Focus: Special Needs
Year 4 has a few students with special needs in our class. A few have learning disabilities of some kind, and I've previously mentioned R, who has autism. Because of this week's focus, I tried to spend at least a few minutes just working with each of them.
Just after he called role, Mr. Barry pointed out to G, who has dyslexia, that she needed to get a laptop at the start of the day from now on because she would need it to do her micro-writing - a new provision on her IEP. Her reading level, interestingly, is at the top of the class, although her writing lags behind it. During micro-writing, I served as the scribe for A, which I have done in previous weeks as well. He has no trouble coming up with different ideas, but when he tries to write them himself, the physical task challenges him. He also proved that he understands the relevant rules of grammar when he read it back through. As his scribe, I had to leave out any capital letters, commas, speech marks (quotation marks) or full stops (periods) unless told to include them. When he read the sentences back to me, he would point out places that he needed these.
After they did micro-writing, it was time for micro-maths, a set of short word problems using basic arithmetic. I pulled I out to work one-on-one in the ICT (information and communication technology) suite because he wasn't getting along with the girls sitting near him. Originally from Bangladesh, his first language isn't English, which is why our teaching assistant Ms. Bryant is technically assigned to him. As soon as he was in a quieter setting, however, he was able to begin working with me and started to at least understand what was required in the task.
Guided reading followed micro-maths, so I took my group into the ICT suite to work. When they were done, we went back to class in time for their midmorning break.
After the break, the students worked on their Take One Picture stories. A little more than half the students worked on their stories on laptops, but since there weren't enough for everyone, I took a half students into the ICT suite, including G. I supervised and provided spelling assistance as they wrote. Aside from needing a bit more spelling assistance than her classmates, G didn't have any troubles with the assignment. Some of the students had a lot of ideas. M and V, for instance, each wrote more than the rest of the group combined. This didn't surprise me, considering that the two girls are at the top of the class for most things. Other students, particularly D, had much more trouble with their task. I'm not sure whether she was intimidated by other students who were further ahead or if her language barrier came into play (she speaks Polish at home), but she became increasingly frustrated and uninspired until lunch finally rolled around.
After lunch, the students had creative time until my dance lesson began. I found it was much more successful to give my initial instructions before we left the classroom, although their first instincts upon entering the hall was still to run around for a bit. They warmed up with the Brain Dance. Tentative at first, I found that once a few of the students started to engage with it, the rest of the class followed suit. Once they were warmed up, I led them through an exploration of positive and negative space. Mr. Barry and I had a wonderful time watching the students create crazy shapes together. After a twenty minute lesson, we had to go back to the classroom so that the Year 3 class could set up for their class assembly. They were so good during the dance lesson that Mr. Barry decided that they could have a little extra break time until assembly, which they loved.
At the end of the day, R's mother came in when she picked him up. She asked Mr. Barry about how R's week had been so far. Her visit signified the school's commitment to working with parents of children with special needs and to keeping them up-to-date regularly on their children's progress.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
#sprig
One aspect of my classes I neglected in my earlier blog posts is our study trips. Essentially, each class gets to take a field trip to add some experience to the material they're learning. My first study trip was to the Montacute House in Somerset with my class on Tudor and Stuart England.
The Montacute House is an Elizabethan mansion and expansive garden. It sits on what was once monastic lands, which were bought by a local landowner when the monasteries were dissolved as part of the English Reformation. (See, I have been learning, I promise!)
At the start of our day, the little coach picked up the class, and we started our hour-and-a-half journey. When we pulled into the gravel lot at the Montacute House, we found our tutor John sitting on a bench. He waved as we parked and stood to greet us. He led us to the back of the house first, which is a bit deceiving considering the driveway that connects it to the road. He explained that the house has seen virtually no alterations since it was first built because its owners, the Philips family, soon fell out of favor at court and therefore could not afford it. While they may have considered that a negative aspect, it turned out to be a blessing for historians!
We walked around to the front of the house, which opens onto the main gardens. As was tradition, the path by which visitors would have come when the house was occupied was separated from the house itselve by a small fenced in garden. The front of the house features 9 statues, three each from biblical, classical and medieval traditions. We entered the house and immediately walked up the stairs to the long hall.
The long hall, or the top floor of the house, is currently home to selections from the National Portrait Gallery's Tudor and Stuart collection. There, we saw original portraits of Henry VII and his wives, as well as well-known figures from the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages. The Tudor features were particularly interesting as we have just finished studying that period in our class and are beginning the Stuart reign this coming week. Once we had wandered through the gallery, we descended to the second floor, where a library caught our attention. Colorful stained glass crests adorned the windows, a beautiful contrast to the dark book bindings. We also had a chance to wander through a few of the bedrooms.
Having spent sufficient time inside the house, we drifted out to the gardens, where we imagined the lives of the house's original residents and guests, transported back to the Elizabethan age. Once we completed our exploration of the gardens, we gathered in the cafe to eat our lunches, and ASE treated us to tea and cakes.
For the afternoon, John led us from the house through the town. We saw the remains of the gatehouse I referenced earlier, as well as the only other small building, which once housed the doves kept by the monks for eggs and meat. A small pond, which once held fish, also remained on the premises. We also got to peek into the local church, which still functions under the 39 Articles of Faith established by Queen Elizabeth I and in which the Philips family is entombed.
On the walk back through the town to our bus, we passed a sign advocating local events and sites of interest. It leaned on the typical "I (heart) _____", but instead of a heart the image was of a small branch, We debated the proper term for it as we passed through the parking lot and agreed on a "sprig" which should be used to describe things which are particularly close to our hearts, hence the title of this blog post.
Our ride back to Bath was uneventful, and we arrived at our residences in mid-afternoon. I took the time after to pack for Oxford, our next big adventure!
Cheers!
The Montacute House is an Elizabethan mansion and expansive garden. It sits on what was once monastic lands, which were bought by a local landowner when the monasteries were dissolved as part of the English Reformation. (See, I have been learning, I promise!)
At the start of our day, the little coach picked up the class, and we started our hour-and-a-half journey. When we pulled into the gravel lot at the Montacute House, we found our tutor John sitting on a bench. He waved as we parked and stood to greet us. He led us to the back of the house first, which is a bit deceiving considering the driveway that connects it to the road. He explained that the house has seen virtually no alterations since it was first built because its owners, the Philips family, soon fell out of favor at court and therefore could not afford it. While they may have considered that a negative aspect, it turned out to be a blessing for historians!
We walked around to the front of the house, which opens onto the main gardens. As was tradition, the path by which visitors would have come when the house was occupied was separated from the house itselve by a small fenced in garden. The front of the house features 9 statues, three each from biblical, classical and medieval traditions. We entered the house and immediately walked up the stairs to the long hall.
The long hall, or the top floor of the house, is currently home to selections from the National Portrait Gallery's Tudor and Stuart collection. There, we saw original portraits of Henry VII and his wives, as well as well-known figures from the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages. The Tudor features were particularly interesting as we have just finished studying that period in our class and are beginning the Stuart reign this coming week. Once we had wandered through the gallery, we descended to the second floor, where a library caught our attention. Colorful stained glass crests adorned the windows, a beautiful contrast to the dark book bindings. We also had a chance to wander through a few of the bedrooms.
Having spent sufficient time inside the house, we drifted out to the gardens, where we imagined the lives of the house's original residents and guests, transported back to the Elizabethan age. Once we completed our exploration of the gardens, we gathered in the cafe to eat our lunches, and ASE treated us to tea and cakes.
