My nose feels like it’s three times bigger than usual, not a pleasant feeling. Because of this (and because once again I didn’t sleep very well) I was very pleased to find a text message of Ana (Spanish student) on my mobile telling me that the morning lesson was cancelled. This meant that I could stay in bed until 10 o’clock, I could: take a long shower, do the dishes, read some texts of Dewey and relax. After lunch I left one hour before the lesson began because I was going to check out a new bicycle route (through the Maastunnel instead of over the Erasmus bridge). Because of my cold I really wanted to go by bicycle. This trip turned out to be very pleasant: once through the Maastunnel, you pass a beautiful park and you can ride really relaxed and save.
It did took me 30 minutes to get to school (I can do the Erasmus bridge route in 20 minutes) but it was worth every minute. I discovered a lot of new things: water at the end of the Slaghekstraat, the park and some interesting shops.
Once arrived at school it took me 5 minutes to lock up my bicycle (I still have to get used to the two locks) and it took me 10 minutes to wait for an elevator. In the end, I was tired of waiting and I walked to the sixth floor, using the stairs.
The lesson this afternoon was about the community school. These are schools in which the community around the school is involved in school activities and where the community and school benefit from each other. Community schools are especially very useful in ‘dangerous’ areas where they offer the children a world of the streets, in the school buildings, with a range of activities going from dancing to cooking. In this way, the community helps the school (because these activities are organized by the city of Rotterdam) and the school helps the community (by keeping the children and youngsters of the streets).
I really liked this idea and I think it really works. Off course you can’t reach everybody in the neighbourhood of the school but it will make some difference.
The teacher also showed us a scene from the film ‘Dangerous Minds’. She asked us what the teacher (Michelle Pfeiffer) did good and what she did wrong.
Then we discussed punishing: is it useful or not? How can you punish? I think that ignoring the pupil and his/her behaviour is the best way to punish them. Then they get the feeling they don’t exist and that’s not a pleasant experience for a human being.
After the lesson I treated the others with some Belgian chocolate (as a treat for my birthday). They really loved it.
Then I went home the same way I came, got lost, took my map, found my way again, got home and I cooked! Yes, it’s not a spelling error, I cooked a meal. I baked some chicken. Now, you might think: “Only chicken? Then you’re not quite the chef then,” but it was the first time I baked chicken. For me it’s a big step because I’m afraid of gas and I’m especially afraid of gas cookers but nevertheless I used my gas cooker. It even tasted like a chicken should taste!
donderdag 28 februari 2008
Dag 12 (19 feb): Finding Nemo
As I stated yesterday, I got up at 6 o’clock this morning. “Why?” you might ask. Well, that’s a good question. Today I’m going to the Comenius school which is in the other part of Rotterdam (East to Kralingen). I’m going to join the school on a trip to Nemo, a sort of Dutch Technopolis (a science and action museum).
It was a really nice trip; I didn’t only learn some things of science but I also learned a lot from my host, Meleny, who told me all about the Dutch pupils and the educational system. Off course it was hard to observe the pupils in this way, but I can say that Dutch pupils are more independent and also a bit more brutal than Belgian ones. Probably I will visit the school a second time so I can observe the pupils in a normal ‘habitat’. Now, it was unclear to see which pupils belong to the Comenius school as there were other schools present.
After the trip Meleny took me to a shop called Vreesman or something (in the Koopgoot). We had something to eat there and she told me all about Rotterdam, giving me some nice addresses to visit during my stay. It also appeared that she works for 3voor12, doing the same thing I’m doing for damusic.be. We are both editors for a music e-zine, two e-zines which aren’t really competitors but still we know about each other and we follow each other. This was a pleasant surprise!
It was a really nice trip; I didn’t only learn some things of science but I also learned a lot from my host, Meleny, who told me all about the Dutch pupils and the educational system. Off course it was hard to observe the pupils in this way, but I can say that Dutch pupils are more independent and also a bit more brutal than Belgian ones. Probably I will visit the school a second time so I can observe the pupils in a normal ‘habitat’. Now, it was unclear to see which pupils belong to the Comenius school as there were other schools present.
After the trip Meleny took me to a shop called Vreesman or something (in the Koopgoot). We had something to eat there and she told me all about Rotterdam, giving me some nice addresses to visit during my stay. It also appeared that she works for 3voor12, doing the same thing I’m doing for damusic.be. We are both editors for a music e-zine, two e-zines which aren’t really competitors but still we know about each other and we follow each other. This was a pleasant surprise!
Dag 11 (18 feb): Verrassing!
Today (Monday) it’s back to school! Week 3 already. Time flies by when you’re having fun, isn’t it? Today we had another Dutch hour (culture) in which Derya explained some things about architecture, Rotterdam and design in the Netherlands. Mrs. van der Leer asked us how we were doing and if everything was going ok. She really cares about us. It’s nice to know that you can count on her and Mrs. Verloop. Thank you ladies!
After this we had the concept of education by Mr. Pols. We had to give he answers our country would give to the five basic questions. I made a presentation which you can also find in the portfolio.
There were a lot of similarities between the three countries which was nice to discover. In this way, we learn that development is the same all over the world.
In the evening I went to the Afrikaan Inn to go to the surprise party for Serkan’s birthday. It turned out it also was a surprise party for my birthday (17th of February, yes, 22 years already)! It was really nice to see that they had bought two cakes (one for Serkan and one for me) and it was also nice to meet new people (from Turkey). It was a really nice evening but I didn’t stay for too long as I had to get up at 6 o’clock.
After this we had the concept of education by Mr. Pols. We had to give he answers our country would give to the five basic questions. I made a presentation which you can also find in the portfolio.
There were a lot of similarities between the three countries which was nice to discover. In this way, we learn that development is the same all over the world.
In the evening I went to the Afrikaan Inn to go to the surprise party for Serkan’s birthday. It turned out it also was a surprise party for my birthday (17th of February, yes, 22 years already)! It was really nice to see that they had bought two cakes (one for Serkan and one for me) and it was also nice to meet new people (from Turkey). It was a really nice evening but I didn’t stay for too long as I had to get up at 6 o’clock.
Dag 10 (15 feb): Politie in actie
This noon, I decided to go to school on foot. When I crossed the Erasmusbrug, suddenly a police car showed up. This car was parked over the road (so that the cars coming from South, over the bridge couldn’t drive anymore). A few young policemen got out of the car and went to the other side of the road (cars coming from Blaak), telling the chauffeurs of those cars that they couldn’t pass the crossing. A few minutes later another police car showed up, followed by two more. All the police cars parked over the road so that they blocked cars. Only the road coming from the East of Rotterdam (e.g. Oosthaven) was still unblocked. Those cars had to drive on, never mind the traffic lights.
This whole action took 10 minutes. Then we waited for another 10 minutes. A girl standing next to me asked the policewoman what was going on. There was a special emergency coming for the Erasmus MC. 5 minutes later, a policeman on a motorcycle passed us, followed by another one, a MUG ambulance, a MUG ambulance with the deadly injured person on board and another motorcycled policeman.
At the end of this passage, the policemen and policewoman got back in their cars and drove off. Then the cars could just drive on.
Now, it was the first time I saw something like this. It really shocked me that the half of Rotterdam had to stand still for almost 25 minutes for an emergency transport which passes in less than 1 minute. I understand the reasons for it, but I think there are better ways. They should time it better. Imagine someone got a heart attack during waiting because of the stress of being too late, then there would be an emergency transport needed again!
Because of this escapades, I was too late in the lesson (only 5 minutes). Only the Spanish girls and I were in the lesson of ‘The digital world and its implications’. Mrs. Stofberg gave us some really good links to sites to use when you’re a teacher (and also when you’re not a teacher). I already knew some because at KaHo we have the course OMI (Omgaan Met Informatie, dealing with information). I already knew about Picasa, Flickr, Slideshare and blogging but still she surprised me with other sites like wefeelfine.org and freerice.org.
