils worked on their projects and how much they had researched into their chosen topic. The start of the week was very intense as we were helping each of the pupils put their projects together and sometimes because of the language barrier this was extremely difficult. On one of the afternoons, we were asked to come and watch one of the younger Grades present their chosen topics for presentations. They were obviously not required to research in as much detail. They were asked to chose a destination and pretend that they were trying to advertise it, they had to include cultural facts, activities and history. The level of presentations was so high and they even presented in English as we were visiting their class, I was so impressed.
On Wednesday evening, we had to go straight to uni from school, so I was up at six that morning and was not back in the flat till after nine so I was very tired as you can imagine. The reason we were in uni was because some groups were presenting their Comparative Education research, my group were not expected to present until Monday evening, however it was very interesting listening to all of presentation which involved a variety of chosen topics ranging from bullying, classroom management and stereotypes.
The last part of the week, we spent listening to the presentations. I was very interested in how the teacher was going to assess each of the projects as I will be focusing on this element for my individual assignment which I will complete in May. Although Grade 7 were not expected to complete the project as an official assessment until Grade 9, they were still given feedback on their presentation. The feedback was based on a number of areas for example, how the group worked together, the research they carried out and how they presented their findings. This class presented in Danish, so at times it was difficult to understand, however I was able to get the basic outline of their presentations and I thought that on the whole the level of maturity in regards to their product was very high, if they can built upon this over the next two years before the official presentation, they will do extremely well.
Hope that you are all well!
G.
This week has been another extremely busy, but interesting week. The majority of my week has involved school placement, however I did spend a lovely day at Tivoli gardens in the centre of Copenhagen and that evening enjoyed a meal at the Hard Rock Café, as well as enjoying a concert from a Danish Rock band. Every Friday, there is a concert on in Tivoli gardens during the season, called Friday Rock, which includes a wide variety of famous bands and musicians. You are only required to pay the entry fee into the gardens to hear the concert, which is a bargain in relation to Copenhagen prices and the bright lights of Tivoli in the evening are not to be missed.
I have had yet another week of six o’clock starts, so lots of earlier nights too. I can’t believe that I only have another week of teaching practice left. I feel like I have only got into the way of doing things and got to know the staff and the pupils and the experience is nearly over. I have also realized that this is the last full week for some of my Erasmus class, many of them are leaving at the end of next week and not staying on for the extra month to complete the individual assignment, so hoping that this coming week there will be a lot of time to socialise with them before they leave. The most amazing things about this experience is the contacts that you make across Europe, it is great knowing that you can perhaps visit them in the future. Already, I have made plans to meet up with some of the friends I have made here in the future and it is very exciting. Many of them are extremely keen to come to Northern Ireland, we must have done a good job selling the place.
I have really enjoyed the weather this week, the sun has been shining almost everyday and it even makes it easier to get up in the morning! I have loved seeing the change from severe winter conditions to the freshness of Spring- I don’t know why this has really impacted me, but I think because I have never seen a winter like that before and it has made me appreciate the seasons even more. Also I think that people in Denmark are generally healthier than people at home and they spend much more time out walking, cycling and sitting in the parks. I intend to spend a lot more time in Frederiksberg Park ( my favourite place in Copenhagen) now that the weather has improved. On Tuesday, we finished school early and myself, along with Katie and our two Austrian friends went to an Italian restaurant in the DybbØlsbro area of central Copenhagen. I really enjoyed this afternoon, we were able to sit all afternoon enjoy delicious food and it was a buffet too, so there was no need for dinner that evening!
Cultural Development.
This week, Tivoli gardens was the biggest cultural event. Everyone had told me that Tivoli is a must when you go to Copenhagen. It is only open half the year, apart from a couple of weeks in the winter for the Christmas market season. The gardens hold one of the oldest theme parks in Denmark, as well as a vast number of restaurants, cafes and even an aquarium. The park is very attractive and there are many different types of flowers, as well as a lake with its own pirate ship. I would definitely recommend that you buy the day ticket for the rollercoasters, as it is very expensive to just go on one or two rides, paying individually for them. Next time, I will definitely invest in the day pass.