For the afternoon, John led us from the house through the town. We saw the remains of the gatehouse I referenced earlier, as well as the only other small building, which once housed the doves kept by the monks for eggs and meat. A small pond, which once held fish, also remained on the premises. We also got to peek into the local church, which still functions under the 39 Articles of Faith established by Queen Elizabeth I and in which the Philips family is entombed.
On the walk back through the town to our bus, we passed a sign advocating local events and sites of interest. It leaned on the typical "I (heart) _____", but instead of a heart the image was of a small branch, We debated the proper term for it as we passed through the parking lot and agreed on a "sprig" which should be used to describe things which are particularly close to our hearts, hence the title of this blog post.
Our ride back to Bath was uneventful, and we arrived at our residences in mid-afternoon. I took the time after to pack for Oxford, our next big adventure!
Cheers!
Friday, March 21, 2014
"How many waffles can you eat in a weekend in Brussels? Challenge accepted"
After the success of Scotland and Ireland, it was time for a different kind of challenge: language. Megan and I decided that in honor of my birthday, we were going to take a trip to Brussels, the land of waffles and chocolate.
We started our journey by hopping on a train from Bath to London Paddington first thing Friday morning. Once we arrived in London, we briskly walked across town to St. Pancras station (about 2.4 miles), where we had our passports checked for our ride to Brussels. We arrived in Belgium in the early afternoon, and we immediately set off toward the center of the city.
Anyone who has ever visited Brussels will probably tell you that you need to see the Grand Place, and when that was the first stop on our journey, we could tell why. We had opted to walk from the train station, and the roads leading up to the Grand Place weren't really anything special. All of a sudden, however, the streets emptied into a large courtyard. Ornate buildings lined the sides of what was once a central market square. Small streets around the edges led to restaurants, cafes, and shops. We wandered around until we found a cafe, where we grabbed lunch, and then we looked for a good waffle shop.
After we found our first waffles, we continued our quest for Belgium's other indulgence: chocolate. We found a little chocolate shop, and then we bought some chocolate ice cream before walking up to our hostel. We checked in and relaxed for a bit there, letting the day catch up with us. After a short while, we left the hostel in search of Greenwich Tavern, a traditional Belgian pub recommended by my brother's old roommate. Dinner was delicious, and I got to brush up on my French vocabulary, since the menu wasn't in English. This meant that I ordered for both myself and my roommate, which I was proud to have done successfully. Afterwards, we headed back to the Grand Place for dessert, which was of course going to be waffles again :)
We walked back up to the hostel, waffles in hand, and turned in for the night. The next morning, we decided to get an early start so that we could cram everything else we wanted to do in before our train back to London. When we left the hostel, the streets were completely deserted. The city was absolutely silent. It was incredible. We made our way back to the Grand Place, where we got breakfast - waffles, of course - at a little cafe.
After breakfast, we discovered a huge chocolate shop, where we purchased our souvenir chocolate, aka my birthday present to myself. I must say, I've never had a celebration quite as sweet. Our next stop was the Museum of Musical Instruments, which was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever been to. We got audio guides at the entrance, which activated when held over symbols in front of many of the display cases. However, instead of the typical history or descriptions of the instruments in the cases, the audio files were actual pieces of music played by the instruments in question. The museum's collection included an incredible array of instruments in beautiful condition. The featured exhibit explored the history of the saxophone.
After spending a bit of time at the museum, we continued on our route to see the last few big shops. We stopped at Place Royal and the Palais Royal (royal palace). Our last big stop was the Place du Petit Sablon, an adorable little park. We walked back to the Place Royal to grab one more waffle for the day.
After our last waffles, it was time to head back to the train station. We retraced our route through the Grand Place. We stopped for tea on the way back and then grabbed sandwiches at the station for a late lunch. We checked in for our train ride back to the UK and passed through border security. Our train to London went smoothly, and then we bolted across town to Paddington station so we would have time to grab dinner (a pair of bagels) before we hopped on the train to Bath Spa. Once we got back, we broke into our chocolate before we went to bed, ready for some well-earned rest after a successful birthday celebration :)
We started our journey by hopping on a train from Bath to London Paddington first thing Friday morning. Once we arrived in London, we briskly walked across town to St. Pancras station (about 2.4 miles), where we had our passports checked for our ride to Brussels. We arrived in Belgium in the early afternoon, and we immediately set off toward the center of the city.
Anyone who has ever visited Brussels will probably tell you that you need to see the Grand Place, and when that was the first stop on our journey, we could tell why. We had opted to walk from the train station, and the roads leading up to the Grand Place weren't really anything special. All of a sudden, however, the streets emptied into a large courtyard. Ornate buildings lined the sides of what was once a central market square. Small streets around the edges led to restaurants, cafes, and shops. We wandered around until we found a cafe, where we grabbed lunch, and then we looked for a good waffle shop.
Waffle 1: banana and chocolate
After we found our first waffles, we continued our quest for Belgium's other indulgence: chocolate. We found a little chocolate shop, and then we bought some chocolate ice cream before walking up to our hostel. We checked in and relaxed for a bit there, letting the day catch up with us. After a short while, we left the hostel in search of Greenwich Tavern, a traditional Belgian pub recommended by my brother's old roommate. Dinner was delicious, and I got to brush up on my French vocabulary, since the menu wasn't in English. This meant that I ordered for both myself and my roommate, which I was proud to have done successfully. Afterwards, we headed back to the Grand Place for dessert, which was of course going to be waffles again :)
Waffle 2: nutella
We walked back up to the hostel, waffles in hand, and turned in for the night. The next morning, we decided to get an early start so that we could cram everything else we wanted to do in before our train back to London. When we left the hostel, the streets were completely deserted. The city was absolutely silent. It was incredible. We made our way back to the Grand Place, where we got breakfast - waffles, of course - at a little cafe.
Waffle 3: banana and whipped cream
After breakfast, we discovered a huge chocolate shop, where we purchased our souvenir chocolate, aka my birthday present to myself. I must say, I've never had a celebration quite as sweet. Our next stop was the Museum of Musical Instruments, which was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever been to. We got audio guides at the entrance, which activated when held over symbols in front of many of the display cases. However, instead of the typical history or descriptions of the instruments in the cases, the audio files were actual pieces of music played by the instruments in question. The museum's collection included an incredible array of instruments in beautiful condition. The featured exhibit explored the history of the saxophone.
After spending a bit of time at the museum, we continued on our route to see the last few big shops. We stopped at Place Royal and the Palais Royal (royal palace). Our last big stop was the Place du Petit Sablon, an adorable little park. We walked back to the Place Royal to grab one more waffle for the day.
Waffle 4: whipped cream
Friday, March 14, 2014
What Are All The Miles For?
On my recent trip to Scotland and Ireland, I sat with a small notebook and a pen in my hand, updating my list of all the places we had walked during the day. One of the girls I traveled with asked me what I was doing, and I explained that I wanted to have the list so I could track how many miles we had walked during the weekend. The girls all realized that I was referring to my posts in "Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2014," which popped up on their newsfeeds but had never come up in conversation. It was then that I first encountered the now-familiar question: "what are all the miles for?" I discovered that many of my friends were asking the same question, so here's my response, along with my answers to a few other Frequently Asked Questions.
What are all the miles for?
"Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2014" is an awareness campaign started by Brian Jones, whose son Lincoln was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and has since become one of the loudest advocates for childhood cancer in the country. In January 2013, he and friends began to track the miles they ran, covering the distance from Brian's hometown to the White House. Word spread, and the event grew to include runners, walkers, cyclers, and more from every state as well as international partners.