This whole action took 10 minutes. Then we waited for another 10 minutes. A girl standing next to me asked the policewoman what was going on. There was a special emergency coming for the Erasmus MC. 5 minutes later, a policeman on a motorcycle passed us, followed by another one, a MUG ambulance, a MUG ambulance with the deadly injured person on board and another motorcycled policeman.
At the end of this passage, the policemen and policewoman got back in their cars and drove off. Then the cars could just drive on.
Now, it was the first time I saw something like this. It really shocked me that the half of Rotterdam had to stand still for almost 25 minutes for an emergency transport which passes in less than 1 minute. I understand the reasons for it, but I think there are better ways. They should time it better. Imagine someone got a heart attack during waiting because of the stress of being too late, then there would be an emergency transport needed again!
Because of this escapades, I was too late in the lesson (only 5 minutes). Only the Spanish girls and I were in the lesson of ‘The digital world and its implications’. Mrs. Stofberg gave us some really good links to sites to use when you’re a teacher (and also when you’re not a teacher). I already knew some because at KaHo we have the course OMI (Omgaan Met Informatie, dealing with information). I already knew about Picasa, Flickr, Slideshare and blogging but still she surprised me with other sites like wefeelfine.org and freerice.org.
Dag 9 (14 feb): Montessori
Today we got a bit of theory on Montessori education. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I think there are some lacks in the Montessori system. The idea of given children freedom to learn how to make decisions and to take responsibility is a good one, but I’m afraid that this system doesn’t always work: only some children have benefits from the Montessori system. One of the problems I have with Montessori is this freedom. I think that children who are that free, don’t really know what they want and I also think that not every child will get the aims of the curricula.
Also the way in which the children are tested (they aren’t really tested, they are observed) makes me frown. When a child is working on a series of exercises to get a grip on some new theory, it’s normal that it goes fluently after a while. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the child knows what he/she has to do after 4 weeks. When I think of my English lessons, some pupils don’t even remember words they’ve seen the day before.
Another result of this ‘testing’ in Montessori, is that (I think) the children aren’t prepared enough for big parts of subject matter. They aren’t really used to learning this, and especially in this amount.
The thing I did like about Montessori was the way in which classes are divided. It’s similar to Jenaplan education (which I prefer more). I also like the idea that children should learn how to make decisions and how to take responsibility for these decisions and for their actions.
When I gave some of my interpretations of this system, the teacher always said that I thought that way because I teach older children and that I’m not right. I think she is ignoring the negative aspects of the system and this is not very good for a teacher. She did say that some Montessori schools are better than others, but still I think that when you teach, you have to be impartial and realistic. In Belgium we see, reflect on and admit the faults and lacks in our educational systems. In this way, we can try to fix them.
Off course I realize that it’s impossible for every educational system or theory to be perfect for every child. It would be a miracle if something like that existed. I think the teacher should realize this too.
In the afternoon we had a second drama lesson. We worked with music and it was really nice to do.
Also the way in which the children are tested (they aren’t really tested, they are observed) makes me frown. When a child is working on a series of exercises to get a grip on some new theory, it’s normal that it goes fluently after a while. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the child knows what he/she has to do after 4 weeks. When I think of my English lessons, some pupils don’t even remember words they’ve seen the day before.
Another result of this ‘testing’ in Montessori, is that (I think) the children aren’t prepared enough for big parts of subject matter. They aren’t really used to learning this, and especially in this amount.
The thing I did like about Montessori was the way in which classes are divided. It’s similar to Jenaplan education (which I prefer more). I also like the idea that children should learn how to make decisions and how to take responsibility for these decisions and for their actions.
When I gave some of my interpretations of this system, the teacher always said that I thought that way because I teach older children and that I’m not right. I think she is ignoring the negative aspects of the system and this is not very good for a teacher. She did say that some Montessori schools are better than others, but still I think that when you teach, you have to be impartial and realistic. In Belgium we see, reflect on and admit the faults and lacks in our educational systems. In this way, we can try to fix them.
Off course I realize that it’s impossible for every educational system or theory to be perfect for every child. It would be a miracle if something like that existed. I think the teacher should realize this too.
In the afternoon we had a second drama lesson. We worked with music and it was really nice to do.
Dag 8 (13 feb): Bezoek aan Delfshaven
This day was promising: we were going on excursion to Delfshaven in the afternoon. But first: the concept of education by Mr. Pols. I don’t know to which subject in Belgium I could link this subject but the names of the people we are going to discuss sounded famous (Vygotsky, Dewey and Arendt). I think I heard their names when I was studying in Ghent at Artevelde, but I’m not sure.
This first lesson we had to answer the 5 basic questions from our own point of view. Next lesson we have to answer them through a presentation with answers from our own country. How would Belgium answer to these questions? Now, at first, it wouldn’t be Belgium that answered but Flanders because I have no idea how the education works in the Walloon provinces.
After this subject we had almost 3 free hours. Ana, Silvia (both from Spain), Derya (from Turkey) and I went to a restaurant I knew very close to the school. It’s called Ari and it serves good food for low prices, especially at the lunch hour. We all ate something and the girls were really surprised by the prices and by the huge pepper-mill they use in the restaurant.
After our lunch we went for a stroll passing some funny shops. We took a lot of funny photos and we also ate some cake from a shop where they sold muffins, cookies and cakes in all flavours. Then we walked back to school, passing the NAI and the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum.
At the reception Mrs. de Wit-Storimans was attending us to take us to Delfshaven, a village next to Rotterdam.
In this village we were confronted with great differences: on the one side you had modern buildings and on the other you had old buildings and living boats in the old harbour. We saw the house of Piet Heyn and his statue.
The things that I’ll remember are the old and cosy houses and the antique shops.
The working mill is also something to remember. The man who worked there lived in Belgium (near Hasselt).
At the end of the excursion Mrs. de Wit-Storiman wanted to buy us a drink but she forgot her wallet so we paid for ourselves: this is called a Dutch treat. She promised us to pay next time (actually, I feel we should pay her drink for all her efforts and interesting facts).
I’ll remember Delfshaven as a beautiful cosy town with some special corners.
This first lesson we had to answer the 5 basic questions from our own point of view. Next lesson we have to answer them through a presentation with answers from our own country. How would Belgium answer to these questions? Now, at first, it wouldn’t be Belgium that answered but Flanders because I have no idea how the education works in the Walloon provinces.
After this subject we had almost 3 free hours. Ana, Silvia (both from Spain), Derya (from Turkey) and I went to a restaurant I knew very close to the school. It’s called Ari and it serves good food for low prices, especially at the lunch hour. We all ate something and the girls were really surprised by the prices and by the huge pepper-mill they use in the restaurant.
After our lunch we went for a stroll passing some funny shops. We took a lot of funny photos and we also ate some cake from a shop where they sold muffins, cookies and cakes in all flavours. Then we walked back to school, passing the NAI and the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum.
At the reception Mrs. de Wit-Storimans was attending us to take us to Delfshaven, a village next to Rotterdam.
In this village we were confronted with great differences: on the one side you had modern buildings and on the other you had old buildings and living boats in the old harbour. We saw the house of Piet Heyn and his statue.
The things that I’ll remember are the old and cosy houses and the antique shops.
The working mill is also something to remember. The man who worked there lived in Belgium (near Hasselt).
At the end of the excursion Mrs. de Wit-Storiman wanted to buy us a drink but she forgot her wallet so we paid for ourselves: this is called a Dutch treat. She promised us to pay next time (actually, I feel we should pay her drink for all her efforts and interesting facts).