The town centre has also been very busy recently due to the great weather, I have noticed that there has been a lot more tourists in the centre of town. I went to the New Harbour area on Saturday, which was packed full of tourists and locals. One of the most enjoyable places to spend an afternoon, it is a real cultural activity to prepare some food and sit on the harbour wall enjoying the view of the canal along with the vast majority of vintage ships. Often at the harbour there will be a few different musicians scattered along the harbour. Near to where I was sitting there was a great string band playing- I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world like the New Harbour in Copenhagen, it is definitely a one off.
One of the things I have noticed in Copenhagen, especially this week which has troubled and even upset me was that fact that in a country where there is so much wealth and the cost of living is so very high, there is still extreme poverty. It is very much a common practice to see men and woman looking through the bins to try and find plastic bottles. In Denmark you can take you bottles to any supermarket and exchange them for cash, or credit. Many people still throw their bottles away, in this case it provides a ‘living’ for people in poverty within Copenhagen. On Saturday I saw a Mother and Son collecting the bottles at the end of the evening in New Harbour after everyone had enjoyed their day, it really made me think how lucky I am.
Professional Development.
This week in school was extremely busy, the pupils were finishing off their projects for their presentations towards the end of the week. I was really encouraged at how hard the pupils worked on their projects and how much they had researched into their chosen topic. The start of the week was very intense as we were helping each of the pupils put their projects together and sometimes because of the language barrier this was extremely difficult. On one of the afternoons, we were asked to come and watch one of the younger Grades present their chosen topics for presentations. They were obviously not required to research in as much detail. They were asked to chose a destination and pretend that they were trying to advertise it, they had to include cultural facts, activities and history. The level of presentations was so high and they even presented in English as we were visiting their class, I was so impressed.
On Wednesday evening, we had to go straight to uni from school, so I was up at six that morning and was not back in the flat till after nine so I was very tired as you can imagine. The reason we were in uni was because some groups were presenting their Comparative Education research, my group were not expected to present until Monday evening, however it was very interesting listening to all of presentation which involved a variety of chosen topics ranging from bullying, classroom management and stereotypes.
The last part of the week, we spent listening to the presentations. I was very interested in how the teacher was going to assess each of the projects as I will be focusing on this element for my individual assignment which I will complete in May. Although Grade 7 were not expected to complete the project as an official assessment until Grade 9, they were still given feedback on their presentation. The feedback was based on a number of areas for example, how the group worked together, the research they carried out and how they presented their findings. This class presented in Danish, so at times it was difficult to understand, however I was able to get the basic outline of their presentations and I thought that on the whole the level of maturity in regards to their product was very high, if they can built upon this over the next two years before the official presentation, they will do extremely well.
Hope that you are all well!
G.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Week 11 in Copenhagen
Personal Development
This week, routine was well established again and early mornings (6.30am) greeted me each day in order to make it to my first lesson at school for 8am. It was great to feel a little more familiar with the routine in school and how things worked. The staff and the pupils have been so welcoming to us and I am really enjoying my placement school so far.
The weather has been so amazing this week and you could almost say that Summer has arrived. On Friday afternoon, I went to the Botanical Gardens with Katie and we sat in the sun for a couple of hours, chilling out after a busy week, the gardens were so quiet and you would not have known that you were right in the centre of town. One of the evenings, I went for a swim and the pool where I swim has a glass roof, the sun was shinning through and it honestly felt like I was in Spain- long may the good weather last! It is quite a change from the snowy Denmark I was faced with on my arrival.
Cultural Development
This week I was really looking forward to Monday night as my friend Matt was in Copenhagen with his band Two Door Cinema Club, it was great to get the opportunity to see a Northern Irish band playing in Copenhagen and also to hear a few familiar accents!
On Wednesday evening, I went to the theatre in Kongens Nytorv to see Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights’ Dream’. It was very interesting to go and see as this is often a text, which is studied for GCSE English Lit. The theatre was a very grand building, I even got to stand out on the balcony and took in amazing view of the New Harbour area of Copenhagen. The next night the Queen of Denmark was expected to go and see the play as part of her birthday celebrations so the theatre was already being prepared for her visit.
It was the Queens’ 70th birthday on Friday so many people flocked to the city to see her drive past in her carriage, unfortunately I did not make it to see the parade, however I made it down to the city later in the afternoon to soak up on some of the atmosphere. Many Danes also had the Danish flag on display in their homes as a sign of nationality and respect for the Queens’ birthday celebrations.
Professional Development.