As the event grew, teams formed to recognize different children. Team Smashing Walnuts runs for Gabriella Miller, an incredible advocate who lost her battle with DIPG - an inoperable brain cancer - at the age of 10. Brian's son Lincoln is the inspiration for members of Running For Lincoln. Many of the teams are running toward specific goals, while others are just uniting in support. Those of us who aren't on a specific team - like me - run for Team Follow Me or just for Our Kids, which means that our miles count toward the total but not to any specific child's team. The team name "follow me" comes from the phrase at the center of the campaign - follow me to the White House!
The event has also expanded beyond running. Participants can credit hours of zumba or yoga, lifting weights, stationary bikes, and more. My contributions are the miles I walk on campus or, more recently, the distances I walk while I'm traveling. I post 1.6 miles every Tuesday, which is the distance I walk to my school placement and back to the flat.
Last year, Brian and other runners gathered at the White House during Cure Fest, presented by TheTruth365. That day, they literally ran to the White House, cheered on by the hundreds of attendees. After taking a short break in the fall, Brian restarted the event for 2014. The goal this year is to run 1 million miles, and it's on track. In mid-February, the campaign reached 100,000 miles toward the goal, and it continues to grow every day.
How did you get involved?
The first time I encountered childhood cancer, I was in the second grade. Early in the year, the nurse came into our classroom to talk about our classmate Eeva Crannell. We learned that she had been diagnosed with cancer a few years earlier, and that she had missed Kindergarten because of her treatments. I later learned that Eeva's diagnosis had been Leukemia, a blood cancer, and that a bone marrow donation had saved her life. By the time I met her in second grade, however, Eeva was in remission.
All through school, Eeva was there. We shared a few mutual friends (Maddie comes to mind), but we were never close. As was the case with many of my classmates, Eeva was someone I rarely saw after I was put on the advanced track. In eighth grade, we took a class field trip to Lake Compounce, a local amusement park. When we stepped off the buses, everyone looked around for their friends, since the bus assignments had been alphabetical. I found mine, but before we left, we noticed Eeva standing alone, still looking around. The students she usually hung out with had all opted not to come on the trip, so we invited her to join us. She became part of our group for the day. A few weeks later, Eeva's mom ran into Maddie's mom and expressed how glad she was that we had invited Eeva to join us, and what a difference it had made. What had felt like a run-of-the-mill decision had turned out to be the highlight of her day.
High school was tough on Eeva. It's not easy for anyone, but for some people it's worse than for others. Eeva's past had never been a secret, but in high school, it became a weapon. At one point in the fall of our freshman year, Eeva was bullied off her school bus because she had had cancer. She stopped taking the bus after that, opting instead to be driven to and from school. I learned about this during a peer mentoring retreat in March of my sophomore year, from a fellow mentor who had sat silently on the bus as it occurred and wished he could go back and change that.
By the time I heard this story, Eeva had already relapsed and had been in treatment for a few months. She passed away on May 12, 2009, when she was just 16.
In the months that followed Eeva's death, I started to look for answers. I was frustrated and confused, and I needed answers. The facts I have learned are startling. 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer pass away within 5 years. After those 5 years, the death rate continues to increase, and the ones who live aren't in the clear. The treatments children receive can cause secondary cancers or heart failure. Children are plagued by hearing loss, poor vision, and depression and survivor's guilt. Some bear the physical signs of their treatments. The worst part, perhaps, is that these kids don't get the support they deserve. 4% of the government's budget for cancer research is dedicated to all 12 subtypes of childhood cancer combined. The American Cancer Society donates less than 1% of its funds to childhood cancer research. Pharmaceutical companies don't bother with childhood cancer research at all. Research is driven by private donations, mostly coming from childhood cancer foundations.
Luckily, there is an effort in the childhood cancer community to change that. When I started looking for answers, I began to follow the stories of many children on Facebook. One of these led me to TheTruth365, a documentary campaign dedicated to uniting the community, increasing awareness, and advocating for more research funding as well as less toxic treatment options for kids. Since last May, I have been coordinating the secondary social media for the campaign, which is how I learned about "Run for the White House." I also learned about the campaign I'll be working on this summer.
What's the campaign you're working on this summer?
Dancers vs. Cancer is a fundraising campaign sponsored by the Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation (the parent organization that sponsors TheTruth365) and the Brad Kaminsky Foundation.
I first got involved with the campaign this fall as they prepared for the inaugural iDance4aCURE marathons, which were held simultaneously at 7 different studios on the East Coast. Collectively, the studios raised $75,000 of which 85% went directly to researchers searching for less toxic treatments. Following the marathons, I knew I wanted to get more involved with the campaign. After all, this was my forte. I have been a dancer since I was young, and I already had experience as an organizer as well as a member of the childhood cancer community. I sent an email to Lisa Kaminsky Miller, who runs the campaign, and included a link to the dance I had choreographed in the fall, which was inspired by Talia Castellano and Erin Griffin, two more loud advocates. (For those of you who haven't seen the piece, you can view it by clicking HERE) Talia passed away in July 2013 when she was 13 after a 6-year battle with Neuroblastoma. Erin, also 13, has been battling DIPG for just over 2 years.
After she received my message, Lisa and I emailed back and forth for a few weeks, and I am proud to say that I will be volunteering full time with the campaign this summer. I've started part of what I'll be doing, which is developing a comprehensive database of dance studios in the United States. I send my progress on the database back to Lisa, who works with other volunteers to contact the studios. Aside from the database, I'll be working as an event liaison this summer for studios that decide to host fundraisers during June and July. My tasks will range from ensuring they receive shipments of shirts and materials to preparing flyers and press releases. When I'm not working on either of those aspects, I'll be drafting a plan to expand the program to college and professional dancers and the organizations with which they associate. This will mostly require adjusting the plan that has already been developed for studios to fit the needs and abilities of older dancers. My final goal is to connect the campaign in some way to the major dance publications. Ideally, the hope is to have the campaign featured during September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
So, what are all the miles for?
They're for Eeva, who should have graduated high school with the rest of us. They're for Talia and Gabriella, whose incredible advocacy still ripples through the community after their deaths last year. They're for Lincoln and Erin, who are still in the thick of the fight. They're for the 36 children whose families will hear the words "your child has cancer" today. They're for the 7 children who will earn their wings today. They're for all the kids who have lost their battles, all the ones who have emerged victorious, and all the ones who are still fighting for their lives and their futures.
They're for you to ask exactly that question.
What are all the miles for?
"Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2014" is an awareness campaign started by Brian Jones, whose son Lincoln was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and has since become one of the loudest advocates for childhood cancer in the country. In January 2013, he and friends began to track the miles they ran, covering the distance from Brian's hometown to the White House. Word spread, and the event grew to include runners, walkers, cyclers, and more from every state as well as international partners.
As the event grew, teams formed to recognize different children. Team Smashing Walnuts runs for Gabriella Miller, an incredible advocate who lost her battle with DIPG - an inoperable brain cancer - at the age of 10. Brian's son Lincoln is the inspiration for members of Running For Lincoln. Many of the teams are running toward specific goals, while others are just uniting in support. Those of us who aren't on a specific team - like me - run for Team Follow Me or just for Our Kids, which means that our miles count toward the total but not to any specific child's team. The team name "follow me" comes from the phrase at the center of the campaign - follow me to the White House!
The event has also expanded beyond running. Participants can credit hours of zumba or yoga, lifting weights, stationary bikes, and more. My contributions are the miles I walk on campus or, more recently, the distances I walk while I'm traveling. I post 1.6 miles every Tuesday, which is the distance I walk to my school placement and back to the flat.