I’ll remember Delfshaven as a beautiful cosy town with some special corners.
Dag 7 (12 feb): Bezoek aan De Passie
After getting up early to be there on time, I reached a school called ‘De Passie’. This is an evangelic school, so the people who work and study there have chosen to believe in a positive way.
What I’ll remember most of this day was the opening of the day by the teachers. I had heard of openings at school (we don’t do this in a regular Belgian school) and I thought the pupils participated but this wasn’t the case.
What does an opening looks like at De Passie?
The teachers all come together in a room with a piano, here they sing, pray and thank God for this day, for the birth of the son of a colleague, to help the pupils, etc. It really dazzled me what kind of power the teachers got from this opening. You could really see them getting ready for school, for a day of teaching. I just convince myself I prepared all I could and if something goes otherwise, I just have to deal with it. That’s my way of collecting courage for a day of school. These teachers count on God to help them and they believe that He stands by them throughout the day and throughout their lives. I respect this way of thinking but for a catholic like me, it’s not the same. Especially for a catholic like me, because I hardly ever go to church.
The rest of the day I participated in some lessons. I observed the teachers and the pupils. I came to a few conclusions:
• In the Netherlands the pupils are the same as in Belgium, although they have more freedom. The pupils of every year (except the brugklas) are allowed to leave school property when they have a free period (e.g. when a teacher’s ill) or during breaks.
• In this school teachers most of the time use the OLG (onderwijsleergesprek) to teach the children. This is also often used in Belgium. It’s a good combination of activity of the pupils and of the teacher. For language learning it’s also ideal because the pupils can work on their speaking skills.
• Another difference with Belgium is that the periods here last 45 minutes instead of 50 minutes. The first period only takes 15 minutes and is called ‘mentorkwartier’. Because a lot of pupils have to travel far to reach the school, they have the opportunity to miss these 15 minutes, although the school doesn’t urge them to make use of this possibility.
• Just like in every country, not every teacher has a full and good control over the pupils.
• A thing that almost startled me, was that in English and French lessons, Dutch is very much used. In Belgium we always try to avoid this. The teachers here use it quite often, even in situations this isn’t really necessary.
• The classes are really big: I saw classes from 28 to 32 pupils. In my country we think a class of 24 is too crowded. Because of this number I can understand the teachers who speak Dutch in English and French lessons.
• The school rules are developed with an eye on the pupils’ safety. The neighbourhood where the school is residing at, isn’t really safe. Some pupils have already been attacked and stolen from.
These rules are:
o Every pupil (except when you’re in the first year) can leave the school during breaks or free periods.
o A mobile phone is taken from you one day.
o A MP3 player is taken from you a week.
o Chewing gum and crisps are forbidden in every part of the school.
o When you’re too late, you have to report this.
o Pupils have chosen for the Faith in a positive way.
These are the most important rules.
• The school has got a few beamers and computers (which is in most cases more than in Belgian schools), in every classroom there is a white board and the pupils all have the necessary books.
I found ‘De Passie’ and the people who work and study very friendly and helpful. Especially Letty, who has put my programme together (which she did for the first time and she did a good job at it!) disserves a lot of credits!
This was a very interesting and instructive day.
What I’ll remember most of this day was the opening of the day by the teachers. I had heard of openings at school (we don’t do this in a regular Belgian school) and I thought the pupils participated but this wasn’t the case.
What does an opening looks like at De Passie?
The teachers all come together in a room with a piano, here they sing, pray and thank God for this day, for the birth of the son of a colleague, to help the pupils, etc. It really dazzled me what kind of power the teachers got from this opening. You could really see them getting ready for school, for a day of teaching. I just convince myself I prepared all I could and if something goes otherwise, I just have to deal with it. That’s my way of collecting courage for a day of school. These teachers count on God to help them and they believe that He stands by them throughout the day and throughout their lives. I respect this way of thinking but for a catholic like me, it’s not the same. Especially for a catholic like me, because I hardly ever go to church.
The rest of the day I participated in some lessons. I observed the teachers and the pupils. I came to a few conclusions:
• In the Netherlands the pupils are the same as in Belgium, although they have more freedom. The pupils of every year (except the brugklas) are allowed to leave school property when they have a free period (e.g. when a teacher’s ill) or during breaks.
• In this school teachers most of the time use the OLG (onderwijsleergesprek) to teach the children. This is also often used in Belgium. It’s a good combination of activity of the pupils and of the teacher. For language learning it’s also ideal because the pupils can work on their speaking skills.
• Another difference with Belgium is that the periods here last 45 minutes instead of 50 minutes. The first period only takes 15 minutes and is called ‘mentorkwartier’. Because a lot of pupils have to travel far to reach the school, they have the opportunity to miss these 15 minutes, although the school doesn’t urge them to make use of this possibility.
• Just like in every country, not every teacher has a full and good control over the pupils.
• A thing that almost startled me, was that in English and French lessons, Dutch is very much used. In Belgium we always try to avoid this. The teachers here use it quite often, even in situations this isn’t really necessary.
• The classes are really big: I saw classes from 28 to 32 pupils. In my country we think a class of 24 is too crowded. Because of this number I can understand the teachers who speak Dutch in English and French lessons.
• The school rules are developed with an eye on the pupils’ safety. The neighbourhood where the school is residing at, isn’t really safe. Some pupils have already been attacked and stolen from.
These rules are:
o Every pupil (except when you’re in the first year) can leave the school during breaks or free periods.
o A mobile phone is taken from you one day.
o A MP3 player is taken from you a week.
o Chewing gum and crisps are forbidden in every part of the school.
o When you’re too late, you have to report this.
o Pupils have chosen for the Faith in a positive way.
These are the most important rules.
• The school has got a few beamers and computers (which is in most cases more than in Belgian schools), in every classroom there is a white board and the pupils all have the necessary books.
I found ‘De Passie’ and the people who work and study very friendly and helpful. Especially Letty, who has put my programme together (which she did for the first time and she did a good job at it!) disserves a lot of credits!
This was a very interesting and instructive day.
Dag 6 (11 feb): Een lange maandag
Today (Monday) I started lessons at half past ten. Mrs. van der Leer-Veth gave us a tour in the OWP. I could take some nice pictures of it for the essay and I could a clear view on the way it works.
The OWP is a great source of didactic material, especially when you’re working with younger children. For me it wasn’t that useful but sometimes teachers in secondary education need special self-made didactic material too.
After this tour we listened to Silvia and her presentation on Amsterdam, Anne Frank and cycling in the Netherlands.
She told us really interesting things and once again I’m amazed by the impact a 15 year old girl’s diary has on people. I read the Anne Frank story every year in the summer. I don’t know why, but I always do. It’s almost like a habit. Every year I read her story and remember how it must have been during those terrible years.
The first time I read the book, I was 10 years old. I wanted to give a speech about in class and while the rest was discussing horses, a boy band or something like that, I talked about the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. The stories of those days always have a huge impact on me.
Silvia also gave me some extra reasons to visit Amsterdam: it once was the hippie capital of the world. I always think of myself as being born 40 years too late. I would love to have lived in the time of PROVO, John Lennon and his bed-ins, sleeping outside on the Dam, etc. Nowadays I feel there’s something living under the youngsters but they don’t have the ability, personality and courage to take action like in the 60’s and 70’s. Off course we realize that nowadays life’s quite good and you have to be really poor or really spoiled not to realize this.
2 years ago (2006) we had this event in Belgium called ‘0110’. It was a reaction to the growing racism and hatred between people (especially a reaction against Vlaams Belang and the murders in Antwerp by Hans Van Temssche). Organized by Tom Barman of dEUS, a band with great influence, thousands of people went to Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels or Luik to see the best of Belgian music perform live and free.
