My first lesson

Another week of school placement has passed and I feel that I am settling in quite well. The children are used to me being around and I think I am used to the children in my class. I have learned a lot this past week, but the most important thing I have learned today. I am not fit for teaching at a primary school…I don’t have the patience.

Children are running around, hitting each other, stabbing each other with pencils, blaming others for what they have done, not working when they are asked to (also a common problem at secondary schools), and laying on the floor for absolutely no reason. Let me tell you, I don’t know how to deal with these things. If it was one of the things listed above and just one pupil doing it, I would be fine. But I work in a class with many of these types of unwanted behaviour from different children at the same time. This got me thinking, these children are expected to behave and be silent the entire day of school, stand in line before entering the classroom and even in the break there are strict rules they have to play by. No running (not too fast) in the schoolyard and they are not allowed to play football.
As an, according to the Irish, laid-back Dutchie, who believes that children need to let go of their energy in the break, this begins to bother me. At the end of the day the children are unstoppable and they do whatever they desire.

But on the other hand, these are the most interested children I have ever worked with. When I was talking to them about the Netherlands and showed them what our country looks like, they were absolutely amazed. A few of them have already decided that they want to come and live in my house. I had planned that half an hour would be enough to give the class a get to know the Netherlands presentation. This turned to an hour full of questions and comments on what I had to say. The kids loved it! I think this partly has to do with the fact that during my sessions, as the class has decided to call it, I let them talk and move around. They don’t have to write anything down we just have a talk together in which I ask their opinion and they can ask me anything. I must day that I had a lot of fun showing the children the best places in the Netherlands. I am looking forward to the next one.

I spend most of my time in the school with the children and talking to the other teachers and staff. This is why I don’t have a lot of time to see other cities and places in Ireland. I am at home, in school, at the shops and back home again. This is why I was so excited to go to the Ulster museum last weekend. There is something to see for everyone. The top two floors are dedicated to the arts, the middle floor to nature, and the first two floors to history. We only had time to see the top two floors this time, but will definitely be back soon to see the rest. I say I will definitely be back, not only because it is a very good museum but also…free entrance! Which will only confirm the well-known stereotype that the Dutch are cheap. I don’t care, I love it.