Last year, Brian and other runners gathered at the White House during Cure Fest, presented by TheTruth365. That day, they literally ran to the White House, cheered on by the hundreds of attendees. After taking a short break in the fall, Brian restarted the event for 2014. The goal this year is to run 1 million miles, and it's on track. In mid-February, the campaign reached 100,000 miles toward the goal, and it continues to grow every day.
How did you get involved?
The first time I encountered childhood cancer, I was in the second grade. Early in the year, the nurse came into our classroom to talk about our classmate Eeva Crannell. We learned that she had been diagnosed with cancer a few years earlier, and that she had missed Kindergarten because of her treatments. I later learned that Eeva's diagnosis had been Leukemia, a blood cancer, and that a bone marrow donation had saved her life. By the time I met her in second grade, however, Eeva was in remission.
All through school, Eeva was there. We shared a few mutual friends (Maddie comes to mind), but we were never close. As was the case with many of my classmates, Eeva was someone I rarely saw after I was put on the advanced track. In eighth grade, we took a class field trip to Lake Compounce, a local amusement park. When we stepped off the buses, everyone looked around for their friends, since the bus assignments had been alphabetical. I found mine, but before we left, we noticed Eeva standing alone, still looking around. The students she usually hung out with had all opted not to come on the trip, so we invited her to join us. She became part of our group for the day. A few weeks later, Eeva's mom ran into Maddie's mom and expressed how glad she was that we had invited Eeva to join us, and what a difference it had made. What had felt like a run-of-the-mill decision had turned out to be the highlight of her day.
High school was tough on Eeva. It's not easy for anyone, but for some people it's worse than for others. Eeva's past had never been a secret, but in high school, it became a weapon. At one point in the fall of our freshman year, Eeva was bullied off her school bus because she had had cancer. She stopped taking the bus after that, opting instead to be driven to and from school. I learned about this during a peer mentoring retreat in March of my sophomore year, from a fellow mentor who had sat silently on the bus as it occurred and wished he could go back and change that.
By the time I heard this story, Eeva had already relapsed and had been in treatment for a few months. She passed away on May 12, 2009, when she was just 16.
In the months that followed Eeva's death, I started to look for answers. I was frustrated and confused, and I needed answers. The facts I have learned are startling. 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer pass away within 5 years. After those 5 years, the death rate continues to increase, and the ones who live aren't in the clear. The treatments children receive can cause secondary cancers or heart failure. Children are plagued by hearing loss, poor vision, and depression and survivor's guilt. Some bear the physical signs of their treatments. The worst part, perhaps, is that these kids don't get the support they deserve. 4% of the government's budget for cancer research is dedicated to all 12 subtypes of childhood cancer combined. The American Cancer Society donates less than 1% of its funds to childhood cancer research. Pharmaceutical companies don't bother with childhood cancer research at all. Research is driven by private donations, mostly coming from childhood cancer foundations.
Luckily, there is an effort in the childhood cancer community to change that. When I started looking for answers, I began to follow the stories of many children on Facebook. One of these led me to TheTruth365, a documentary campaign dedicated to uniting the community, increasing awareness, and advocating for more research funding as well as less toxic treatment options for kids. Since last May, I have been coordinating the secondary social media for the campaign, which is how I learned about "Run for the White House." I also learned about the campaign I'll be working on this summer.
What's the campaign you're working on this summer?
Dancers vs. Cancer is a fundraising campaign sponsored by the Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation (the parent organization that sponsors TheTruth365) and the Brad Kaminsky Foundation.
I first got involved with the campaign this fall as they prepared for the inaugural iDance4aCURE marathons, which were held simultaneously at 7 different studios on the East Coast. Collectively, the studios raised $75,000 of which 85% went directly to researchers searching for less toxic treatments. Following the marathons, I knew I wanted to get more involved with the campaign. After all, this was my forte. I have been a dancer since I was young, and I already had experience as an organizer as well as a member of the childhood cancer community. I sent an email to Lisa Kaminsky Miller, who runs the campaign, and included a link to the dance I had choreographed in the fall, which was inspired by Talia Castellano and Erin Griffin, two more loud advocates. (For those of you who haven't seen the piece, you can view it by clicking HERE) Talia passed away in July 2013 when she was 13 after a 6-year battle with Neuroblastoma. Erin, also 13, has been battling DIPG for just over 2 years.
After she received my message, Lisa and I emailed back and forth for a few weeks, and I am proud to say that I will be volunteering full time with the campaign this summer. I've started part of what I'll be doing, which is developing a comprehensive database of dance studios in the United States. I send my progress on the database back to Lisa, who works with other volunteers to contact the studios. Aside from the database, I'll be working as an event liaison this summer for studios that decide to host fundraisers during June and July. My tasks will range from ensuring they receive shipments of shirts and materials to preparing flyers and press releases. When I'm not working on either of those aspects, I'll be drafting a plan to expand the program to college and professional dancers and the organizations with which they associate. This will mostly require adjusting the plan that has already been developed for studios to fit the needs and abilities of older dancers. My final goal is to connect the campaign in some way to the major dance publications. Ideally, the hope is to have the campaign featured during September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
So, what are all the miles for?
They're for Eeva, who should have graduated high school with the rest of us. They're for Talia and Gabriella, whose incredible advocacy still ripples through the community after their deaths last year. They're for Lincoln and Erin, who are still in the thick of the fight. They're for the 36 children whose families will hear the words "your child has cancer" today. They're for the 7 children who will earn their wings today. They're for all the kids who have lost their battles, all the ones who have emerged victorious, and all the ones who are still fighting for their lives and their futures.
They're for you to ask exactly that question.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Dalkey and back to Bath
After two straight days in cities, we were definitely ready for someplace a little quieter. After grabbing a quick breakfast at the hostel, we packed our things and checked out. About half the group rented a locker to store bigger luggage while we were away from the morning. We walked across the river to the train station, where we purchased tickets to Dalkey, a small town about 30 minutes outside the city. As soon as we stepped off the train, we started to walk towards the coast. However, because we didn't have a map, our only indication of the coast's location was the general direction we could determine from our train ride.
We set off, keeping to one path so that we would have fewer roads to remember. As we came around a bend, we saw the sea out on the horizon. We continued on our journey, finally reaching the town's small marina, where we stopped to take pictures and explore. Our fun was short-lived as it began to rain, so we gathered our bags and started to make our way back to the center of town, where we had walked past a number of cafes and restaurants. We checked the prices on a few displayed menus before deciding on a small american diner, where we grabbed a quick bite before it was time to head back to Dublin.
As soon as we returned to Dublin, we split into two groups to grab remaining luggage and the last few souvenirs. We met back up at the bus stop just in time to watch it pull in, and soon we were off to the airport for our third flight of the weekend!
We passed through security quickly and said goodbye to Cae, who would be going back to her program London while the rest of us returned to Bath via Bristol. However, just as we dropped her off, we ran into Chelsea, who had spent the weekend in Ireland visiting her older brother. As it turned out, she would be taking the same flight as us, so she joined us in waiting to board the plane.
When we landed in Bristol, we grabbed something to drink at the airport cafe while we waited for the bus that would bring us back to Bath. Unfortunately, the sign was a bit confusing, so we thought we had missed the 5:00 bus, but it was actually a 5:30 bus. When we went outside just before 6, we learned that the next bus would leave at 6:30. Already tired, we were certainly not happy. Luckily, when we finally got on the bus, our journey took just under an hour, and by 7:30, we were safely back in Bath!