There was no patronizing so that was nice as well. You could really feel the positive vibes of the crowd and you knew that everyone was there, thinking that the world can become a better place for all of us. That thought was fantastic and the feeling that went with it, was great as well.
Things like ‘0110’ make me think of the hippie period and make me feel that I’m part of a bigger cause.
In the afternoon we compared our different cultures and the implications of these differences on the education we get and give. This was really interesting because it seemed that in Belgium the educational backgrounds are quite different to the Spanish and Turkish ones. Because Belgium is an individualistic country (instead of Turkey and Spain, where society still has a large role in people’s lives) our pupils can say and do a lot of things of which pupils in Spain and Turkey hardly dream off: telling the teacher he/she is wrong, speaking spontaneously, etc.
It was really interesting to discover in what ways a social structure has an effect on the way education is given.
After this lesson the others went home and I stayed at school for my two lessons of Dutch: Verzorgd Nederlands and Creatief Schrijven from Mr. Kroezemann.
These lessons were really nice. Especially the difference between the two was nice to experience. In Verzorgd Nederlands we learn how to write in commercial language. Because I have problems with keeping my essays and letters to point, this lessons can be really helpful and interesting for me. Off course I can also practise my spelling and grammar.
During Creatief Schrijven we worked on some haikus. This was really nice because I could finally do something creative. I love writing and this lessons will help me to become a better writer. Mr. Kroezemann always gives us some work to do for next lesson, so it will be interesting and time-consuming but I’m looking forward to it!
The OWP is a great source of didactic material, especially when you’re working with younger children. For me it wasn’t that useful but sometimes teachers in secondary education need special self-made didactic material too.
After this tour we listened to Silvia and her presentation on Amsterdam, Anne Frank and cycling in the Netherlands.
She told us really interesting things and once again I’m amazed by the impact a 15 year old girl’s diary has on people. I read the Anne Frank story every year in the summer. I don’t know why, but I always do. It’s almost like a habit. Every year I read her story and remember how it must have been during those terrible years.
The first time I read the book, I was 10 years old. I wanted to give a speech about in class and while the rest was discussing horses, a boy band or something like that, I talked about the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. The stories of those days always have a huge impact on me.
Silvia also gave me some extra reasons to visit Amsterdam: it once was the hippie capital of the world. I always think of myself as being born 40 years too late. I would love to have lived in the time of PROVO, John Lennon and his bed-ins, sleeping outside on the Dam, etc. Nowadays I feel there’s something living under the youngsters but they don’t have the ability, personality and courage to take action like in the 60’s and 70’s. Off course we realize that nowadays life’s quite good and you have to be really poor or really spoiled not to realize this.
2 years ago (2006) we had this event in Belgium called ‘0110’. It was a reaction to the growing racism and hatred between people (especially a reaction against Vlaams Belang and the murders in Antwerp by Hans Van Temssche). Organized by Tom Barman of dEUS, a band with great influence, thousands of people went to Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels or Luik to see the best of Belgian music perform live and free.
There was no patronizing so that was nice as well. You could really feel the positive vibes of the crowd and you knew that everyone was there, thinking that the world can become a better place for all of us. That thought was fantastic and the feeling that went with it, was great as well.
Things like ‘0110’ make me think of the hippie period and make me feel that I’m part of a bigger cause.
In the afternoon we compared our different cultures and the implications of these differences on the education we get and give. This was really interesting because it seemed that in Belgium the educational backgrounds are quite different to the Spanish and Turkish ones. Because Belgium is an individualistic country (instead of Turkey and Spain, where society still has a large role in people’s lives) our pupils can say and do a lot of things of which pupils in Spain and Turkey hardly dream off: telling the teacher he/she is wrong, speaking spontaneously, etc.
It was really interesting to discover in what ways a social structure has an effect on the way education is given.
After this lesson the others went home and I stayed at school for my two lessons of Dutch: Verzorgd Nederlands and Creatief Schrijven from Mr. Kroezemann.
These lessons were really nice. Especially the difference between the two was nice to experience. In Verzorgd Nederlands we learn how to write in commercial language. Because I have problems with keeping my essays and letters to point, this lessons can be really helpful and interesting for me. Off course I can also practise my spelling and grammar.
During Creatief Schrijven we worked on some haikus. This was really nice because I could finally do something creative. I love writing and this lessons will help me to become a better writer. Mr. Kroezemann always gives us some work to do for next lesson, so it will be interesting and time-consuming but I’m looking forward to it!
Dag 5 (8 feb): Lessen Nederlands
This morning I went to school to follow a lesson I’m not supposed to follow any longer (after this one). It’s the Dutch language lesson. Although I write my portfolio in English, my mother tongue is Dutch and I am a teacher of Dutch; that’s why I don’t need to follow these lessons. Instead I will follow two subjects given by Mr. Kroezemann and starting next Monday.
The teacher of the Dutch language course is Mr. van der Schouw. He’s a funny and nice man with a great knowledge of different languages: Turkish, a bit of Spanish, English, etc.
I thought this lesson had some interesting things for me in it; it showed me how I can teach Dutch to foreigners as well, where and how to start.
After this lesson I went home and decided to go back to Belgium for the weekend. It was a very tiring week and I really wanted to see my family and my boyfriend. I took the tram to the Central Station and there I had to wait ten minutes (really, I clocked it) to get a ticket! I was really angry with the woman behind the counter because I felt that she was making fun of me.
Then I got to the platform and I saw that my train was running late. It should have been there on five to two and it arrived at quarter past two.
Counting everything together, it took me four hours to get home. Usually it takes me 2 hours to get home from Rotterdam. You can imagine I was quite tired, mad and not such a pleasant company after these 4 hours.
I was glad to be home: I had to find an internet provider, I had to put my diary on Natschool, etc. To say it short: I had a lot of work to do.
My father and I searched the internet for an easy and cheap internet solution but we didn’t find one. We decided that I should just use the internet at school and at home (in Belgium).
The teacher of the Dutch language course is Mr. van der Schouw. He’s a funny and nice man with a great knowledge of different languages: Turkish, a bit of Spanish, English, etc.
I thought this lesson had some interesting things for me in it; it showed me how I can teach Dutch to foreigners as well, where and how to start.
After this lesson I went home and decided to go back to Belgium for the weekend. It was a very tiring week and I really wanted to see my family and my boyfriend. I took the tram to the Central Station and there I had to wait ten minutes (really, I clocked it) to get a ticket! I was really angry with the woman behind the counter because I felt that she was making fun of me.
Then I got to the platform and I saw that my train was running late. It should have been there on five to two and it arrived at quarter past two.
Counting everything together, it took me four hours to get home. Usually it takes me 2 hours to get home from Rotterdam. You can imagine I was quite tired, mad and not such a pleasant company after these 4 hours.
I was glad to be home: I had to find an internet provider, I had to put my diary on Natschool, etc. To say it short: I had a lot of work to do.
My father and I searched the internet for an easy and cheap internet solution but we didn’t find one. We decided that I should just use the internet at school and at home (in Belgium).
zondag 17 februari 2008
Nu te bezichtigen: fotomateriaal
Hey iedereen!
Zoals jullie rechts kunnen zien, is het vanaf nu mogelijk foto's te bekijken van mijn verschillende avonturen in Rotterdam.
Deze eerste lading geeft een overzicht van mijn woonst, de omgeving, de architectuur in Rotterdam en mijn klasgenootjes van de International Class. De tweede lading volgt volgende week, samen met nieuw tekstmateriaal; ik heb dan nl. een week vakantie!
Ik gebruik vanaf nu op weekdagen volgend Nederlands gsm-nummer: 0031 6 41 17 22 53.