On Monday, I spent the majority of the day with Grade 8- we spent most of the day preparing and discussing what they will be doing for their project exam. In Denmark, pupils get a two week period to complete a project and are taken off timetable to be given time in school to complete the project work. Most of the pupils in my class have decided to research the theme of ‘oprar and frihed’ ,which translates roughly to the concept of war and freedom. The pupils have come up with so many great ideas for their projects and I am already excited to see the end outcome of all their hard work. One group has decided to look at the troubles in Northern Ireland, so we have been helping them with ideas for the project.
On Monday, the Grade 8 class we allocated time to work in the ‘Eat Me’ café in their school. They are given the responsibility of preparing the sandwiches, salads and other healthy snacks for the pupils in the school who order food from the centre. It is a great concept and the pupils learn so many skills whilst working under the supervision of the café manager. The café is very modern, each pupil is given a t-shirt while working in the café which makes them feel part of the staff- it is a very clever and worth while initiative in my opinion. I think schools in Northern Ireland should look into the possibility of such an initiative in our schools.
On Tuesday, I had an evening class at UCC which gave us time to catch up with our Erasmus class and also to feedback on our experience in schools so far. As well as working on the projects this week, the Grade 8 class were given another task of lifting rubbish from the local community. They were given the morning to collect rubbish from a local park, in return the council gave the class a certain amount of money which they could use for a school trip. I thought this was an excellent idea and gave pupils an element of social responsibility whilst being rewarded for their efforts. This also gave us the opportunity to chat with the pupils and hear more about what it is like to go to school and grow up in Copenhagen.
I have also been working on my Comparative Education group project, we spent time this week asking teachers questions about the Danish School system in regard to the title of our project. We then have to write up our findings and also a response in relation to our home countries and give a presentation next Wednesday evening to our class. So as you can see, it has been a very busy week.
Hope everyone is well! Speak soon. G.
This week, routine was well established again and early mornings (6.30am) greeted me each day in order to make it to my first lesson at school for 8am. It was great to feel a little more familiar with the routine in school and how things worked. The staff and the pupils have been so welcoming to us and I am really enjoying my placement school so far.
The weather has been so amazing this week and you could almost say that Summer has arrived. On Friday afternoon, I went to the Botanical Gardens with Katie and we sat in the sun for a couple of hours, chilling out after a busy week, the gardens were so quiet and you would not have known that you were right in the centre of town. One of the evenings, I went for a swim and the pool where I swim has a glass roof, the sun was shinning through and it honestly felt like I was in Spain- long may the good weather last! It is quite a change from the snowy Denmark I was faced with on my arrival.
Cultural Development
This week I was really looking forward to Monday night as my friend Matt was in Copenhagen with his band Two Door Cinema Club, it was great to get the opportunity to see a Northern Irish band playing in Copenhagen and also to hear a few familiar accents!
On Wednesday evening, I went to the theatre in Kongens Nytorv to see Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Nights’ Dream’. It was very interesting to go and see as this is often a text, which is studied for GCSE English Lit. The theatre was a very grand building, I even got to stand out on the balcony and took in amazing view of the New Harbour area of Copenhagen. The next night the Queen of Denmark was expected to go and see the play as part of her birthday celebrations so the theatre was already being prepared for her visit.
It was the Queens’ 70th birthday on Friday so many people flocked to the city to see her drive past in her carriage, unfortunately I did not make it to see the parade, however I made it down to the city later in the afternoon to soak up on some of the atmosphere. Many Danes also had the Danish flag on display in their homes as a sign of nationality and respect for the Queens’ birthday celebrations.
Professional Development.
On Monday, I spent the majority of the day with Grade 8- we spent most of the day preparing and discussing what they will be doing for their project exam. In Denmark, pupils get a two week period to complete a project and are taken off timetable to be given time in school to complete the project work. Most of the pupils in my class have decided to research the theme of ‘oprar and frihed’ ,which translates roughly to the concept of war and freedom. The pupils have come up with so many great ideas for their projects and I am already excited to see the end outcome of all their hard work. One group has decided to look at the troubles in Northern Ireland, so we have been helping them with ideas for the project.
On Monday, the Grade 8 class we allocated time to work in the ‘Eat Me’ café in their school. They are given the responsibility of preparing the sandwiches, salads and other healthy snacks for the pupils in the school who order food from the centre. It is a great concept and the pupils learn so many skills whilst working under the supervision of the café manager. The café is very modern, each pupil is given a t-shirt while working in the café which makes them feel part of the staff- it is a very clever and worth while initiative in my opinion. I think schools in Northern Ireland should look into the possibility of such an initiative in our schools.