We set off, keeping to one path so that we would have fewer roads to remember. As we came around a bend, we saw the sea out on the horizon. We continued on our journey, finally reaching the town's small marina, where we stopped to take pictures and explore. Our fun was short-lived as it began to rain, so we gathered our bags and started to make our way back to the center of town, where we had walked past a number of cafes and restaurants. We checked the prices on a few displayed menus before deciding on a small american diner, where we grabbed a quick bite before it was time to head back to Dublin.
As soon as we returned to Dublin, we split into two groups to grab remaining luggage and the last few souvenirs. We met back up at the bus stop just in time to watch it pull in, and soon we were off to the airport for our third flight of the weekend!
We passed through security quickly and said goodbye to Cae, who would be going back to her program London while the rest of us returned to Bath via Bristol. However, just as we dropped her off, we ran into Chelsea, who had spent the weekend in Ireland visiting her older brother. As it turned out, she would be taking the same flight as us, so she joined us in waiting to board the plane.
When we landed in Bristol, we grabbed something to drink at the airport cafe while we waited for the bus that would bring us back to Bath. Unfortunately, the sign was a bit confusing, so we thought we had missed the 5:00 bus, but it was actually a 5:30 bus. When we went outside just before 6, we learned that the next bus would leave at 6:30. Already tired, we were certainly not happy. Luckily, when we finally got on the bus, our journey took just under an hour, and by 7:30, we were safely back in Bath!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
St. Andrew's Visit 4: Equal Opportunities
Focus: Equal Opportunities
This Tuesday was Year 4's assembly day, which changed the whole day around. Instead of their usual academic work, the class spent their time preparing their assembly, the point of which is to present what they had been working on to the rest of the school. In Year 4's case, that meant presenting their work surrounding the Take One Picture.
One of the most interesting parts of the process was seeing the extent to which the Picture had been integrated into their other subject learning. In literacy, they read about knights and castles. History featured the evolution of weapons. Microwriting (three sentences based on a picture) images featured the same material. Even PE had become part of the process, where they had been working on play swordfighting all week.
I gathered 9 students who had decided that this was something they wanted to present, and together we transformed their PE into a creative movement-style dance. I let them take the lead as they moved through a battle in slow motion, separating into two "armies" and deciding who would win. A, one of the smallest boys in the class, decided that since his team was going to be the "losing" side, he wanted to be the one who died. His swordfighting partner RJ happily agreed to stand above him with her sword held high in victory. This served as the jumping off point for the other students to create their ending pose, which included two boys still locked in battle. As they rehearsed, I talked about different ways they could incorporate levels as well as guiding them through the musical cues for the ending pose.
In the middle of the morning, a photographer arrived to take a school photograph for the local paper. The paper plans to run a story on the school's latest Ofsted report, which moved them from "satisfactory" to "good" in all categories and has been a source of school pride in recent weeks. This improvement becomes more remarkable when considering the backgrounds from which these students come. The percentage of students at the school who have Special Education Needs, who receive Free Lunch provisions, or who are English Language Learners is higher than the national average, and the school has committed to increasing the one-to-one attention each of these students receives. The Free Lunch provisions have been one of the most interesting policies for me to learn about. Instead of the US system in which a child from a poor home life or disadvantaged background receives a free meal at school, schools in the UK receive additional funding for these students in order to provide resources that the student may need in order to succeed. Although this policy, based on the idea that a child with a less-than-ideal home life requires additional support in order to thrive at school, seems intuitive, it doesn't exist in the US and seeing it here makes me wish that it would.
Aside from the PSHE lesson I observed on my first day on discrimination, the subject hasn't been discussed in the classroom. Nor, I've discovered, has it needed to. Perhaps because it is both small and diverse, St. Andrews has thus far been void of any discrimination or even bullying aside from the typical drama of pre-pubescent boys and girls.
In the few cases of bullying I have witnessed, the nearest teacher has stepped in and proposed a solution that focused on identifying the emotions felt on both sides of the disagreement. All the staff members emphasize the respect that the students should have for each other, their teachers and faculty members, and the school. For example, when a few of the boys in the class decided to hold a side conversation while one of the girls rehearsed her piece of the assembly in front of the class, Mr. Barry pointed out that they were being disrespectful to himself, the student presenting, and the rest of the class. Suitably chastised, they apologized both to Mr. Barry and the student presenting.
At the end of the day, Year 4's assembly went off without a hitch. They presented beautifully, proudly displaying all their hard work to the rest of the school community. Mr. Barry and I watched delightedly from the sidelines, and he was quick to express his praise when they returned to the classroom at the end of the day. We reviewed the day briefly after the students had been dismissed, collecting the peaks and troughs of behavior and noting that R, the student who has autism, had done remarkably well considering that his normal routine had been disrupted.
This Tuesday was Year 4's assembly day, which changed the whole day around. Instead of their usual academic work, the class spent their time preparing their assembly, the point of which is to present what they had been working on to the rest of the school. In Year 4's case, that meant presenting their work surrounding the Take One Picture.
One of the most interesting parts of the process was seeing the extent to which the Picture had been integrated into their other subject learning. In literacy, they read about knights and castles. History featured the evolution of weapons. Microwriting (three sentences based on a picture) images featured the same material. Even PE had become part of the process, where they had been working on play swordfighting all week.
I gathered 9 students who had decided that this was something they wanted to present, and together we transformed their PE into a creative movement-style dance. I let them take the lead as they moved through a battle in slow motion, separating into two "armies" and deciding who would win. A, one of the smallest boys in the class, decided that since his team was going to be the "losing" side, he wanted to be the one who died. His swordfighting partner RJ happily agreed to stand above him with her sword held high in victory. This served as the jumping off point for the other students to create their ending pose, which included two boys still locked in battle. As they rehearsed, I talked about different ways they could incorporate levels as well as guiding them through the musical cues for the ending pose.
In the middle of the morning, a photographer arrived to take a school photograph for the local paper. The paper plans to run a story on the school's latest Ofsted report, which moved them from "satisfactory" to "good" in all categories and has been a source of school pride in recent weeks. This improvement becomes more remarkable when considering the backgrounds from which these students come. The percentage of students at the school who have Special Education Needs, who receive Free Lunch provisions, or who are English Language Learners is higher than the national average, and the school has committed to increasing the one-to-one attention each of these students receives. The Free Lunch provisions have been one of the most interesting policies for me to learn about. Instead of the US system in which a child from a poor home life or disadvantaged background receives a free meal at school, schools in the UK receive additional funding for these students in order to provide resources that the student may need in order to succeed. Although this policy, based on the idea that a child with a less-than-ideal home life requires additional support in order to thrive at school, seems intuitive, it doesn't exist in the US and seeing it here makes me wish that it would.
Aside from the PSHE lesson I observed on my first day on discrimination, the subject hasn't been discussed in the classroom. Nor, I've discovered, has it needed to. Perhaps because it is both small and diverse, St. Andrews has thus far been void of any discrimination or even bullying aside from the typical drama of pre-pubescent boys and girls.
In the few cases of bullying I have witnessed, the nearest teacher has stepped in and proposed a solution that focused on identifying the emotions felt on both sides of the disagreement. All the staff members emphasize the respect that the students should have for each other, their teachers and faculty members, and the school. For example, when a few of the boys in the class decided to hold a side conversation while one of the girls rehearsed her piece of the assembly in front of the class, Mr. Barry pointed out that they were being disrespectful to himself, the student presenting, and the rest of the class. Suitably chastised, they apologized both to Mr. Barry and the student presenting.