Dit nummer wordt in gebruik genomen telkens op maandagochtend 8u tem vrijdagavond.
In vakanties (dus volgende week, eind februari) gebruik ik mijn Belgisch nummer.
Houdoe!
Zoals jullie rechts kunnen zien, is het vanaf nu mogelijk foto's te bekijken van mijn verschillende avonturen in Rotterdam.
Deze eerste lading geeft een overzicht van mijn woonst, de omgeving, de architectuur in Rotterdam en mijn klasgenootjes van de International Class. De tweede lading volgt volgende week, samen met nieuw tekstmateriaal; ik heb dan nl. een week vakantie!
Ik gebruik vanaf nu op weekdagen volgend Nederlands gsm-nummer: 0031 6 41 17 22 53.
Dit nummer wordt in gebruik genomen telkens op maandagochtend 8u tem vrijdagavond.
In vakanties (dus volgende week, eind februari) gebruik ik mijn Belgisch nummer.
Houdoe!
zaterdag 9 februari 2008
Dag 4 7 Feb 2008: Willem van Oranje
This morning I was woken (again) by construction builders. At 10 past 7 they start working just behind the building where I live. Thank God I sleep good at night. I left for school early this morning because I wanted to send and check some emails and I still haven’t got internet at my place. I let my director and lecturer of Dutch back in Belgium know that I arrived good and that I changed the subject ‘Dutch Language’ into the subjects ‘Verzorgd Nederlands’ and ‘Creatief Schrijven’. Mrs. Verloop really helped me! Thank you very much, Mrs. Verloop.
After checking my mails I went to the classroom for an introduction to Dutch history and identity. As I’m very interested in history, I was really looking forward to this lesson. Mr. Groot gave us the story of the founding of the Netherlands. For me it was extra interesting because Belgium used to be part of the Netherlands (the Southern Netherlands) and in this way I learned a bit about my own country.
The way in which this country was founded and built (taking it from the water) really had its effects on the way Dutch people are, so: on the Dutch identity.
Just like in the United States, the people live in a cooperative way as a result of the way the country was originally founded.
The thing that interested me most, was how the Catholic church was driven away and how there was a Protestant one re-installed. Because I study to teach Catholic religion (I have a roman-catholic curriculum to follow), I find this very interesting.
The thing that shocked me most, was the way in which the Duke of Alva terrorised the Dutch people. It’s always hard for me when I realise how rude people can be to each other. When I see images on the television of wars (even in films!), I’m always very shocked when I realise that people are killing people for things they hardly even know about. We’re a weird species.
In the afternoon we had our first drama lesson. At first I thought: “Oh no, screaming and testing your voice; pretending you’re a dead tree, etc. No thanks.” Mrs. Schuit didn’t ask us to do any of that so I was quite pleased at the end of the lesson. It was a nice opportunity to get to know the others even better and in a whole different manner. The American joined us as well (they follow different programme) and we got to know them better.
This lesson made me think about the influence your posture and the way in which you move, have an effect on how people think of you and especially, how you feel about yourself. You can feel very self confident if you raise your head and put your shoulders straight. On the other hand, you can isolate yourself from the world when you look down. These things are really nice and good to know.
After checking my mails I went to the classroom for an introduction to Dutch history and identity. As I’m very interested in history, I was really looking forward to this lesson. Mr. Groot gave us the story of the founding of the Netherlands. For me it was extra interesting because Belgium used to be part of the Netherlands (the Southern Netherlands) and in this way I learned a bit about my own country.
The way in which this country was founded and built (taking it from the water) really had its effects on the way Dutch people are, so: on the Dutch identity.
Just like in the United States, the people live in a cooperative way as a result of the way the country was originally founded.
The thing that interested me most, was how the Catholic church was driven away and how there was a Protestant one re-installed. Because I study to teach Catholic religion (I have a roman-catholic curriculum to follow), I find this very interesting.
The thing that shocked me most, was the way in which the Duke of Alva terrorised the Dutch people. It’s always hard for me when I realise how rude people can be to each other. When I see images on the television of wars (even in films!), I’m always very shocked when I realise that people are killing people for things they hardly even know about. We’re a weird species.
In the afternoon we had our first drama lesson. At first I thought: “Oh no, screaming and testing your voice; pretending you’re a dead tree, etc. No thanks.” Mrs. Schuit didn’t ask us to do any of that so I was quite pleased at the end of the lesson. It was a nice opportunity to get to know the others even better and in a whole different manner. The American joined us as well (they follow different programme) and we got to know them better.
This lesson made me think about the influence your posture and the way in which you move, have an effect on how people think of you and especially, how you feel about yourself. You can feel very self confident if you raise your head and put your shoulders straight. On the other hand, you can isolate yourself from the world when you look down. These things are really nice and good to know.
Dag 3 6 feb 2008: Rotterdam op de step!
Today started with an introduction about working with the portfolio. Apparently we have to put our texts, presentations etc. on a school website. This website works like a huge memory stick: you can put everything on there. You can choose which documents can be seen be who (you have to give ‘permissions’) and you can also work on 1 document with a few people at the same time (it reminded me of a wiki).
Finally I got my school password and username so now I can get on the computers at school. This is very nice because at home, I still haven’t got an internet connection. I could finally check my emails! I had 52 new emails!
Now I also got the opportunity to check for a firm called UPC. The boy who rented my apartment before me had a line of UPC for internet so it’s the easiest when I use the same firm. I’ll call the firm tomorrow or maybe I’ll visit one of their shops here in Rotterdam.
The afternoon was really nice and funny. We made a tour in Rotterdam using kickbikes (steps). It was tiring but also very nice! I discovered a beautiful hotel called Hotel New York. In this hotel we had a drink in the most beautiful and ‘intelligent looking’ bar. I will visit it more often while I’m here. Also we saw a lot of beautiful architectural tours de force and bridges. We crossed the Walk of Fame with signatures of Urbanus, Toots Thielemans, Shania Twain and even David Lee Roth! It was the perfect way to explore Rotterdam and it showed me that I should really get a bicycle! The freedom you have, the places you can visit, and everything is in a doable distance.
After the fantastic tour (too bad I didn’t bring my camera, but I’m going to do a bigger tour as well) we went to see the film ‘The Eleventh Hour’. This is a film produced by Leonardo Dicaprio and is a scientific film about the effects of global warming and the climate change. As I expected, it was a film with good chosen images and fragments of interviews with experts. I already knew that the world is at the beginning of crisis and that something has to be done, but this film showed it again. There’s only one problem I have with this sort of film: the people who are interviewed tell what’s wrong, say what can be done about it, etc. but it all comes to this: you need a) governments that care, b) companies that care and c) an entire change in the way people are thinking.
There was a native American (an Indian) who said that the human race is going to extinct and that we can do (almost) nothing about it. We just have to deal with it that the earth is going to live on without us on it. That made me think: “Then, why bother?” If humans are supposed to extinct, just like millions of other species did before is and will do after us, why even work on the planet?
An answer was given: “We would then be the youngest species to extinct and we would be the species with the biggest impact on the survival possibilities of other species.” And to be honest, I thought: “So? We won’t be here to suffer the consequences.” But then my mind switched to the ‘good me’ and thought: “This would mean that my grandchildren and especially my great-grandchildren would suffer under the consequences of what the generations before me and my generation did and do. That’s not fair. Then nobody should be allowed to have children anymore because it’s too rude.” I don’t want this to happen; I want my children to be able not to worry about their children and their future; I want my grandchildren to grow up in a healthy world, without masks to breath through.
What a world we live in. She is so beautiful and we are destroying it. If the story of Adam and Eve is the right thing that happened, God will be pretty mad at us for destroying his creation. Believe me: “Sorry” won’t be good enough to make up for it.