On Tuesday, I had an evening class at UCC which gave us time to catch up with our Erasmus class and also to feedback on our experience in schools so far. As well as working on the projects this week, the Grade 8 class were given another task of lifting rubbish from the local community. They were given the morning to collect rubbish from a local park, in return the council gave the class a certain amount of money which they could use for a school trip. I thought this was an excellent idea and gave pupils an element of social responsibility whilst being rewarded for their efforts. This also gave us the opportunity to chat with the pupils and hear more about what it is like to go to school and grow up in Copenhagen.
I have also been working on my Comparative Education group project, we spent time this week asking teachers questions about the Danish School system in regard to the title of our project. We then have to write up our findings and also a response in relation to our home countries and give a presentation next Wednesday evening to our class. So as you can see, it has been a very busy week.
Hope everyone is well! Speak soon. G.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Week 10 in Copenhagen
Personal Development
Week 10 hard to believe, over half way through my time here and this week has gone so quickly once again. This week I started at my placement school and also had a number of social things planned for the evening time. I really enjoyed getting into school and back into a routine after having a week off. It was great to see a bit more life about the city after it being almost like a vacant town for a number of days.
This week I was invited to a Danish couple’s home on Wednesday evening, who I have got friendly with from Fredricksberg, it was so kind of them to invite us to their home and it was great getting to know them a bit better. They both work in education so it was great sharing and exchanging experiences of education with them. It was also great to hear a little more about Copenhagen from local people. They also made us a lovely traditional Danish meal. Katie and I made cheesecake to bring with us to the meal, although the final product was delicious (even if I do say so myself) the state of our kitchen was similar to that of a disaster zone.
It was also really great to get back to the pool again. I am really lucky to have a 50m pool near to my flat and it is fairly cheap to go for a swim. One thing is that it is often difficult to find the time as the pool closes on a Monday and then is only open at certain periods during the rest of the week. It is amazing to have such a great facility so close.
I have loved that the weather has improved so much this week and the sun has been out almost everyday! I have even had sunglasses and flips flops on, quite a change from the hats, gloves and scarves from a few months ago.
Cultural Development.
This week we had another food event that was arranged by a number of our Erasmus classmates. Each country was to prepare something traditional from their home country. All of the recipes were put together in a cookbook and everyone helped to prepare the meals. All of the European countries made amazing meals. Northern Ireland were asked to prepare the coffee afterwards and we managed to burn the shortbread that we made and also the milk for the hot chocolate, good work team Northern Ireland! We did manage to save some of the shortbread so it was not a complete disaster, but a very funny and enjoyable evening!
I have also seen a lot of commercial areas during this week in Copenhagen, I went to Magasins and Illum two of the large department stores in Denmark, similar to that of House of Fraser or Harrods in some cases, especially in relational to the prices- they were so expensive. I also went one afternoon to Fields, which is the biggest mall in Scandinavia, it really was huge and so different to the smaller stores in Copenhagen’s city centre. On Wednesday, I also visited Bella Centre, which is on the metro line and where the Copenhagen Climate Summit took place, it was interesting to visit the newly developed area. It was clear that a lot of young professionals lived in this area and it contained a lot of very well designed apartments. A number of people from our class also arranged a trip to Ikea, as apparently you have to visit an Ikea in a Scandinavian country, however in my opinion it was identical to that of the one in Holywood exchange- it was great, however to get some cheap lunch at the store!
Professional Development.
First week in school and I could not wait to start to see how Danish schools worked after hearing so much about them over the last two months. I am in a state school not far from my town, the school has about seven hundred pupils from six to sixteen years, schools in Denmark are not split into primary and secondary like in Northern Ireland. On the first day we meet with one of our teacher tutors, unfortunately the other was ill this week, so I hope to meet her next week. We got a tour of the school and were introduced to a number of our classes. There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere in the school and the teachers are addressed by their first names and the children and teachers dress in casual clothing- which is obviously very different from home. There is a great pupil/ teacher relationship between the pupils and staff and it is so apparent to see the mutual respect and family atmosphere in the school.