At the end of the day, Year 4's assembly went off without a hitch. They presented beautifully, proudly displaying all their hard work to the rest of the school community. Mr. Barry and I watched delightedly from the sidelines, and he was quick to express his praise when they returned to the classroom at the end of the day. We reviewed the day briefly after the students had been dismissed, collecting the peaks and troughs of behavior and noting that R, the student who has autism, had done remarkably well considering that his normal routine had been disrupted.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Dublin
On Saturday morning, we were glad to have turned in early when our alarms went off starting at 5. We quickly rolled out of our beds, dressed, and packed our things. Within 30 minutes, all seven of us jogged down the stairs to drop off our keys and walked back to the bus stop where we had been dropped off. We had to wait just a few minutes for our bus to pull up and take us to the airport, where we arrived at 6.
The airport, which had bustled on our arrival two days prior, was quiet at this early hour. We breezed through our passport checks and walked quickly through security. As we waited, we picked up breakfast at a cafe and sat patiently, watching the departure for the gate number of our 8 AM flight. Just after 7, we watched it pop up on the board. We said goodbye to Katie, whose flight back to Bath would leave a few minutes later, and walked down to our gate.
Our flight was smooth, and it wasn't long before we had landed in Dublin, where my passport was stamped for the first time since my arrival in the UK. We picked up bus tickets so that we could get to Isaac's hostel, which we found with almost no difficulty (the smartphone certainly helped). We weren't able to check in yet, but the hostel allowed us to drop our bags if we so desired.
To kill some time, we decided to get a jump start on our site-seeing and made our way to Trinity College. The beautiful old buildings starkly contrasted the modern city around, as if time on the campus had stopped while the city went on. We walked around for a bit until we decided it was time for lunch, at which point we began to walk down Grafton Street. Street performers lined the road on both sides, entertaining us until we discovered a small cafe at which we ate.
After lunch, we continued our journey down the street. We stopped into a small jewelry shop so that Cae, Hadley, and Megan could buy clada rings before we walked into the beautiful park at the end of the block: Saint Stephen's Garden. A small lake featured in the center, surrounded by statues hidden among the vegetation. We wandered around for a bit, taking a bit of a break from the bustling city we had entered, before we walked back to Isaac's hostel along the same route we had come.
Back at the hostel, we collected our keys and found our 6-bed room. We were glad to not need to share the space for the night, glad that we could lock our belongings away without risking theft. We took a short break, resting after our early travels, before we walked back out, this time with a further destination in mind: the Guinness Storehouses.
Even though I don't drink, walking through the storehouses was pretty cool. We explored the history of the company and watched its process. Their exhibit on advertising featured some of their greatest commercials from various decades, and the bar on the top floor was surrounded by a 360-degree view of the city. After we stopped in the gift shop, we walked back toward the center of the city for dinner at the Porterhouse, which had been recommended to us by a friend of Allison. Dinner felt very Irish, especially as a live band played, so I ordered an Irish stew, which turned out to be a wonderful decision. After dinner, we spent a little time wandering around and weaving through the Temple Bar area on the long route back to the hostel. Once we arrived, we began to plan for the last stage of our adventure: a morning in Dalkey.
The airport, which had bustled on our arrival two days prior, was quiet at this early hour. We breezed through our passport checks and walked quickly through security. As we waited, we picked up breakfast at a cafe and sat patiently, watching the departure for the gate number of our 8 AM flight. Just after 7, we watched it pop up on the board. We said goodbye to Katie, whose flight back to Bath would leave a few minutes later, and walked down to our gate.
Our flight was smooth, and it wasn't long before we had landed in Dublin, where my passport was stamped for the first time since my arrival in the UK. We picked up bus tickets so that we could get to Isaac's hostel, which we found with almost no difficulty (the smartphone certainly helped). We weren't able to check in yet, but the hostel allowed us to drop our bags if we so desired.
To kill some time, we decided to get a jump start on our site-seeing and made our way to Trinity College. The beautiful old buildings starkly contrasted the modern city around, as if time on the campus had stopped while the city went on. We walked around for a bit until we decided it was time for lunch, at which point we began to walk down Grafton Street. Street performers lined the road on both sides, entertaining us until we discovered a small cafe at which we ate.
After lunch, we continued our journey down the street. We stopped into a small jewelry shop so that Cae, Hadley, and Megan could buy clada rings before we walked into the beautiful park at the end of the block: Saint Stephen's Garden. A small lake featured in the center, surrounded by statues hidden among the vegetation. We wandered around for a bit, taking a bit of a break from the bustling city we had entered, before we walked back to Isaac's hostel along the same route we had come.
Back at the hostel, we collected our keys and found our 6-bed room. We were glad to not need to share the space for the night, glad that we could lock our belongings away without risking theft. We took a short break, resting after our early travels, before we walked back out, this time with a further destination in mind: the Guinness Storehouses.
Even though I don't drink, walking through the storehouses was pretty cool. We explored the history of the company and watched its process. Their exhibit on advertising featured some of their greatest commercials from various decades, and the bar on the top floor was surrounded by a 360-degree view of the city. After we stopped in the gift shop, we walked back toward the center of the city for dinner at the Porterhouse, which had been recommended to us by a friend of Allison. Dinner felt very Irish, especially as a live band played, so I ordered an Irish stew, which turned out to be a wonderful decision. After dinner, we spent a little time wandering around and weaving through the Temple Bar area on the long route back to the hostel. Once we arrived, we began to plan for the last stage of our adventure: a morning in Dalkey.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
"When I get scared, I don't scream, I have a stroke"
Megan and I had barely gotten a taste of adventuring our next trip began. The Thursday after our day in London, we flew from Bristol, UK to Edinburgh, Scotland. Megan and I caught a mid-afternoon flight before the others, since we were finished with class earlier in the day. Once we landed in Edinburgh, we hopped on a bus, which dropped us off around the corner from the hostel. We checked in and decided to walk around a bit to find dinner before the other girls arrived. We happened upon a small cafe down the block called Ryan's, where the food was excellent.
After dinner, we went back to the hostel to try and get some work done while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They called just before 10 to let us know they had landed, at which point we relayed the directions to the hostel. Allison, Amanda, Hadley and Katie (who live in the flat below us) arrived half an hour later, and Cae (a friend of Amanda's) came in minutes after. We settled in for the night, happy that everyone had arrived safely.
Friday morning, we woke up bright and early to grab the continental breakfast at the hostel before we set out for the day. By 9 that morning, we were ready to start moving, and we set out for the Edinburgh castle, which was about a 25 minute walk from the hostel. We spent the morning touring the castle and its grounds. My personal favorite was getting to see the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. For those who don't know its dubious history, the Stone of Destiny sits under the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, from where it was stolen. It now resides in Edinburgh after an agreement was reached with the royal family that it will be transported back to London for future coronations.
After a few hours at the castle, we were ready for lunch, so we walked partway down the Royal Mile and turned onto a side street to reach the famous Elephant House. Many authors have discovered the cafe over the years and sat in its back room to write. The most famous of these has been J K Rowling, who penned much of her first Harry Potter novel while sitting near a window overlooking the Edinburgh castle. Her view explains the striking physical similarities between the hill on which the castle sits and the similar position of Hogwarts. We reveled over the cafe's past while we munched on our lunches and took a break from all the walking we had been doing before we got back up on our feet.