After the film I went to school by metro to have dinner over there. This morning I saw there was going to be chicken and I love chicken so I decided to eat at school. I’m not such a good cook so I had at least one good meal this week!
Then I went home with the tram. There was a woman waiting at the stop and I asked her if she lived in Rotterdam. She didn’t (she lived in Barendrecht) and we started talking about Rotterdam and about the differences between Belgium and the Netherlands. She was really nice and told me interesting things about the Dutch people. I already knew that the use of the internet is much more popular here than in Belgium and she gave me some funny examples of this difference. She works in a Marlies Dekkers shop and she had heard that the bags they use in those shops are sold on marktplaats.nl! The Dutch love internet!
We also talked about living ‘op kamers’ and how hard it can be to go back home after living in such a way for a year or two. Her sons have left the house and she said: “To be honest, I don’t even want them to come back. That doesn’t mean I don’t care but, like them, I’m used to life without fixed hours and such things.”
This is true. When I moved back from Ghent to Stekene, it was very hard. I was used to eat what I wanted when I wanted and I was used to leaving the house when I wanted to where I wanted with who I wanted without telling my parents. I really had to get used to telling where I’m going and to knowing where I’m going to eat at which hour before I leave home in the morning. My mother needs to know whether I’ll be home for dinner so that’s why I (normally) know where I’m going to eat. It seems stupid but is a very important difference in my life.
Now again, I choose what I do at which hour and I have to get used to this again. I have given myself a sort of system to follow so that life stays structured and it works. Perhaps in 2 weeks time, I will talk differently. We’ll see.
Finally I got my school password and username so now I can get on the computers at school. This is very nice because at home, I still haven’t got an internet connection. I could finally check my emails! I had 52 new emails!
Now I also got the opportunity to check for a firm called UPC. The boy who rented my apartment before me had a line of UPC for internet so it’s the easiest when I use the same firm. I’ll call the firm tomorrow or maybe I’ll visit one of their shops here in Rotterdam.
The afternoon was really nice and funny. We made a tour in Rotterdam using kickbikes (steps). It was tiring but also very nice! I discovered a beautiful hotel called Hotel New York. In this hotel we had a drink in the most beautiful and ‘intelligent looking’ bar. I will visit it more often while I’m here. Also we saw a lot of beautiful architectural tours de force and bridges. We crossed the Walk of Fame with signatures of Urbanus, Toots Thielemans, Shania Twain and even David Lee Roth! It was the perfect way to explore Rotterdam and it showed me that I should really get a bicycle! The freedom you have, the places you can visit, and everything is in a doable distance.
After the fantastic tour (too bad I didn’t bring my camera, but I’m going to do a bigger tour as well) we went to see the film ‘The Eleventh Hour’. This is a film produced by Leonardo Dicaprio and is a scientific film about the effects of global warming and the climate change. As I expected, it was a film with good chosen images and fragments of interviews with experts. I already knew that the world is at the beginning of crisis and that something has to be done, but this film showed it again. There’s only one problem I have with this sort of film: the people who are interviewed tell what’s wrong, say what can be done about it, etc. but it all comes to this: you need a) governments that care, b) companies that care and c) an entire change in the way people are thinking.
There was a native American (an Indian) who said that the human race is going to extinct and that we can do (almost) nothing about it. We just have to deal with it that the earth is going to live on without us on it. That made me think: “Then, why bother?” If humans are supposed to extinct, just like millions of other species did before is and will do after us, why even work on the planet?
An answer was given: “We would then be the youngest species to extinct and we would be the species with the biggest impact on the survival possibilities of other species.” And to be honest, I thought: “So? We won’t be here to suffer the consequences.” But then my mind switched to the ‘good me’ and thought: “This would mean that my grandchildren and especially my great-grandchildren would suffer under the consequences of what the generations before me and my generation did and do. That’s not fair. Then nobody should be allowed to have children anymore because it’s too rude.” I don’t want this to happen; I want my children to be able not to worry about their children and their future; I want my grandchildren to grow up in a healthy world, without masks to breath through.
What a world we live in. She is so beautiful and we are destroying it. If the story of Adam and Eve is the right thing that happened, God will be pretty mad at us for destroying his creation. Believe me: “Sorry” won’t be good enough to make up for it.
After the film I went to school by metro to have dinner over there. This morning I saw there was going to be chicken and I love chicken so I decided to eat at school. I’m not such a good cook so I had at least one good meal this week!
Then I went home with the tram. There was a woman waiting at the stop and I asked her if she lived in Rotterdam. She didn’t (she lived in Barendrecht) and we started talking about Rotterdam and about the differences between Belgium and the Netherlands. She was really nice and told me interesting things about the Dutch people. I already knew that the use of the internet is much more popular here than in Belgium and she gave me some funny examples of this difference. She works in a Marlies Dekkers shop and she had heard that the bags they use in those shops are sold on marktplaats.nl! The Dutch love internet!
We also talked about living ‘op kamers’ and how hard it can be to go back home after living in such a way for a year or two. Her sons have left the house and she said: “To be honest, I don’t even want them to come back. That doesn’t mean I don’t care but, like them, I’m used to life without fixed hours and such things.”
This is true. When I moved back from Ghent to Stekene, it was very hard. I was used to eat what I wanted when I wanted and I was used to leaving the house when I wanted to where I wanted with who I wanted without telling my parents. I really had to get used to telling where I’m going and to knowing where I’m going to eat at which hour before I leave home in the morning. My mother needs to know whether I’ll be home for dinner so that’s why I (normally) know where I’m going to eat. It seems stupid but is a very important difference in my life.
Now again, I choose what I do at which hour and I have to get used to this again. I have given myself a sort of system to follow so that life stays structured and it works. Perhaps in 2 weeks time, I will talk differently. We’ll see.
Dag 2 5 Feb 2008: De verkeerde tram
This day started really bad: I got on the wrong tram. I was nearly to the station when I discovered it was the wrong one. When I looked at the map at the stop, it seemed that the tram I took, stopped relatively close to the school; well, it didn’t. Thank God there are a lot of helpful Dutchmen, such as the driver of the tram. He told me where to get off and to which tram I had to transfer. Thanks to him, I was ‘only’ 10 minutes late. I was really ashamed because I think a future teacher can’t be late. You’re expected to be on time when you’re a teacher and I think you should also do this when you’re still studying. So, once again, Mrs. van der Leer, I’m very sorry I was late.
But there’s one good thing that came out of this situation: it helped me becoming more independent and it helped me to discover the city of Rotterdam.
Once I reached the school and the room where I had to be, I got an introduction to the Dutch culture. Off course, as a Belgian, I already had an opinion on the Dutch: loud and extravert. That’s what all Belgians think, I think.
Off course I realize that this is just a stereotype image of the Dutchmen and that it doesn’t count for all of them. It’s like Mrs. van der Leer-Veth puts its so good: you’re the ambassador of your country; and off course, when you see 1 loud Dutchman, you think they’re all like that.
I thought Americans were very stuck-up and only thinking about their country but I discovered this isn’t true. Images of nationalities aren’t always correct, that’s something everyone should bare in mind.
Then I got an introduction to the curriculum of teacher training education. To be honest: this wasn’t really that interesting for me because it was about primary education and the English of the lecturer wasn’t that good (so I wonder if the other students understood everything). This lesson did make me think about my own school: how does it work, what are the most important things, etc.
It was also nice to compare the Belgian system with that of other countries, although it wasn’t about secondary education.
VMBO and VWO, my nephews, uncles and aunts from the Netherlands talk about it but it wasn’t always that clear to me to which I could compare this in Belgium. During to lesson ‘Introduction the Dutch educational system’ I got a relatively good view at this.