I found it great to get to chat to the pupils and I was so impressed at their English, especially the younger children. On two of the days we were asked to give presentations from our home countries in the library and a number of classes came at different times to hear the talks from Katie and I (Northern Ireland) and Julia (Austria). It was amazing how interested the pupils seemed to be, and this was shown through their many questions, which were fantastic. We also got an excellent opportunity to ask the children questions about their experience of living and going to school in Denmark.
I spent the majority of class time with Grades 7 and 8, it was interesting to note and reflect upon the structure of a lesson in comparison to lessons structures in Northern Ireland. I think I have been given such a opportunity to gain more insight into what it means to be a reflective practitioner as I now not only have one view of an education system. One of the afternoons we spent in cookery class, this was an excellent chance to talk to the pupils and get to know them as well as picking up a few cookery tips. The classes in Denmark stay together through their school career, so it was obvious to see that the pupils knew each other very well. It is common in Denmark for school to start at 8 o’clock but on some of the days the pupils leave school shortly after lunch, if pupils stay in the afternoon the often have the opportunity to take part in handicraft, woodwork or cookery classes.
This week many of the classes had taken part in a music festival where they performed songs that they had written, we got the opportunity to see the show and it is clear that pupils in Denmark are very much encouraged to be creative in school and a lot of time and effort was put into producing these songs and the final show.
Next week we are going to be helping pupils with their project exams, which is a large part of the Danish school system and I am really looking forward to seeing how this is organised and what work the pupils will produce.
Hope that you have had a great week and are all looking forward to getting back to routine after your Easter break!
Speak soon. G.
Week 9 in Copenhagen
Personal Development
This week has been a very quiet and relaxing week, uni has finished for Easter break, however it has been typical that the weather has been awful- it rained for a substantial part of the week. I found it quite strange to be in Copenhagen over the Easter weekend as the town was almost empty- everything closed for a number of days and there were not many people about the city. It was great however to enjoy the time to relax and catch up on things after a busy term. I spent a lot of time going for walks (as the pool was closed also). It was nice to walk through the city without the usual crowds, however at times it seemed quite eerie having so few people in the city centre. I really enjoyed having the time this week to explore a couple of new places such as the Opera House and also to prepare myself for the next part of the semester.
Cultural Development
Over the Easter weekend, I went to a number of Easter services in the town. It was great to see how Danes celebrated over the Easter period. One thing that I have noticed is that there is not the same commercial hype towards Easter Eggs, children still receive eggs, however not on the same quantity as children (and adults!) at home. I went to a service on Easter Sunday at the Vineyard church in Fredericksberg, and then also to a service at the state church on the Easter Monday. In the service on Monday, the priest was talking about new life and what the cross represented ( or what I could tell from my limited Danish) and then the congregation were asked to put a daffodil ( again a symbol of new life) into a model of the cross. I have noticed that people in Denmark are very respectful of faith and religion – the state church plays a large part in the community, especially in the town where I am living.
As you can tell from the empty city centre a lot of people tend to go away for the Easter period. It is quite often the case that people in Copenhagen have moved here because of jobs or university, so many people head back to other parts of Denmark to be with their families over the Easter break. Danish families often have a family meal (similar to Northern Ireland) on the Easter Sunday and they often display the Danish flag, many of the churches had the flag on display over the Easter period. I really like the way the Danes have pride in their country and show this pride at special occasions, it is nice that the flag can be shown without being political.
Professional Development.
This week we clearly have had no classes as it is the Easter break. I have however, been looking forward to starting my teaching placement. I have also been trying to think about what area I would like to research and write about for my individual assignment that I have to complete during the month of May. As you can tell I have lots to think about over the next couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the theory in practice once I start my school placement, it will be great to see how the Danish school system works.
Hope that everyone is well and has had a lovely Easter break!
Take care. G.
Friday, 2 April 2010
Week 8 in Copenhagen
Personal Development
This has been a fantastic week, extremely busy, but great. I have been really busy with university work, however I have had some great evenings in Copenhagen, hanging out with friends. An added bonus has been the fact that the weather has been amazing, everyday the sun has been shinning and there have been some amazing sunsets as we walk home in the evenings. The weather has changed so quickly- it is hard to believe that only a few weeks ago there was copious amounts of snow still lying in the ground. On Thursday afternoon, I had no class and I went into Frederiksberg for a walk in the park as it was such a nice day. In previous weeks, I had told you about the huge hill were many people gathered to go sleighing, this week there was a different social gathering of people enjoying pic-nics and even ice cream whilst sitting on the hill facing Fredicksberg castle.