Our afternoon started with a trek back up the Royal Mile (in the direction of the castle) to the small Writer's Museum. After we explored the museum, we decided to walk back down the full length of the Royal Mile to the Holyrood Palace, which sits at the other end across the street from the Scottish Parliament building. The Palace serves as home to the royal family if they visit Edinburgh. Having seen the palace, we started to walk back up the mile to take a short break at the hostel. Along the way, we stopped at the Mercat Cross to pick up tickets for our ghost tour that evening. To anyone wondering, the title of this post came was pulled from our discussion of the ghost tour as we walked back to the hostel.
Back at the hostel, half the group decided to shower and take a nap. The rest of us spent some time looking for a good pub or restaurant at which we could eat dinner. Our criteria were fairly specific - we wanted to eat Scottish food, but we also wanted to find somewhere between the hostel and the ghost tour, as well as stay in our budgets. We managed to find "Ghillie Dhu," the one pub that fit all of our criteria, so just before 5, we set off again. The food was delicious, but the service was a little slow for our deadline. We ended up having to sprint up to the Mercat Cross, which wouldn't have been too bad except that most of the journey took us up a huge hill. Even so, we managed to arrive minutes before the tour started at 7.
The ghost tour started with tales of gore from hundreds of years ago in Edinburgh, which slowly became stories of ghosts and hauntings. Although we spent the first 25 minutes above ground, we then moved into vaults hidden under the city's streets. There, our tour guides treated us to your typical ghost stories, successfully frightening all of us to some degree. We joined the tour guides for drinks afterwards, during which they continued the evening's storytelling. At one point, they discussed witch trials, at which point they called up Katie to stand trial! The rest of us pulled out our cameras instantly to catch a shot as Katie faced the "Inquisitor's" questions. At the end, they began to turn down the lights for the last story, which ended in complete darkness. Our whole group reached out for each other, officially terrified. We laughed when the lights came back up, but we had to admit that they had done what they had intended, and we stayed close as we walked back to the hostel for the night. We decided to turn in because we had to be up early for the next leg of our trip: Dublin!
After dinner, we went back to the hostel to try and get some work done while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They called just before 10 to let us know they had landed, at which point we relayed the directions to the hostel. Allison, Amanda, Hadley and Katie (who live in the flat below us) arrived half an hour later, and Cae (a friend of Amanda's) came in minutes after. We settled in for the night, happy that everyone had arrived safely.
Friday morning, we woke up bright and early to grab the continental breakfast at the hostel before we set out for the day. By 9 that morning, we were ready to start moving, and we set out for the Edinburgh castle, which was about a 25 minute walk from the hostel. We spent the morning touring the castle and its grounds. My personal favorite was getting to see the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. For those who don't know its dubious history, the Stone of Destiny sits under the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, from where it was stolen. It now resides in Edinburgh after an agreement was reached with the royal family that it will be transported back to London for future coronations.
After a few hours at the castle, we were ready for lunch, so we walked partway down the Royal Mile and turned onto a side street to reach the famous Elephant House. Many authors have discovered the cafe over the years and sat in its back room to write. The most famous of these has been J K Rowling, who penned much of her first Harry Potter novel while sitting near a window overlooking the Edinburgh castle. Her view explains the striking physical similarities between the hill on which the castle sits and the similar position of Hogwarts. We reveled over the cafe's past while we munched on our lunches and took a break from all the walking we had been doing before we got back up on our feet.
Our afternoon started with a trek back up the Royal Mile (in the direction of the castle) to the small Writer's Museum. After we explored the museum, we decided to walk back down the full length of the Royal Mile to the Holyrood Palace, which sits at the other end across the street from the Scottish Parliament building. The Palace serves as home to the royal family if they visit Edinburgh. Having seen the palace, we started to walk back up the mile to take a short break at the hostel. Along the way, we stopped at the Mercat Cross to pick up tickets for our ghost tour that evening. To anyone wondering, the title of this post came was pulled from our discussion of the ghost tour as we walked back to the hostel.
Back at the hostel, half the group decided to shower and take a nap. The rest of us spent some time looking for a good pub or restaurant at which we could eat dinner. Our criteria were fairly specific - we wanted to eat Scottish food, but we also wanted to find somewhere between the hostel and the ghost tour, as well as stay in our budgets. We managed to find "Ghillie Dhu," the one pub that fit all of our criteria, so just before 5, we set off again. The food was delicious, but the service was a little slow for our deadline. We ended up having to sprint up to the Mercat Cross, which wouldn't have been too bad except that most of the journey took us up a huge hill. Even so, we managed to arrive minutes before the tour started at 7.
The ghost tour started with tales of gore from hundreds of years ago in Edinburgh, which slowly became stories of ghosts and hauntings. Although we spent the first 25 minutes above ground, we then moved into vaults hidden under the city's streets. There, our tour guides treated us to your typical ghost stories, successfully frightening all of us to some degree. We joined the tour guides for drinks afterwards, during which they continued the evening's storytelling. At one point, they discussed witch trials, at which point they called up Katie to stand trial! The rest of us pulled out our cameras instantly to catch a shot as Katie faced the "Inquisitor's" questions. At the end, they began to turn down the lights for the last story, which ended in complete darkness. Our whole group reached out for each other, officially terrified. We laughed when the lights came back up, but we had to admit that they had done what they had intended, and we stayed close as we walked back to the hostel for the night. We decided to turn in because we had to be up early for the next leg of our trip: Dublin!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
St. Andrew's Visit 3: Classroom Management
You know those days
when you can't seem to focus on anything and you don't want to be doing
whatever it is you're supposed to? All of Year 4 had one of those days on my
most recent visit.
The students came in
groggily, slumping into their seats. Although they were given assignments to
start the day - either word problems or micro-writing - very few got started
right away. Mr. Barry spent more time instructing the students to start than actually
working with them at first. Once some of the students actually started, the
ones who still didn't want to work struck up conversations with their
neighbors, distracting them. Mr. Barry tried to reign in their attention
through call-and-response clapping patterns, which worked well aside from the
fact that it had to be repeated a few times over the course of the first 10
minutes of class. Eventually, Mr. Barry resorted to raising his voice, which
silenced the class.
We moved into guided
reading, during which my group remained distracted for the start. D refused to participate at all, but the others eventually settled down and
answered the questions I presented. We finished just in time for the next
lesson, which was a preparation for Thursday's assembly. In honor of Book Week,
the students prepared to present the story of Rapunzel to parents accompanied
by a series of gestures. A number of the boys were reluctant to participate at
first, so Mr. Barry moved them to the back of the room. They stood there while
the rest of the students sat together on the carpet. The moment any of them
began to participate, Mr. Barry quickly welcomed them back into the circle,
making it clear that (a) he expected their best and that (b) they could deliver
it.
After they took
their break, the students continued the Book Week theme by beginning to create
their own book covers. The project engaged them more than the work they had
done earlier in the day, and their work was focused until lunch as well as
immediately after, when they returned to the assignment.
As we reached the
middle of the afternoon, my first real challenge loomed. Mr. Barry and I had
previously discussed the possibility of me teaching a movement lesson based on
the Take One Picture, but he had wanted to wait and see in what direction the
students took the image. When they latched onto knights and swordplay, a
movement-based lesson seemed to fit perfectly, and I was asked that morning if
I could run a lesson that afternoon. During lunch, I sat in the quiet classroom
and pulled together a plan, grateful for the experiences and repertoire I had
gained from my class on the Art of Teaching Dance as I recalled a myriad of
activities I could include for the occasion.