I was surprised to hear that the Dutch pupils have to take a SITO-test when they’re just 12 years old. I think pupils have to have the right to choose for themselves (as it is in Belgium). Off course I realize that a lot of pupils make wrong decisions; in Belgium a lot of pupils are victim of the waterfall system (you start at the highest level and keep ‘falling’ downwards). These SITO-tests would be a nice idea to help preventing this waterfall thing to occur.
I will put it this way: both systems have advantages and disadvantages.
Last but not least we got a visit of Mrs. van der Leer-Veth who told us what we are expected to do when we’re going to a school. In my case this was not very useful because I’m the only student who studies secondary education (the others study primary and nursery education). Although, the assignments the others got, also count for me. I have to discuss them with Mrs. Verloop. The difference between me and the others is, that they only visit 4 or 5 schools; so they visit the same school at least twice. In my case, I will visit a lot more schools so I hardly ever step into the same school twice. As a result of this difference, the others can prepare small lessons for the children, as I will probably do something else (which has to be discussed with Mrs. Verloop). It’s hard to give a lesson in a school in front of pupils you’ve never seen before. I could try it. We’ll see what becomes of it.
I am very interested in the different schools. Next week I’m going to an evangelistic school and later on I’m probably going to a TTO school (where they teach in English and Dutch), a Christian school and even an Islamic school. I’m really looking forward to see the differences in approach and perhaps curricula in these schools. By seeing all those different approaches, I can use different things to benefit from.
During lunch break I went to the Central Station on foot. This gave me the opportunity to discover the city a bit more. I passed a lot of nice shops and beautiful buildings. I found the Goethe Institute, where they’re showing ‘The Edukators’ tomorrow evening. Too bad I haven’t got a bicycle yet.
Near the Central Station I located the RET-shop. I had a bit of a discussion with the boy who helped me. I wanted a ticket to use the public transport for 3 months. Now, a season ticket was quite expensive (€ 23 for one month!) and then you had a choice between the ‘strippenkaart’ and an OV-chipcard.
The ‘strippenkaart’ costs € 7 and has 15 strips on it. I need 4 strips to get to school and back home from school. This means that I can only use such a thing for 3 to 4 days. I choose to take an OV-chipcard. I’ll tell you next week how it worked. In Belgium it’s much easier: you have a Busypazz which you can buy for 3 months, 6 months or 12 months. It’s also quite cheap.
Later on, the Spanish girls and I went to search the Donner bookshop. It was a quest! We got a bit lost (twice) but in the end we found it (I just asked someone who passed us). The Selexys-Donner is a huge bookshop, a real bookheaven! I just love it.
By going on this quest I found out more about the public transport in this city. I usually only take the tram but now I took the metro as well to get to the bookshop. I still think the public transport is very expensive here! But I also have to add that it’s good. You have a lot of trams and metros (just make sure you’re not on the wrong one!) and the people of RET are always friendly and helpful.
But there’s one good thing that came out of this situation: it helped me becoming more independent and it helped me to discover the city of Rotterdam.
Once I reached the school and the room where I had to be, I got an introduction to the Dutch culture. Off course, as a Belgian, I already had an opinion on the Dutch: loud and extravert. That’s what all Belgians think, I think.
Off course I realize that this is just a stereotype image of the Dutchmen and that it doesn’t count for all of them. It’s like Mrs. van der Leer-Veth puts its so good: you’re the ambassador of your country; and off course, when you see 1 loud Dutchman, you think they’re all like that.
I thought Americans were very stuck-up and only thinking about their country but I discovered this isn’t true. Images of nationalities aren’t always correct, that’s something everyone should bare in mind.
Then I got an introduction to the curriculum of teacher training education. To be honest: this wasn’t really that interesting for me because it was about primary education and the English of the lecturer wasn’t that good (so I wonder if the other students understood everything). This lesson did make me think about my own school: how does it work, what are the most important things, etc.
It was also nice to compare the Belgian system with that of other countries, although it wasn’t about secondary education.
VMBO and VWO, my nephews, uncles and aunts from the Netherlands talk about it but it wasn’t always that clear to me to which I could compare this in Belgium. During to lesson ‘Introduction the Dutch educational system’ I got a relatively good view at this.
I was surprised to hear that the Dutch pupils have to take a SITO-test when they’re just 12 years old. I think pupils have to have the right to choose for themselves (as it is in Belgium). Off course I realize that a lot of pupils make wrong decisions; in Belgium a lot of pupils are victim of the waterfall system (you start at the highest level and keep ‘falling’ downwards). These SITO-tests would be a nice idea to help preventing this waterfall thing to occur.
I will put it this way: both systems have advantages and disadvantages.
Last but not least we got a visit of Mrs. van der Leer-Veth who told us what we are expected to do when we’re going to a school. In my case this was not very useful because I’m the only student who studies secondary education (the others study primary and nursery education). Although, the assignments the others got, also count for me. I have to discuss them with Mrs. Verloop. The difference between me and the others is, that they only visit 4 or 5 schools; so they visit the same school at least twice. In my case, I will visit a lot more schools so I hardly ever step into the same school twice. As a result of this difference, the others can prepare small lessons for the children, as I will probably do something else (which has to be discussed with Mrs. Verloop). It’s hard to give a lesson in a school in front of pupils you’ve never seen before. I could try it. We’ll see what becomes of it.
I am very interested in the different schools. Next week I’m going to an evangelistic school and later on I’m probably going to a TTO school (where they teach in English and Dutch), a Christian school and even an Islamic school. I’m really looking forward to see the differences in approach and perhaps curricula in these schools. By seeing all those different approaches, I can use different things to benefit from.
During lunch break I went to the Central Station on foot. This gave me the opportunity to discover the city a bit more. I passed a lot of nice shops and beautiful buildings. I found the Goethe Institute, where they’re showing ‘The Edukators’ tomorrow evening. Too bad I haven’t got a bicycle yet.
Near the Central Station I located the RET-shop. I had a bit of a discussion with the boy who helped me. I wanted a ticket to use the public transport for 3 months. Now, a season ticket was quite expensive (€ 23 for one month!) and then you had a choice between the ‘strippenkaart’ and an OV-chipcard.
The ‘strippenkaart’ costs € 7 and has 15 strips on it. I need 4 strips to get to school and back home from school. This means that I can only use such a thing for 3 to 4 days. I choose to take an OV-chipcard. I’ll tell you next week how it worked. In Belgium it’s much easier: you have a Busypazz which you can buy for 3 months, 6 months or 12 months. It’s also quite cheap.
Later on, the Spanish girls and I went to search the Donner bookshop. It was a quest! We got a bit lost (twice) but in the end we found it (I just asked someone who passed us). The Selexys-Donner is a huge bookshop, a real bookheaven! I just love it.
By going on this quest I found out more about the public transport in this city. I usually only take the tram but now I took the metro as well to get to the bookshop. I still think the public transport is very expensive here! But I also have to add that it’s good. You have a lot of trams and metros (just make sure you’re not on the wrong one!) and the people of RET are always friendly and helpful.
Dag 1 4 Feb 2008: Introductie
The first day of the international class; what to expect? I was really curious about the other students: how is their English, will I be able to understand them?
Off course I was also very anxious to meet the people I had contact with through e-mail, such as Mrs. van der Leer-Veth and Mrs. Verloop.
The question ‘What do you expect from this class?’ was the main question this day. I think it’s very useful to think about this. When it comes to me, I want to ask myself some extra questions: ‘What do I expect from myself? What do I want to learn while I’m here? What do I want to discover and visit?’
I’m going to give an answer to each question underneath.
• What do you expect from this class?
I would really like to get 6 things out of this class: get to know my mother’s country better, develop my English and Dutch, work on my social skills, discover new ways of working with pupils, develop my personality and independence and become a better teacher.