This week I have tried to make the most of the time in class with the Erasmus students. The reason for this is that after Easter we will all be teaching in different schools across central and suburban Copenhagen, therefore, we will not see as much of each other and many of the students are leaving after the three-month period and not staying on for the individual assignment in May like I am. I am really looking forward to some of the social activities that we have planned for over Easter and into April- We have decided to have an International food event, every represented country will be providing speciality food and drink from their culture. It is hoped that everyone from our class will attend, along with many of our tutors.
I can’t believe I am now nearly at the half way stage, it is amazing how quickly the time has passed, how many good friends I have made, how many places I have explored and seen and also how much information I have learned- not to mention how quickly I have settled into the way of life in Denmark. I am so glad I have been given the opportunity to be a part of the Erasmus International programme in Blaagaard.
Cultural Development
Talking about settling into the way of life in Copenhagen, I had to go to complete my temporary residency form this week. Within Denmark , you are not able to stay longer than a period of ninety days without applying for temporary residency- Katie and I both went and afterwards we felt very strange, especially after the lady at the desk told us our residency form would be with us in a matter of weeks. It is a pity I cannot speak fluent Danish, or I would have definitely felt Danish afterwards. This week however, a Danish person actually thought that I was from Copenhagen, I took that as a compliment!
On Tuesday evening, I went to a small theatre in Osterbro, the theatre only held about eighty people. The play was in English and it was a monologue comedy. Our land lady invited us along as her friends’ son-in-law was the actor. It was very enjoyable, I have never been to such a small theatre before , it was a really different kind of atmosphere. People in Copenhagen often have concerts, theatre, plays and musical events planned in the evening and it is surprising how well priced they are, considering we are in Copenhagen, where everything is overpriced compared to at home.
Professional Development.
Last week, I told you about the tender for the Multi-cultural classroom presentation that I had been preparing for. On Monday, we all had twenty minutes to present our findings. We had to focus on a number of key elements, policies and ethos of the school, resources and structure of the classroom as well as staffing. We had to present in a way which combined theory with practice. It was really beneficial to hear about the variety of approaches by different groups. We were really pleased to find out that our group won the tender for the school- based on the storyline method of teaching.
We spent the majority of Tuesday morning presenting the work which we had completed on the Wiki pages in relation to Visual Culture. You can have a look at the work my group had completed by following the links below. I found this task to be extremely informative, not only in the content but also in the methods used to present of research, in relation to Wiki pages and also Podcasts.
http://erasmus2010.wikispaces.com/Group+4
(Task1 – Libraries in higher institutions & Task2 – Karen Blixen Museum)
On Wednesday we spent time in our Danish class recapping on a lot of the content we have covered over the last two months, as well as explaining a little about our family trees. On Wednesday evening, Globalisation and professional change considered the issue of there being one universal approach for education, or must national priorities be taken into consideration. We spent time working in groups and then we discussed our findings through a debate.
Hope everyone is well and is looking forward to Easter break.
Speak soon. G.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Week 7 in Copenhagen
Personal Development
I honestly can’t believe that it is time for another entry in the blog, the weeks here are going so fast, it is difficult to believe. The weather has definitely changed and Spring is fast approaching, for the first time in Denmark I left the house without being armed with hats, gloves, scarves and managed not to freeze. The snow was great while it was here, however it is great to feel the heat of the sun- it has been so amazing going out for walks while the sun is out and enjoying exploring a little more of Copenhagen each day. I really want to get a bike soon- everyone here travels by bike, so I am going to investigate renting a bike over the Easter break.
The weather must be affecting the transport system because on a number of occasions this week, I have experienced delays with the metro and trains. On Tuesday, I got stuck inside the metro at the one stop for about twenty minutes, there were so many people inside and it is not an experience I would like to happen again. It has been so surprising as normally the transport is so efficient here. It is funny how impatient you can become when transport is so efficient normally, sometimes I get generally annoyed if I miss the metro and have to wait three minutes for the next one, ridiculous really when you consider Northern Ireland, where you have to wait an hour for the next train!
It has also been great getting to know people in our class a lot better, and I can definitely say that we have all become rather friendly over the period of our stay. On Thursday afternoon I was invited, with Katie to our Austrian friends’ flat to work on our project presentation for Multi-cultural classroom, they prepared a lovely lunch for us and it was great to get to know them a little better – and get some work completed too! I also had a fantastic meal with Claire, Karim and Katie on Thursday evening, we had a great conversation exchanging French and Northern Irish music. It was also excellent for picking up some French cuisine recipes from Claire!