When we first
entered the space in which we would dance, the students recognized its usual
purpose as their gymnasium and took a few minutes to settle down. Once I
regained their attention, I set a few ground rules (for safety purposes) and we
started with a warm-up to define their personal spaces. When three of the boys
still refused to participate, Mr. Barry removed them from the group. I later
learned that he had read them the riot act before instructing them to write
apology letters to me. Meanwhile, the other students explored first the poses
and then the movements of peasants, spies, kings/queens, and knights. After the
three boys finished their letters, they were allowed to rejoin the class, and
they ended up really enjoying the activities. Unfortunately, about halfway
through the lesson, we had to stop because the Year 5 students needed the space
to prepare for their assembly on space. Back in the classroom, they returned to
their book covers until the daily assembly began.
At the end of the
day, Mr. Barry and I talked about how my lesson had gone. We went over what I
might do differently next time (trying to establish the rules and initial
instructions before leaving the classroom while the students were still in
academic mode) and where it would have gone next (partner work on responding to
movement leading into fencing-type movement).
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
St. Andrew's Visit 2: A Pupil's Pursuit
Focus: A Student
Pursuit - "to focus on the range of learning experiences/activities which
the school provides for one particular student on one particular day"
Year 4 Schedule:
9:00 - Micro-writing
9:30 - Literacy
10:00 - Numeracy
10:45 - Break
11:00 - Take One
Picture
12:15 - Lunch
1:15 - Creative Time
For my main focus, I
chose to keep an eye on D as she traveled through her day. During my
visit, it was D's turn to have a "special day," which meant she
was basically Mr. Barry's helper throughout the day. Everyday, the special day
goes to the next student alphabetically, and that student lends a hand with
supplies, handing in the roll call for the day, and more. Aside from that, the
student participates in the day like normal.
D's day
started with micro-writing. She sat with her classmates as they talked through
a picture posted on the board and contributed to three sentences - one
description, one action, and one speech - about the scene depicted. They then
wrote their own sentences independently while Mr. Barry and I walked around,
providing support as students needed. I spent a few minutes writing for Arthur,
whose handwriting is so illegible that he has permission to use a computer or
to dictate his writing to someone else. He had to remember to tell me where
capital letters, full stops, and other punctuation marks needed to go.
Next, the class
separated into their level-based reading groups. I took D's group, which
was on the low end of the class, to the small school library across the hall,
where they read a short story and together and answered questions about it. It
was easy to see that even within this group, there was a difference in the
abilities of different students. While some students had caught on quickly to
the story, others needed to look back at the story and reread a few sentences
to answer the questions,
When we finished our
story, we rejoined the class for maths. Because they had had assessments during
my first week, this was the first time I got to see how the numeracy strategy
is implemented in England. The students sat back on the carpet to learn about
multiplication and relate it back to addition. They followed the same process
for division and subtraction. Mr. Barry presented an example and then assigned
4 numbers of increasing difficulty for the students to do in their workbooks.
D got a bit distracted during this and spent about as much time
socializing as doing her work, but she got back on track with a bit of guidance
and finished the second of the four numbers just in time for the break. While
the students went outside, Mr. Barry explained the marking system to me, and
together we marked their workbooks.
After the break, the
students worked in pairs with their neighbors. D and her partner had no
trouble finding the image for "Take One Picture," which they
discussed animatedly. She excitedly formed a trio with two friends for the
plays they began to create outside on the playground. I discovered as I
supervised that D and her friends are part of a large number of students
in the school for whom English is a Second Language. In their case, Polish was
the language of choice as they prepared their play until lunch time.
Lunch was followed
by creative time, which D's group used to create costumes for their play.
They remained inside for much of the afternoon, as did students creating
puppets of the characters in the painting, while I took other students outside
to practice their plays so they could present them to the class the next day.
For a bit, I had M, J, and V, who are three of the highest achieving
students in the class, working on their play outside. Other groups followed
their lead and came out as well, staking their claim to sections of the
blacktop to rehearse. However, it suddenly began hailing in the middle of the
afternoon, so we sprinted back inside to avoid getting drenched. The students succeeded in this endeavor - I, however, got fairly wet trying to make sure
that all of the students made it inside. Once it stopped, the sky cleared in
just a few minutes and I took RR and M outside.
A few minutes after
the girls had come out, R and his group joined us. They initially made a
beeline for the same basketball hoop the girls were using. I tried to intervene
and redirect the boys to a different area, which worked for R's partners,
but R would not be swayed. He latched onto the hoop and lashed out when
anyone tried to persuade him to release it, so another teacher came over to
lend a hand while I ushered the girls away. They became understandably upset,
having committed no offence. Unfortunately, even with the assistance of the
other teacher, we were unable to convince R to release the hoop until the
whole group went back into the classroom. While he returned, I stayed in the
hallway with the two girls for a few minutes, allowing them to express their
frustrations and explaining why I had made the choices I had. They took the
time to collect themselves and calm down a bit before we joined the rest of the
class for the end-of-the-day announcements.
After the day ended,
Mr. Barry and I reviewed the sequence of events from the playground. He
explained that R has autism, which was why he had struggled with not
getting what he had anticipated. I then asked whether R had a behavioral
plan (which a student like him would have in the US) or some kind of British
equivalent. Mr. Barry was very forthcoming in explaining the usual plan of
action with R, which focuses on social stories and emotion coaching. He
also described the evolution of the plan, which I thought was interesting.
Until recently, R's outbursts had been dismissed as poor behavior, for
which he was sent out of the class. Although this was an easier way to work
with him, it was also more frustrating, because his behavior never changed. The
new plan, requiring much more energy from the teachers, has shown noticeable
results. Outbursts such as the one I encountered have become less frequent,
which has allowed him to spend more time in the classroom.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
London
After we spent all of Friday out and about, my roommate and I decided to go to London for the day on Saturday and hit a few of the sites. We boarded the 8:45 train to maximize our time in London, reaching Paddington station at 10:15. From there, we walked to the British Museum, somehow managing to not get exceptionally lost along the way!
In the Museum, we explored the many incredible artifacts. We got to check out the Rosetta Stone, among others, which was especially cool because the people around us were speaking at least a half dozen different languages, reminding us of the powerful impact the Rosetta Stone had on the way we look at other cultures. We also picked up lunch while we were there, perfectly comfortable with the slightly higher prices since admission had been free. After lunch, we hit the African exhibit and the Clocks and Watches display before catching an afternoon tour of Ancient Rome.
We left the museum around 4 so that we could do a bit of site-seeing before it got dark. From the British Museum, we walked to the London Eye, and then continued down the block to Big Ben. We turned the corner towards Parliament, but we noticed the light had started to wane, so we changed course and headed to Waterloo station, where we grabbed dinner before we caught a train first to Salisbury and then to Bath. Another successful trip in my opinion :)
Cheers!
In the Museum, we explored the many incredible artifacts. We got to check out the Rosetta Stone, among others, which was especially cool because the people around us were speaking at least a half dozen different languages, reminding us of the powerful impact the Rosetta Stone had on the way we look at other cultures. We also picked up lunch while we were there, perfectly comfortable with the slightly higher prices since admission had been free. After lunch, we hit the African exhibit and the Clocks and Watches display before catching an afternoon tour of Ancient Rome.
We left the museum around 4 so that we could do a bit of site-seeing before it got dark. From the British Museum, we walked to the London Eye, and then continued down the block to Big Ben. We turned the corner towards Parliament, but we noticed the light had started to wane, so we changed course and headed to Waterloo station, where we grabbed dinner before we caught a train first to Salisbury and then to Bath. Another successful trip in my opinion :)
Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)