I think I could achieve all these things. When I look at the reader and at the programme, I think I have got enough opportunities to discover new ways of working with pupils (during placements); I have to speak English to my fellow-students and lectors; etc.
• What do I expect from myself?
Before I left for Rotterdam, I was living at home for two years again. Being used to people around me, food on the table at fixed hours (not prepared by me!) and being able to just call someone at any time and meet; it was very hard for me to take the leap of living ‘op kamers’ again (I also lived in Ghent for 2 years). I expect I can cope with the distance (although it’s just a one hour drive away) and with the loneliness. At the moment I’m typing this, I’m having great difficulties with this. I couldn’t imagine how much I would miss my family and boyfriend, I even miss my annoying and loud little brother! I hope I can deal with it better once I’m settled.
I also expect to become a person with a broadened mind. Rotterdam has so many different cultures living under one ‘roof’; I think this is a big plus for a city when all those cultures can live together in harmony.
To broaden my mind, I also can’t wait to visit the museums of Rotterdam such as Boijmans van Beuningen and the Photo Museum. I think art is very important to broaden your view onto the world. It gives you the opportunity to experience the world through different views and through discussion.
I also expect to become a better teacher and a better person in overall. The different visits to different schools should do something for the first and this entire experience must have its effects on my personality.
• What do I want to learn while I’m here?
I would love to learn about the Dutch culture. Although the border is just 20 minutes away from my front door, I really feel that the people in the Netherlands are rather different than Belgians. Off course I have the ‘privilege’ to have a mother from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Koewacht) who has 2 brothers who live near Breda; so I already know a bit about the Dutchmen but this isn’t enough to know what the Dutch culture and identity is about.
I’d also like to learn about the different methods used in schools. In Belgium we don’t really get this opportunity, which is a pity. I feel that the ‘normal’ school system can benefit from ‘werkvormen’ in e.g. Montessori schools. I want to discover new ‘werkvormen’ which can help me to help my pupils and to entertain them.
• What do I want to discover and visit?
As I already said, I would like to visit a lot of museums because of the implements art has on me and my personal development.
I would like to visit Amsterdam to get to know the capital of this country and especially to pay a visit to the house of Anne Frank. Every single summer I read her diary and now I want to see with my own two eyes where she lived while she was writing in her diary.
I would like to discover special places, things I won’t ever forget, funny shops and interesting museums I didn’t know off.
Today I already learned that some Dutch people only think about solutions when problems occur, they don’t think ahead. If I could play chess, I think this would be an advantage for me. Now, it’s really annoying me.
Thank God there are also a lot of Dutchmen who are really helpful. It was the first time I had to take the tram and the man from the RET helped me very good and explained everything to me. I was thinking by myself: “Well, he should. I just paid € 2,40 for a drive to school!” That’s something else I discovered: while I thought the public transport in Belgium was expensive, it seems it’s quite cheap compared with the fares which are used over here. I have to figure something out to save money on transport. A bike is a great solution but I haven’t found a good place to park it in my neighbourhood. I will visit a RET-office tomorrow to get some information.
Off course I was also very anxious to meet the people I had contact with through e-mail, such as Mrs. van der Leer-Veth and Mrs. Verloop.
The question ‘What do you expect from this class?’ was the main question this day. I think it’s very useful to think about this. When it comes to me, I want to ask myself some extra questions: ‘What do I expect from myself? What do I want to learn while I’m here? What do I want to discover and visit?’
I’m going to give an answer to each question underneath.
• What do you expect from this class?
I would really like to get 6 things out of this class: get to know my mother’s country better, develop my English and Dutch, work on my social skills, discover new ways of working with pupils, develop my personality and independence and become a better teacher.
I think I could achieve all these things. When I look at the reader and at the programme, I think I have got enough opportunities to discover new ways of working with pupils (during placements); I have to speak English to my fellow-students and lectors; etc.
• What do I expect from myself?
Before I left for Rotterdam, I was living at home for two years again. Being used to people around me, food on the table at fixed hours (not prepared by me!) and being able to just call someone at any time and meet; it was very hard for me to take the leap of living ‘op kamers’ again (I also lived in Ghent for 2 years). I expect I can cope with the distance (although it’s just a one hour drive away) and with the loneliness. At the moment I’m typing this, I’m having great difficulties with this. I couldn’t imagine how much I would miss my family and boyfriend, I even miss my annoying and loud little brother! I hope I can deal with it better once I’m settled.
I also expect to become a person with a broadened mind. Rotterdam has so many different cultures living under one ‘roof’; I think this is a big plus for a city when all those cultures can live together in harmony.
To broaden my mind, I also can’t wait to visit the museums of Rotterdam such as Boijmans van Beuningen and the Photo Museum. I think art is very important to broaden your view onto the world. It gives you the opportunity to experience the world through different views and through discussion.
I also expect to become a better teacher and a better person in overall. The different visits to different schools should do something for the first and this entire experience must have its effects on my personality.
• What do I want to learn while I’m here?
I would love to learn about the Dutch culture. Although the border is just 20 minutes away from my front door, I really feel that the people in the Netherlands are rather different than Belgians. Off course I have the ‘privilege’ to have a mother from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Koewacht) who has 2 brothers who live near Breda; so I already know a bit about the Dutchmen but this isn’t enough to know what the Dutch culture and identity is about.
I’d also like to learn about the different methods used in schools. In Belgium we don’t really get this opportunity, which is a pity. I feel that the ‘normal’ school system can benefit from ‘werkvormen’ in e.g. Montessori schools. I want to discover new ‘werkvormen’ which can help me to help my pupils and to entertain them.
• What do I want to discover and visit?
As I already said, I would like to visit a lot of museums because of the implements art has on me and my personal development.
I would like to visit Amsterdam to get to know the capital of this country and especially to pay a visit to the house of Anne Frank. Every single summer I read her diary and now I want to see with my own two eyes where she lived while she was writing in her diary.
I would like to discover special places, things I won’t ever forget, funny shops and interesting museums I didn’t know off.
Today I already learned that some Dutch people only think about solutions when problems occur, they don’t think ahead. If I could play chess, I think this would be an advantage for me. Now, it’s really annoying me.
Thank God there are also a lot of Dutchmen who are really helpful. It was the first time I had to take the tram and the man from the RET helped me very good and explained everything to me. I was thinking by myself: “Well, he should. I just paid € 2,40 for a drive to school!” That’s something else I discovered: while I thought the public transport in Belgium was expensive, it seems it’s quite cheap compared with the fares which are used over here. I have to figure something out to save money on transport. A bike is a great solution but I haven’t found a good place to park it in my neighbourhood. I will visit a RET-office tomorrow to get some information.
Hoe werkt deze blog?
Hey iedereen!
Op deze site zullen jullie dus mijn belevenissen in Rotterdam kunnen volgen. Aangezien ik voor de HRO zelf teksten en verslagen moet bijhouden over mijn avonturen zal ik deze op de blog zetten, aangevuld met nog extra's.
Deze teksten zijn in het Engels, al zal ik proberen de extra's in het Nederlands te zetten.
Foto's komen er later aan, ik ben mijn fototoestel gewoon vergeten maar dat komt in orde!
Houdoe!
Op deze site zullen jullie dus mijn belevenissen in Rotterdam kunnen volgen. Aangezien ik voor de HRO zelf teksten en verslagen moet bijhouden over mijn avonturen zal ik deze op de blog zetten, aangevuld met nog extra's.
Deze teksten zijn in het Engels, al zal ik proberen de extra's in het Nederlands te zetten.
Foto's komen er later aan, ik ben mijn fototoestel gewoon vergeten maar dat komt in orde!
Houdoe!
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