Cultural Development
On Wednesday, I was off class and I decided to investigate Malmö in Sweden. I took the bus along with some of the other Erasmus students from the town hall in Copenhagen and we arrived in Sweden in less than an hour. It was amazing passing over the bridge, which I had been told so much about. We spent the afternoon exploring the town as much as we could, as the last bus home returned at 6 o’clock. While we were in the town we were stopped by a photographer who asked us if we minded being in a couple of photos for a Swedish soap powder add. Random I know! We agreed, and spent about thirty minutes posing for endless photographs. The photographer has told us that the add campaign will include our photo and be on the bus stops over Sweden, six hours in Sweden and I was already famous! I really enjoyed my time in Malmö, we enjoyed a great lunch and some coffee, it was really relaxing to get out of the busyness of Copenhagen and experience a new country for the day. The town had so much character and there were so many shops and restaurants to explore- my favourite was Malmö’s Chocolate shop, which had a huge variety of quality chocolate! I am now however, left with a variation of Swedish and Danish Kroner in my wallet – I think it may take me the majority of the weekend to figure out which is which! I found the atmosphere and culture in Sweden to be very similar to that of Denmark and would love to explore a little more of Sweden during the Easter break.
The major cultural activity of the week included a classical and Cuban concert at Copenhagen’s new concert house- ‘K3NC2RT HUS4T’. The concert included the DR UngdomsEnsemblet (a string orchestra) and guest orchestra- Cubita (a lively Cuban orchestra). We went to the event with a number of our class and it was an excellent evening. It was very relaxing and the musicians were so talented. The building was so impressive and included a number of studios – the particular studio that our concert was in had a number of famous musicians drawn on the walls- one included a little of Northern Ireland, with a print of Van Morrison.
The building itself was so modern and the design was fascinating, definitely recommend a visit. I hope to attend another concert during April to add to my musical cultural experiences! It is obviously a very Danish evening event to attend these small concerts – as the people looked so relaxed and comfortable in this settling. It was surprising to me how the concert was laid out, there were tables in the concert hall all lit up with candles and food and drinks were available at the back of the studio- very different to the lay out in Belfast.
Professional Development.
This week at University there has been a lot of private study and group work activity. This had been in order to prepare for presentations for a number of modules during next week. We also found out about our practice schools for after Easter, so we will be contacting the schools at the beginning of the week to find out about our classes etc. I am really looking forward to getting into the classroom and getting to start teaching.
On Monday, we prepared for our Multi-Cultural Classroom assessment presentation. We have been asked to work on a tender for a multi-cultural school. We have had to make decisions on the policies and ethos of the school, as well as the core teaching principles. We have also included a design for a classroom and an advertisement for proposed staff. Our group made a number of references to the theory behind the multi-cultural classroom which we have discussed during the course such as the Banks Model. The idea behind this approach of assessment has been taken from the idea of Storyline Method. This is often used within classrooms to involve pupils in the learning process through visualization. There is a strong focus on key questioning through different scenarios.
The rest of the week, I spent time on the write up for the Wiki page from the information that we learnt at the Karen Blixen museum. We also had to spend some time recording the podcast for the Wiki page. We used the space on the podcast to create a dialogue between an interviewer and Karen Blixen. We arranged the podcast as if it were a class of pupils who had been asked to complete this task. Really hoping that both of these presentations go well- they are on Monday and Tuesday, so will let you know how they go!
On Tuesday, I went again to the course at University of Copenhagen for Comparative Education. This week we considered the American Education system. We looked specifically at the States’ Campaigns to reduce the amount of High school ‘drop outs’. It was interesting to note that the Danish people in the class found it difficult to comprehend the high cost of education – in comparison to the free higher education in Denmark and also the considerable monthly payment.
Finally, for this week we had another Comparative Education class at Blaagaard- we spent the time planning for our project assignment and had an available slot to discuss our ideas with our tutor. We then had time discussing what is expected of us during our School Based Work period.
Well I think that is about all for this week. It is raining today, luckily I am going to be inside to watch the Six Nations- Come on Ireland!
Speak soon!
Hope everyone is well. G.
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